Greetings and does anyone know?

[magentasky]

Hello everyone,
This is a great site and I am so going to enjoy exploring here.....full of useful info and fun too,well done guys.
I am lucky to live in a lovely little cottage in West Wales,it needs some work doing,getting there slowly and developing the garden too....some veggies and chooks so far.I would like to keep bees but have read there is a decline in the bee population due to verroah(dont think I've spelt that right).Are there any bee-keepers out there who have experience/advice in this dept they can pass on?
I also have a friend staying on the property in a campervan at the mo been here very quietly for a few months,I'm not sure if this could effect my council tax discount?I get the 25% reduction for single occupancy,any advice would be much appreciated....sadly I have an annoying neighbour with a sticky beak who has made various comments and it is likely that this person will/has contacted the county council.
Well,gotta get out there with my garden fork and try and dodge the rain.
Kind regards to all,
magentasky.

[CyberPaddy66]

Hello, sorry I have no idea about that stuff.

[contadina]

Hi and welcome to the forum,

Beekeeping can be really simple, or can be really complicated - it's up to you. Varroa is one of a number of problems facing bees at the moment. Some beekeepers believe that varroa won't actually kill a colony of bees, but combined with additional diseases/pests the colony will die off.

If you have a suitable site (i.e. somewhere sheltered, where they won't be disturbed and have access to flowers for a large part of the year) then they're a viable option. They're also really cool - fascinating creatures.

You could either get in contact with the BBKA (funded by Bayer Crop Sciences), or take an organic approach such as the one at biobees.com. Either way, you should first read the Guide to Bees and Honey by Ted Hooper - it's like the book about beekeeping.

You'll be lucky to get yourself a swarm/nucleus/package this late in the season, but it's not outside the realms of possibility.

[Millymollymandy]

Hi and welcome!

[Milims]

Hi and welcome.
I have a feeling that someone staying on your property for that length of time - even in a campervan counts as them living with you. I'd check it out just to be on the safe side - you don't want to be accused of fraud just because you don't know something.

[MuddyWitch]

Welcome to ISH

Hope you get your bees soon, there are a lot of bee-knowlegable people on Ish so I'm sure you'll soon find out all you need to know. When you get your first batch of honey we'll all pop round for toast!

MW

[red]

welcome

[marshlander]

Hello Magentasky

My dad kept bees when I was a kid so when we moved up here our plan was to follow suit. Dad gave us his old hives from the attic and loads of books and paraphenalia. We attended bee keeping classes which were fascinating and very informative but in the end we didn't go ahead with keeping bees as we were so put off by the potential problems and diseases. The varroa mites are like have a bloodsucking creature the size of a cat attached to you! The mites even get in the brood chambers and cause bees to emerge without wings or other problems which weaken the hive.

To harvest the honey you wouldn't want to contaminate it with chemicals to kill the mites - you can do this after the honey has been harvested but this didn't fit our organic ideals.

Someone may know if there is now an acceptable and effective way of treating verroa but we just didn't want to set ourselves up for heartache.

We gave all the hives etc to a couple with a smallholding nearby.

On a more positive note, many beekeeping clubs have mentor schemes and you'll no doubt get more advice here.

Best of luck.

[invisiblepiper]

Hi - good luck with all of your projects!

[magentasky]

Hello peeps,

Thanks to all of you lovely people who have said hi,and for your advice too,really appreciate the contact and warmth.

Just remembered that we have a bee-keeping centre near here where they run courses,so I will get in touch and book myself a place.....love the idea of all those furry critters doing their thing and happily making honey,takes me back to life on the farm in Wiltshire,happy happy days.

Well,it is a beautiful clear sunny day and I have an appointment with a tricky patch of bramble that's plotting a takeover bid down the garden.....bring it on thorns....

Hope you all have a lovely b'holiday weekend,may go fishing later as I hear the bass are about and I do love a fish supper!

Magentasky xx.