So You Want to Be a Beekeeper? What You Need to Know

The complex challenges behind this trendy hobby

Blake Shook, founder of The Bee Supply, works with his bees. The Bee Supply

Honeybees and their hives are one of the latest trends in home decor, and beekeeping has become a trendy new hobby. Places such as Sam’s Club and Tractor Supply sell all-in-one beekeeping kits. Just add bees!

These starter kits promise “Easy and fun!” and “Make your own naturally pure honey.” I wish it were that easy. As beekeepers in our fifth year, we can promise you that beekeeping is anything but easy. Fun? Yes, it absolutely can be fun, and yes, we, or rather, our bees, make naturally pure honey, but this isn’t a hobby for everyone.

For a broader perspective on beekeeping as a newly popular hobby, I turned to Blake Shook, co-owner and founder of The Bee Supply.

“I got into beekeeping right before it was trendy, in the early 2000s,” Mr. Shook said. “When we saw colony collapse around 2006, it made the news nationwide. That brought unprecedented notoriety to the beekeeping industry. The whole country was concerned about bees. That awareness has helped the industry tremendously and given us a legislative voice we’ve never had before. For example, it’s been easier to get pesticides that are damaging to bees off the market. People are more educated about bees and honey than ever before.”

But could this nationwide spotlight have negative effects on honeybees and beekeeping?

“Overall, it’s been a net positive,” he said, “but one negative result is that many new beekeepers aren’t aware of how to care for their bees as they should. With some, the mentality is, ‘I’m going to do things naturally; put them on my land or in my backyard, and they’ll take care of themselves.’”

According to Mr. Shook, the problem with this approach is that honeybees aren’t like houseplants. You can’t just give them water and expect them to thrive.

“Bees are more in the category of livestock. If you don’t properly feed, treat, and ensure they have forage, that will affect not only your bees but as they interact with other bees in the area, and there’s the possibility of spreading varroa mites and the viruses they carry,” he said.

Blake Shook, founder of The Bee Supply. The Bee Supply

The Cost

Because bees seem to be everywhere, most people are surprised at the cost involved. Mr. Shook estimates that the initial outlay will be close to $1,000. The most important purchase is the bees themselves. Depending on where you purchase them and how they’re packaged, this could cost between $180 and $350. At the lower end, bees will be packaged in a cardboard box with the queen bee and several hundred worker bees. You’ll receive a full hive ready to place on your property at the higher price point.

Along with bees and a healthy, mated queen, the cost of a 10-frame, wooden Langstroth hive with a lid, inner cover, and bottom board will run about $140. This cost depends on the size of the box, whether or not it’s painted, and the wood used.

Once you have bees and they’re installed in their hive, your next concern will be protective gear. Many experienced beekeepers wear only a veil, but from my experience with dozens of stings, I recommend at least a beekeeper jacket with an attached veil and leather gloves. I invested in The Bee Supply’s Super Suit when our hives exploded in population this past spring. They were overcrowded and weren’t too happy with us. I decided to err on the side of caution so that I could enjoy working with my bees without fear of being stung. The Super Suits are worth every penny!

You can save money by looking for used woodenware and other gear on sites such as Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace, although quality will vary.

Ongoing Education

If you become a beekeeper, ongoing education is a must. Over the years, we’ve attributed some of our success to dumb luck, but we’ve also experienced plenty of failures, including a hive absconding, expensive queen bees killed by their own hives, and one year, our entire hive starved to death over the winter.

“The most common mistake is a lack of information,” Mr. Shook said. “Part of the fun is that you get to dive into this fascinating world that most people never experience, but you need to dedicate time to learn.”

He suggests taking a beekeeping class, which “scratches the surface of what you need to know but helps inform you of what you don’t know. If you don’t have time to learn and take classes, it’s going to be a challenge to keep your bees alive.”

Taking a beekeeping class is one of the best ways to begin your ongoing education. The Bee Supply

I’ll never forget opening up our first hive in early March several years ago to the heartbreaking sight of thousands of dead bees. We didn’t know much about helping our bees survive through the winter months, and as a result, they didn’t have enough resources. Now, we know so much more, and our hives are healthier than ever, but bees die, and hives fail even when we do our best to support them.

