How to Keep Bees

Want to keep bees? Find your local bee club! EC Channel Trailer: • Essential Craftsman - ...
Good local source for beekeeping equipment: GloryBee, Eugene Oregon
Huge thanks to Robert Tracey for all the help and mentoring!
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Thank you, be safe, and be grateful.

[@avalanchemousey1150]

I am 14, i am a beginner knife maker, and I am also a beekeeper this is my 3rd year beekeeping, I just one day convinced my parents to let me do it. and here I am 3 years later still doing it! -- Luke

[@avalanchemousey1150]

also, personally I don't like to use a smoker or a veil. I have gotten to the point where I can go slow enough and keep the bees calm without it. hope you see this Essential Craftsmen, you and Alec Steele are my 2 favorite channels!!!

[@joshshafer2858]

As Scott would say “ keep up the good work Luke”

[@Ryan-xq2ot]

Your parents must be very proud keep it up young man

[@avalanchemousey1150]

Thanks!

[@precisionbarberbear]

I hear people say that the next generation is doomed, then i see teenagers show up with a new view, no fear and ready to crush. Keep it up man. Im gonna get my first hive this year.

[@dpbilbo]

Wow, indeed a small world. Robert (Bud) Tracy was my beekeeping mentor as well. I helped Bud with his 500 colonies when we both lived in Phoenix. OR. I had my cabinet shop next door to him for about 4 years. He taught me all I know about beekeeping, sheep raising, growing alfalfa, and milking a cow. I bought my first sheep and milk cow from him as well as all my beekeeping equipment. I still have some of his signature silver painted hives from 30 years ago. Funny story, Bud got me “hooked” on eating a couple of teaspoons of pollen every morning to boost my energy throughout the day, It worked! I kept trying to get my then wife to try it and after months of seeing me work late into the night she decided to try it. That day Bud and I baled alfalfa until about 1 AM that night and I headed home, dog tired. I walked in the house and saw my wife zipping around the house vacuuming!! She said “that pollen is great!” Bud got such a laugh the next day when I told him. Anyway, this video sure made my day. Since I no longer live in Oregon, I have not seen Bud for 25 yrs or so. Now I need to remedy that. Thanks, Darren

[@kellywadsworth4495]

Ohhh wow!! Such a small world. Bud is sooo kind and so generous with all his knowledge. He is happy and anxious to help people succeed. Bee pollen? Ok now I have to try that!!!!

[@travwilson7827]

The man at the end with the spinner seems to be a Cy Swan analogue for beekeeping.

[@essentialcraftsman]

Exactly right!!! With a little Bilbo Baggins thrown in for good measure!

[@susanbarbier5053]

@@essentialcraftsman “But where our hearts truly lie is in peace and quiet and good tilled earth.”

[@turdmuffins88]

We started keeping bees this year. My two year-old loves to watch and sometimes poke the bees. She's been stung twice already (that we know of). I'd be concerned except she cries about it less than most grown men. If the bees didn't leave stingers, I wouldn't have known about it. Her first words were: 1-daddy (or doggy, they both sound the same) 2-mom 3-no 4-bee.

[@EsotericM]

I'm a beekeeper and been following your channel for more than two years regularly . It warms my heart finding out you tend bees too. Keep up the great job. :-) Cheers.

[@travwilson7827]

It’s time for a new channel ... The Essential Beekeeper! With host ... The Great Kelly Wadsworth! 😁

[@glennwiebe5128]

I grew up on the farm in Saskatchewan just outside of Saskatoon. This is massive deer (whitetail and mulie) country but that's another story. In high school, during the late 70s, we had almost 300 hives. My younger brother worked part time for a beekeeper with almost 4,000. That was an enormous commercial operation. We had our hives on several yards. My favourite was a strip of virgin Prairie complete with Saskatoon berry bushes and the northern Prairie's many flowers. The honey that came from that yard was always the best and we kept that for our own consumption. The rest of our hives were rated as being clover honey, very sweet with a mild floral scent. Then, in my grade 12 year, dad got stung in the neck and we had to rush him to the hospital due to severe anaphylactic shock. After that he carried an epi-pen since the doc said that the next sting could be his last. So, with many tears shed and heavy hearts, we sold everything and had to buy our honey like everyone else. Many times my brother and I have looked back and talked about that year. When we still had the bees, we talked often about the two of us going commercial. The honey prices were depressed at that time and due to his experience with the big commercial operator, he knew how to make it work even when prices were low. Life would be light years different had we done that since prices soared not too long after. But, we look forward and not to the past. At least dad didn't die from a bee sting. He did pass four years ago from pneumonia due to a compromised immune system. He did love the bees.

