Starter question. What is the average budget to start your first year hive?
Kaleb Schriefer:
GIPHY
Bryan Robinson: I get the point
Nate G Lewis: Got to Mann lake website there kits gave me all the basics. I bought a 2nd hive also and a few accessories cost me about 700$ Kelley beekeeping is a good site . I checked a lot of places. Find your local beekeepers association
MarcOlga Kirdan: It was around $700 for us
Clint Summers: About 700-1k for everything. Bees, hive, tools, decent veil, treatment and a feeder of some sort. Sure I’m forgetting something.
Sherry Miller Ortiz: 150 for top bar hive kit…12 for glass for the window…150 for top bar nuc..20 for tie on veil..14 for 2pr fitted dishwashing gloves to wear doubled…10 for painters suit. Cake knife was in the kitchen using as my hive tool..1 for spray bottle for sugar misting instead of a smoker
Bryan Robinson: Ok. This is something I need to buy over a period of time
Sherry Miller Ortiz: Depends on what type hive you want. My Lang hive cost more than my top bar hive
Justin James Lanyon-Olver: I spent £1200 and have 4 hives… I also have enough hives for an addition 6 but waiting for the season to begin to fill them with splits.
Justin James Lanyon-Olver: I went second hand with all my boxes apart from floors and frames
Will Holmes: Swarm:freeHive :$220 Suit:$120…See more
Jeremiah Tanner: One small child
Keith Light: Whatever these folks say, figure to double that
Clint Summers: Isn’t that the truth. It’s frustrating when folks say 2-300 bucks. They’re surely setting unrealistic expectations.
Johnny Frazier: That what I start with and I am doing good I am get bigger ever year
Dylan Bramer: 500 or so
Angelia Kuhn: Your first born child.
Orville L Williams: Or an arm and leg
Bob Wilkinson: The most useful fact to date and explains some of the underlying feelings I get from some posts thanks.
Del Sapko: If you budget for 1k your able to purchase everything you need for the year. Hive,suit,tools,smoker,mite treatments,feed
Jeff Meyers: Two hives, feeders, suit, tools and bees for me was $1200
Jeff Meyers: by the end of my first year, I was over 1600 with some add-ons (treatments, sugar, buckets, etc)
Dave Martin: If you are on a budget you could build your own Oscar Perone hive. All you need is some 12″ planks, a bag of nails, hammer, tape measure, saw and free plans from the interweb. Probably won’t work though, but that really depends where you live.
Dave Martin: …Or if you have more money than sense, a grand looking WBC is for you, probably coming all in at $800 if you are lucky.
Bob Mann: I love the WBC design. Want to build one this year.
Johnny Frazier: To get going with one hive it about 300 bucks
Kelly Hilbers: Build from scrap & keep an eye out for a swarm or removal.Free.
Orville L Williams: 700
Sara Capers: $500
Candice Lee Crawford: I went with hiveless bees. Much cheaper- no honey – but much better pollinators
Hugo Ernst: $1,000 or more, depending on area you may or may not get some honey for yourself
Ryan P. Gray: Honey in my area sells for $10.00 a pound so whatever you spend you can easily get it back and then some.
Donald Dees: Just installed my 30th hive….i am 3 years in…built all but 6 hives from milled sawmill lumber .currently, i am at break even point, but this season will put me in the black.
Justin McMillen: I Just built a Sam Comfort style warre hive for around $20. You don’t need to spend hundreds on a hive if you don’t want to.
Sarah Collingwood: I’d say I’m about $800 in for two hives at this point.
Michael Epstein: $305 for two 3lb packs of bees….. 1 starter kit and super paid for $200…. need another brood box and 3 supers before the 27th when the Ladies come home
Janet Johansson: I started with one captured hive. $150.00 for a used set up. Ordered two hive kits a year later about $300.00. Next pat check I ordered my suit, the tops and bottoms. This year I will order all the tools. Smoker, the thingy you pull the frames apart, and a large jug to feed them with. Start slow. Learn the terminology and ask questions. Lots of questions. It’s not cheep but well worth it later on.
