Personal Beekeeping Equipment ⋆ Paseo Del Norte Beekeepers Association

Beekeeper’s Equipment

Plan on purchasing your personal equipment to manage honey bees. Do not rely on your mentor to provide you with the basic equipment.

If you are observing a swarm capture or colony relocation, the beekeeper may have a limited amount of personal protection equipment.

Observing

If you are observing or attending a workshop, you can usually get by with a hat, veil, gloves, long-sleeved shirt, long pants and shoes. If you are going to get up close and personal, a little tape or rubber bands over the shirt sleeves and over the pant legs will keep the bees out.

Basic Equipment

Veil & Hat - to protect the facial area from bee stings.
Smoker - to move the bees, interrupt their ability to communicate so the bees are easier to work with.
Hive Tool - to pry, move frames, measure and general use.
Bee Brush - to remove bees from unwanted area. The “natural” beekeepers sometimes will use a clump of grass for a brush.
Gloves - ventilated beekeeping gloves are normally used, however, many beekeepers use Nitrile gloves. Nitriles allow for a better feel.

Additional Equipment

As the budget allows, the beekeeper should look at upgrading their equipment.

Jacket – an upgrade from the veil and hat, the jacket will provide more protection while working the bees. In hotter climates consider the ventilated jackets. Also very handy to have for an observer to use.

Suit – an upgrade to the jacket is the full suit providing even more protection. A requirement when working aggressive bees.

J Hook Hive Tool – a hive tool with a hook at one end to assist in freeing Langstroth frames.

Frame Tool – a tool to grasp and lift Langstroth frames.

Frame Holder – a device that hooks on to the side of a Langstroth super that will hold frames when removed from super.

Lemon Grass Oil – an essential oil that is similar in smell to the Nasanov pheromone that honey bees use in homing.

Varroa Mite Monitoring Kit – a kit that the beekeepers uses to determine the varroa mite count in a colony,

Keep Adding

Others – as the beekeeper gains experience and grows the number of colonies, they will find additional tools, aids and remedies.