[@johnpossum556]

Great story! How exactly did that berry honey taste and do you know exactly what kind of berry bushes? We had a cabin very far north where the chokecherry bushes were very common. That's if you could get to them before the bears. I used to get a gallon of honey directly from a beekeeper who set up in the farmer's market but lately I've found that walmart has #5 containers at very very reasonable prices and it gets delivered right to my door.

[@glennwiebe5128]

@@johnpossum556 We had chokecherry bushes on the farm too but never enough for the bees. The berry bushes were Saskatoon berries. It's kinda weird since the berry shares it's name with the city. The Saskatoon very has often been compared to the common blueberry but that's like apples and oranges. It is a bit more tart but by no means sour. It has a pronounced and distinct taste more akin to an almond. You may be familiar with it although by a different name. Chuck it this article: saskatoonberryinstitute.org/saskatoons/

[@johnpossum556]

@@glennwiebe5128 After reading that article I realize I know them as Serviceberries. The only thing I disagree with the article is that are high in sugar because the ones around here usually get frozen on the tree because they are so mealy and unpalatable. Not that they couldn't make good jelly or syrup just like chokecherries do. I grew up farming organic raspberries way far north up in Mn near the Canadian border on my grandpa's farm. Lots of hunting & fishing. Good times indeed!

[@glennwiebe5128]

@@johnpossum556 I talked with a Saskatoon berry farmer near where I grew up and asked him about the "service" berry. He said that it's a different strain of Saskatoon that is grown for the ornamental bush as opposed to the fruit. Hence the nasty taste. Once you taste a real Saskatoon you'll wonder how you lived without it.

[@duanelundgren7985]

@glenn Wiebe, great reading, thanks for sharing your family history!!!

[@kduhamel]

My wife and I have two hives we keep. We managed about 8 gallons out of those hives. One spring run and one late summer run was harvested this year. I don’t know the poundage. It’s a fascinating hobby. Thanks for sharing.

[@bradcavanagh3092]

Bloke just down the road from me is a commercial beekeeper. He has hundreds of hives that he moves around the state pollinating commercial crops and following the blooming of native vegetation in the bush. It's amazing to taste the difference in honey from different flowers, especially from eucalyptus species. My favourites are orange and mangrove.

[@mikes1345]

Accidently began beekeeping spring 2019 when a swarm moved in chicken coop. Now there are 15 colonies from captured swarms in my bee yard. The doctor said for me to stay active in my retirement and these girls make that happen. Still learning but it is interesting. Thank goodness it's tax deductible because I blew my budget early.

[@Max-po5sx]

Awesome man congratulations enjoy retirement beekeeping great. One of the oldest professions also very biblical. I would suggest ABC XYZ culture of beekeeping book by AI root. Definitely beekeeping for dummies book. Good luck. 😎🤠👍

[@KenHill]

Still learning after 30 years. Ask 5 beekeepers a question and you'll get at least 6 answers.

[@candace3676]

A friend has been gathering swarms on our property for 4 years then volunteered to mentor me. We started with him moving 5 hives to our property; helping him for a year, watching all. This year I bought bee stuff at an auction and will work at cleaning hives/frames all winter to be ready for capturing swarms this spring. Mentor Kim, said to expect to lose bees, that bees choose whether to stay or leave, they are either strong or weak, like any creature. A beekeeper's job is to improve the bees by good beesmanship, not letting sentimentality trick me into working too hard on a weak group of bees. He says keeping bees is humbling and awe-inspiring. Thank you for this video. As always, keep up the good work.

[@mrobsoletesvintagehomestea9156]

We have been thinking about bees for a while, and your common sense video about what to realistically expect both pro and con, gives us the basis for us to make a decision on what we will do . Great video as usual.

[@francoisbouvier7861]

Thanks again, you're a wealth of knowledge to a fellow carpenter of the same vintage.