Janet Johansson: Im a newbee, still learning
Bob Hays: You can get the hive tool at hardware store or lumber store for about half of what bee companies charge. All it is is a flat moulding bar.
Salvatore Barone: $175 for the nuc. $250 for a hive starter kit.
James Slemp: You should have a veil ,gloves smoker and hive tool also to start with.
Kelly Hilbers: I started with a metal Folgers coffee can, a pair of channel locks ,and a steak knife. I at least have a smoker & hive tool now. 🙂
James Slemp: Kelly Hilbers do you use an extractor or crush and strain
Kelly Hilbers: Crush and strain, I use tbh. So I could uncap and use gravity I suppose, but probably have more mess than production.
James Slemp: Kelly Hilbers You do what works for you here Iv found bread knives with serated edges work well for uncapping but in Beekeeping there are many ways to do same job none being wrong .
Kelly Hilbers: I will say a smoker beats the hell out of that coffee can.
James Slemp: Like your coffee can Iv built hives from everything including plywood ,fence boards,and reclaimed wood for the last 40 som e years and all works just some better then others.
Chas Beam: TBH = $50-100
Wade Bozeman: I think I spent about $200 on stuff when I started. Then I caught swarms instead of buying bees.
Laura Uchuck Howell: $500
Dale Halm: You should start with 2 hives
Kiki DeVlieger: $800. 2 hives, tools- veil, hive tool, smoker, 2 feeders, 2 nucs.
Elijah Rater: 300-500$
Paul Vail: I bought a nuc with bees for $100 and I bought 13 bee hives with foundations for $20 from a guy who went out of the bee business and liked me
Mitchell Sweat: Are you sure he liked you? ?
David Mabray Sr.: I built a top bar for about $50 and bought a package for $85. Veil, smoker and hive tool was another $50. Worked it for 2 years then bought 2 langstroths to expand my apiary. That set me back another $400 but I have made a lot more selling my honey to locals.
Kimberly Lyda: About $600 for the hive, bees, and a suit.
Joel Holmes: My first year I spent 700.
Steve Cary: I was lucky and bought 3 established hives 3 suits an electric spinner gloves stainless tin thing brushes tools the whole shebang 2k very happy. Established custom as well. Hit the ground running but the local beeks have been absolutely sensational with support
Salvatore Barone: If you have bears in your area you also need an electric fence c
Steve Baylor: I started with two hives. Equipment,bees and suit etc….well over 1000.00
Jacob Waller: $500
Kevin Dexter: About a grand for all.
Anna Marie: $1,000
Donald Dees: Im 15k in.
Jacob Waller: Me to! What size of operation do u have
Donald Dees: 15 includes all consummable, hardware and related expenses for the past three years….30 hives. Sales have been good..this year i start out in the black.
Donald Dees: Donald Dees actual hardware costs prob about 10k..build all but 6 hives myself..
Jacob Waller: Okay so your not really 15k in anymore because I’ve recouped your investment
Jacob Waller: But I know what u mean
Jacob Waller: Ya I build my own to
Donald Dees: Oh yeah…not really….spend money to make money. Ive spent about 15k, but making a profit this year..prob will reinvest about 15 to 20percent.
Arnold Dewey Knight: Enough to lie to your wife.
Peter Lynn Westre: I was able to get 2 3 deep super hives for 450 dollars.One hive was bought from Mann Lake at Bee keeping in Northern Climates class at the university of MN. 3 deeps with 30 frames and foundation. Traditional wood boxes. 234 delivered.The other was bought from Dadant. 4 deep boxes plus 50 unassembled frames for 223. That one is polypropylene boxes 10 frames with foundation. 223 delivered.I found bees for 120 per 2 lb. package. Add in smoker tool etc probably another 100. Under 800 total….Yeah it’s expensive but new equipment minimizes disease risk.
Peter Lynn Westre: Ill have a thousand with 2 new hives, 2 packages of bees and tools.