Often, a beekeeper must make on-the-spot decisions to keep his or her hive healthy and thriving. Adding a new queen to a hive, moving resources and brood from one hive to another, and testing and quickly treating for pests such as wax moths, small hive beetles, and varroa mites—currently the biggest threat to hive health—are just a few examples of why it’s so important to have time and flexibility as a beekeeper.

Every time that a beekeeper approaches his or her hives, especially when opening them for an inspection, the possibility of getting stung is always there. I asked Mr. Shook how many times he’s been stung, and his response was: “Thousands! The pain never goes away. It always hurts.”

We keep a small first-aid kit with our beekeeping supplies because you just never know. That kit includes a few doses of Benadryl, anti-itch salve, and lavender essential oil. I also have an Epi-Pen on hand. No one in my family is allergic to bee stings, but it’s such a dangerous potential reaction that it’s best to have this medication on hand. If you’re concerned that you might be allergic to bee stings, that can be tested at a doctor’s office.

Because of all the different philosophies and styles of beekeeping—even among experts—it’s difficult to know what to do, especially for beginners. Some are hands-off and successful in maintaining hives that survive year after year. Others never treat for mites or other pests such as small hive beetles. Some never harvest honey, believing that it’s best to “let bees be bees,” while many others expand their apiaries each year to maximize honey production. As a new beekeeper, give yourself time to absorb as much information and training as you can, along with lots of time with your bees. Hands-on experience is the best way to discover your own beekeeping style.

“Go into this with curiosity and a willingness to learn,” Mr. Shook said. “Bees always surprise me, still every day. Beekeeping is super addicting. All of a sudden, you wake up, and there are 20 hives in the backyard.”

As a hobby, it appears that beekeeping—much like raised-bed gardening and backyard chickens—is here to stay.

Where to Start

The Bee Supply is dedicated to beekeeping education and offers monthly live webinars, and both in-person and online classes. You can find their schedule and classes at TheBeeSupply.com.

In-person classes are ideal, and one of the most exciting times for beekeepers is an all-day Bee School. You’ll find these promoted in social media groups, and in state and local beekeeping groups. The largest beekeeper event in the country, the North American Honey Bee Expo, happens each January.

YouTube is a great resource for beekeepers at every level of experience. The Bee Supply has its own channel, but other respected beekeepers with reliable information are Bob Binnie, Kamon Reynolds, and David Burns. They have dozens of videos covering virtually everything that you’ll ever need to know.

A local mentor is ideal, but those can be scarce in today’s busy world. One way to connect with local beekeepers is to visit farmers markets and check out produce co-ops in your area. Beekeepers usually know others in the area and can point you in the right direction for training and even helping out as a volunteer in order to get hands-on experience.

Social media groups such as Beekeeping for Beginners on Facebook can be helpful. Rumble, MeWe, Reddit, and Discord all have active beekeeping groups.

Comprehensive books such as “Beekeeping for Dummies” are helpful, but nothing beats face-to-face conversations and hands-on experience.

Meet the Expert: Blake Shook

It’s not uncommon for 12-year-old boys to become obsessed with one interest or another, but very few go on to turn that interest into a successful business venture.

Blake Shook, co-owner and founder of The Bee Supply, was that 12-year-old boy. Growing up in a homeschooled family, he set up his first hive as a casual hobby and to get scholarship money.

While still in high school, Mr. Shook grew his apiary and started a beekeeping company. He did his schoolwork during the day and worked his new business around school ​hours and on weekends. Initially, he sold honey to local grocery stores, but as soon as he graduated, this became a full-time​ commercial business. Mr. Shook transported hundreds of hives around the country, and ​packaged and sold large amounts of honey to grocery stores such as Walmart and HEB​ under the brand name Desert Creek Honey.

By early 2017, business was booming, but his mother now had an empty nest and lots of time on her hands. Together, they expanded Mr. Shook’s company into what’s now The Bee Supply. Their plan was to set up a brick-and-mortar store in the Dallas area where Mom and Dad could help out the occasional customer while having time to babysit grandkids and make some extra money for retirement.

To their surprise, Texas Bee Supply, as it was first called, was an immediate success. “We had a line out the door,” Mr. Shook said, “and had to hire people immediately.” The Bee Supply now has three stores and ships its supplies nationwide.