[@garethmcmahon9769]

Thanks, they sure are an amazing creature.

[@davec.3198]

Bees can be tough. My cousin does it and is always fending off bears, mites, weird weather, other hives..ect. Lots of elements going on.

[@davec.3198]

@suspicionofdeceit It'll getcha.

[@candace3676]

that's why it is called beekeeping not bee gazing. lol

[@vinnycostanzo7019]

God Bless You!!! All of your videos are Awesome, you are helping so many people and young tradesman like myself, Thank You!

[@PatrickPease]

Forgot to mention that when you only have a handful of colonies it's when you can really sit back and relax and enjoy watching them, once you start getting up to the hundreds or thousands it becomes work comes a job and requires a lot of skills that a hobby doesn't include. Next time you're in Arizona let me know and I'll show you around our desert honey operation I'd be really thrilled to meet you

[@stevenwilson1462]

Patrick Pease that's awesome that you run a honey operation. I'm fascinated by bees and hope to be able to start keeping bees as a hobby in the future. Where are you located? I'm in Mesa. Would love to tour your operation if you guys allow that.

[@PatrickPease]

@@stevenwilson1462 absolutely, in fact we'll probably put you to work in a hive! Our honey equipment is getting it's winter maintenance and hibernation until march but there's still tons of neat stuff to see and do We're located in Casa Grande and Maricopa. Pm your details and well talk

[@bzhoneyalanb8613]

Love this I’m a carpenter from Scotland that keeps bees! Right up my street 😀

[@MichaelSmith-sj5uk]

Thanks for teaching

[@curtwhite876]

This channel... Bees?!? I'm not surprised... But I am. Such an amazing variety of content.

[@tonyn3123]

My first swarm as a kid (10-12 y/o), Dad let me catch them on a tree limb overhanging the roof our neighbors home. I climbed up a ladder with the new hive and spread a sheet under the swarm. After shaking the swarm onto the sheet, I gently tapped the hive with the hive tool and watched them march in the new hive like soldiers. I was so proud. Tapping the hive is the only way I ever got the bees to go in and it worked for us; right or wrong. That night I went back and sealed the hive and took them home. I was always so proud of that first hive and made sure I isolated the honey from that hive so I would know it was raised by me. We didn't have an extractor until we had around 20 hives and then it became a necessity. It wasn't motor driven. It was manually driven. Lot of country people around here liked honey in the comb but some liked it extracted, so we sold both. This was the 60's and I remember selling a quart for $1.65. I paid $10 for a pint a few weeks ago to a local beekeeper, and didn't flinch. I knew how much time he had into acquiring the honey.

[@alasdairmunro1953]

Thanks for showing this Scott. I used to keep bees before I got injured, and haven’t felt able to resume yet. It reminds me how rewarding a hobby it can be.

[@capti443]

Brought back wonderful memories of working with my paternal grandfather and his 26 hives kept by one of his large gardens. A tough old-world Polish gent, he had a smoker and home made implements, but never wore anything but his normal day-to-day clothes. Yes, he got nailed occasionally, but it never phased him. He passed away in 1980 and I still have a bit of the wax he would collect along with extracting honey. He’d give the honey away to neighbors and friends and sold cakes of wax to some company. Fascinating creatures!

[@darrellhoekstra8514]

Capturing swarms is an incredible feeling, great post boss!

[@jimfuller8200]

Greeting from a Michigan beekeeper...!!!!

[@jamietodd2560]

Get advice from as many places as possible so you're not taken by surprise. We caught a swarm and kept our colony for about a year, harvested a bit of honey, then the hive split. Then the hive got destroyed by silkworms. We packed the supplies away, but I really want to try again.

[@azenginerd9498]

Grew up with someone else keeping bees on our place in Western Montana. Payment was in honey. The bees loved an invasive flowering weed - knapweed - that added a bit of spiciness. And mead! Thank you bees for the mead.

[@johnpossum556]

I used to make mead when I was younger. My german friend particularly liked one I made that was half honey and half cranberries. It had body unlike any other wine I made.

[@jlomendes]

Thanks for the video. I has beens too. Its very intersting hobby

[@dcorey35]

My grandfather used to keep bees. We had a lot of good times when I was able to help him. Nothing like pulling the top off a hive and seeing all of the activity. I can still remember the smell/taste of fresh honey. Great hobby.

[@johnmack1185]

What an amazing group of people you have surrounded yourself with Scott. Kelly is definitely a "keeper".....pun intended.

[@essentialcraftsman]

I could not agree more and I tell you that in this Thanksgiving season she is at the top of my list of blessings!

[@jmyers9853]

all summer i saw only a few honeybees, two weeks ago one showed up. late november, i do have a few flowers blossoming. put out some natural apple juice on a plate, bees showed and by the hundreds to drink the juice. i can't find the hive yet but i am following to somewhere around the yard.

[@jerryhansen5116]

It's always fun to learn about the birds and the bees. Thanks

[@aaronwilson1666]

I want to hang around you. I share your views on hobbies. Once I was grounded from flying and unable to run down bad guys as a MP after near 13 years of Naval service, I picked up wood carving, amateur black smithing and bladesmithing, and once I get some land would love to keep some bees!

[@sw00natra]

Big fan of the Bush Bee Man. Totally different method in thinking between the EC and the BBM. But love and support them both. Keep up the good work!

[@NSAJ33]

I like this fella. Cheers to a God given hobby. ;)

[@chrisestes2383]

"That knife is amazing." I think she's trying to tell you something.

[@nunyabussiness4054]

Sweet topic.

[@Jack.333]

As the soliloquy goes, “To bee, or not to bee ? That is the question-

[@tee4946]

WOW! You're a Beekeeper too!

[@caspiansea8196]

Instant like. Didn’t know anything about bees before today. Really phenomenal effort put into the video. You say you enjoy the old trades but it seems you are just as good at the new trades (making videos). Thanks for the video.

[@douglasrykerd6266]

Love this, my first job in middle school was extracting honey. The second summer I worked for him we were the largest producer in San Diego county, 10,000 gallons. That’s not an exaggeration. Needless to say we had much more automated equipment. It was still a lot of work. Two men working in the field each day and 1 man and a boy, me, working in the warehouse. Our extracting room was usually over 100 degrees. And for that I earned a whopping $2.00 per hour. It was the 1970s and I thought I was making big bucks, and in truth I was, since none of my friends had a real job and only had their allowance. Fond memories, I’ve been seriously considering getting a few hives as a hobby.

[@TheFPSCENTRAL]

I live in the NYC suburbs. If I had the space I would absolutely build an apiary. The benefits of bees are undeniable. I’m strongly considering moving somewhere in the Carolinas.

[@daphlavor]

It’s the bees knees! I take a teaspoon of honey every morning during allergy season, and any other time you feel a scratchy throat. Beeswax and Flaxseed oil is a great treatment for cutting boards kitchen tools, leather goods. Tool handles as well but I prefer the oil, singularly. Keep up the great work 👍 Sam

[@eigencap]

Raised Bees as a kid. Great Memories!

[@SkiddingF350]

One of the coolest episodes!!! Thanks!!

[@davidpope9120]

Neat video. Thanks

[@kearneyfamilylondon68]

What a winning combination, Essential Craftsman plus bees! Great intro. to beekeeping Scott. Best. PEK.

[@slightcurvegrin7507]

I love this man. I really wish we where related.

[@beesybee8921]

I am a professional beekeeper for over a decade, my bees didn’t do too good in Sacramento because of the smoke in the air this year, didn’t extract any of the honey this year and lost about 50% of the colonies, Glad that you guys keep bees

[@shawnanwo]

Am I the only one disappointed that the frames weren't pried out with a burke bar? :D

[@mgreene939]

You might want to check out horizontal bee hives.

[@russianhorde]

These are Langstroth style hives which are the most common type of hive in the States. There are many other different types of hives each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Langstroth hives are known for high honey production rates.

[@MasterCivilEngineering]

Good idea Sir!

[@geico1975]

WOW! She walked right up to the bees home without any covering and just did her thing:) Crazy man, crazy:) I think they'd have stung me 50 feet away. I'd be saying I didn't even see ya'll:)

[@craigkeller]

Tap gently on the box or hive after harvest , watch them line up and march right in. Learned it over 60 years ago from a old bee man.

[@garyabiermann]

Try 9 supers in a 10 frame box.... changed my life for ease of extraction. Although it doesn’t get easier than having someone do it for you :)

[@mcd5082]

Amazing video!!!

[@stephenpeterson7479]

My grand daughter's husband had a great grandfather who was a big time bee keeper and had sales displays in several stores in the Knox County, Illinois area. He went on to be a state bee hive inspector or what ever they called it. However the bee keeping "bug" didn't grow with the newer generations.

[@psidvicious]

Fascinating little boogers! I always get a laugh out of the people that, when a bee comes buzzing around, go into that ‘frantic-panic-bee-waving-mode’. Ironically, and much to my sadistic enjoyment, they’re the ones that generally get stung. I’ve had a couple of experiences on job sites with bee swarms. The last time it happened, the bees decided to take over one of the stucco men’s wheelbarrows. An expert told us that if we could just leave the wheelbarrow alone, the bees would likely decide on their own, the next appropriate plan of action, within a cpl of days. As predicted, that’s exactly what happened and the bees left in search of a more suitable home. Leaving the wheelbarrow none the worse for wear. 🐝

[@johnniecarter3013]

I was so excited to see this thumbnail. I’m starting to raise bees this spring after two years of studying!! Your opinion of things is one that I value very much on all topics. So this made my day first thing this m

[@johnniecarter3013]

Morning 😂😂 Thank you sir!!

[@kentcostello8099]

Please tell her to start her own channel on beekeeping . I would fallow her . I just got in beekeeping and I'm 50+ years old always learning about it . And I love blacksmith work too 👍🏽😎🇺🇸

[@billiamc1969]

150-200 colonies here in Baltimore...urban bees do so much better than rural Maryland

[@nickkettering6093]

I love your idea of honeysmithing. I recently restored a model 77 pro but the shoe wasn't square. It fell from a distance and wasn't true. I ask because I can't firgure out with common conceptions. It's really only a five degree difference but with a skill saw there is no adjustment measure

[@wornout3499]

I always liked to eat the honey comb as a kid.

[@ADR69]

Bees are awesome

[@roccoconte2960]

Great video, but i thought for sure you were going show how to build a bee keeping hive . Surprised you made a video about bee keeping you are a man of many hats.

[@mrkern81]

I once helped hold the ladder for a guy getting a swarm. I thought, "What would I do if this whole bunch of bees fell on me?" Sure enough, when he cut the branch off, he mishandled it, and the whole thing crashed down right at my feet. I was wearing shorts, so my nethers were investigated a disconcerting amount. But I just stayed absolutely still and was only stung by one bee on my wrist. Good times.

[@chriss3235]

I don't have much interest in keeping bees, but I do have much interest in hearing this man speak.

[@wigidy12]

I gotnto see a swarm a few weeks ago from my barn soffit. So strange how vulnerable they leave themselves

[@BESHYSBEES]

Bees and carpenter’s go hand in hand

[@d.m.e.b.m.f7649]

It's so weird that you did this video about bee keeping. I have been watching several bee keepers channels lately and I found it to "bee" very interesting.

[@daftnord4957]

mr. crafstman, have you ever made syrup? i tried it last spring with box elder trees, bought a $20 amazon kit and funneled sap into old milk jugs, works perfectly, collected about 5 gallons at a time to boil down, filtered a couple times along the way. It looks, smells, and tastes somewhat like honey, not the classic maple syrup type, but really satisfying

[@daftnord4957]

plus box elders are like a weed here in the northern midwest, their will to volunteer and thrive made me look into what to do with them, then i found that they make syrup

[@johnpossum556]

@@daftnord4957 because they are in the Maple family

[@daftnord4957]

@@johnpossum556 yeah it is in the name, box elder maple lol, not everyone sees an autumn blaze, or a box elder and thinks syrups, or even black walnut

[@davidsawyer1599]

This is awesome!

[@kengamble8595]

SWEEEET ! 😉 Thanks for sharing and take care. 👍

[@johnwildermuth3136]

A honey of an episode.

[@MrGigi-dz9cv]

Carpenter, beekeeper. Makes sense.

[@MrGigi-dz9cv]

Please, don't shake the beees. Be gentle.

[@spaceape17]

Did anyone else get the State Farm ad with Jake in a beekeeping outfit coincidentally on a video about beekeeping?

[@dancearoundtheworld5360]

Not dressed for a queen....

[@imout671]

Tip for Mrs Kelly. When your catching a swarm at some point break off or saw off the limb they were on or many of them will keep trying to go back. I was a 3rd generation beekeeper. It was so easy in the 80s now if you can make 3k a month with bees you could make 6k a month doing anything else. Lol

[@nonamenofame97]

" That knife is amazing" I feel ya on that one Kelly

[@dickidydoodah]

I had at one time 40 colonies here in Pennsylvania. Bears and wet mild winters have been my worst enemies.

[@jonathanschrader7881]

U guys r awesome 👍

[@mattberg916]

God left His fingerprints all over creation. That's a wonderful little bit of truth Scott. Thank you

[@hunterjohnson6965]

Check out a layens hive it will save your back those boxes can get heavy.

[@firemanj35]

Very cool

[@sgsheff]

Should check out the Flow Hive that completely transforms harvesting honey. I recommend checking out their youtube channel.

[@andrewsanderson3577]

And now we are best friends. Beekeepers unite

[@wayneparker9782]

Iv been watching your KZbin show for some tome now...i would have never thought or.... this is the last KZbin show i would have thought i would see beekeeping...by the way...i am a beekeeper.. and with the small amount of hives that you have you should not be losing that meny hive per yr....ofcourse i don't know the hole story....but....there's a pesky little bug called a varroa mite.. There are treatments that will keep these pesky little bugs down to a level that would allow the bees to make it through hard times...also you would think that honey would be the best food to feed back to the bees but most of the time this is not the case..honey can and will give them gut problems...sugar water would be preferable. heathe...nutrition...and pest control management will keep your bees alive....there are a number of books; and believe or not, KZbin channels that are a wealth of info...there are so many different methods to keeping bees....BUT....what never changes is.. nutrition.... health...pest control and management!!!

[@americanaxetoolco2076]

Darn interesting

[@drain_001]

Mr. Felix from Yakima where are you? Thanks again for the beekeeping merit badge. :)

[@jamesbarisitz4794]

I'll buy a jar. 👍

[@josephmay3123]

Wow! Nobody has commented about the Queen at 3:22!!! Was i the only one to notice???

[@pnwRC.]

Do you have troubles with hive beetles, or is that a southern thing? I've been thinking about getting into bee keeping, & haven't had the opportunity to ask this question to someone in the Pacific Northwest!

[@bevo65]

Oddly satisfying!

[@lovejcdc]

So I have a question lol, what do you do with the bee's in the winter time? Wouldn't they freeze?

[@kellywadsworth4495]

Nope...they don't freeze and they don't hibernate...they cluster together in a tight ball and eat the honey they have stored! Cool little creatures aren't they?

[@lovejcdc]

@@kellywadsworth4495 it just absolutely amazes me how they can survive in such harsh environments like subzero temperatures. God is so infinitely incredible in His creation. A tiny little bug that can endure all types of climates and then make the best and most purest sweet nectar that has been proven to last for at least a couple thousand years and still be edible SMH unbelievable but true lol God bless

[@smartgorilla]

My mind a full of bee puns right now... And I can't stop smiling 🤣🤣🤣

[@paultennis9414]

Another essential piece of gear for a beekeeper is an EpiPen.

[@blazenlights]

We should change the tradition of fall harvest and switch to harvesting in the spring. This way they will have food for winter and enough bees to keep the colony warm. Also let's switch to the Warre hive system for a natural colony architecture. Both of these simple changes may be a little more work but would result in less colony collapse disorder.

[@HelenaOfDetroit]

I don't have the property for something like this, but it's got me thinking. Not even a huge fan of honey, but I like bees and living peacefully with nature.

[@GaryForgingOn]

What is your opinion on those horizontal hives? I was watching the youtubers "off grid with Doug and Stacy" and they had someone setup a horizontal hive on their place. Never seen that style before.

[@philiprogers8620]

1. The reason you can handle the swarm so confidently is because they are huddled around the queen. If you get her in a box, everyone else will follow. If you dump her in a hive, everyone else will follow. Convenient! 2. Best reason to check you hives regularly is to make sure your queen is okay. Without her, the colony will die. If you notice she is gone quickly enough, you can get a new queen before it’s too late to save the thousands left.

[@aenema22]

Essential Craftsman, are you a speculative Mason as well as operative?