Curious About Beekeeping? Here's What It Actually Takes To Get Started

After a season of struggling to grow her vegetable garden, Mika Hardison was in the market for some buzzy allies. That's when the bees came in.

"I knew that I needed to find a way to increase pollination, which was going to make my yields jump up. And so that's what interested me in beekeeping," Hardison tells mbg from her Jacksonville, Florida, home. What started as a desire to grow more cucumbers and squash quickly blossomed into a passion for pollinators, and Hardison now oversees multiple apiaries under her urban farming company, The Herban Bee.

In the U.S., each state has its own regulations on beekeeping, Hardison explains. Whether it's registering your hive with the government, leaving enough room between your hive and your neighbor's property, or guaranteeing that your bees have their own water supply, these are rules you'll need to abide by on your beekeeping journey.

When Hardison first got started, she'd attend group meetings at her local beekeepers association. While this provided her with valuable early exposure to bees, she considers one-on-one mentorship more helpful for the complete beginner—as you'll likely have a ton of questions. "Somebody who has had that experience already is just a great resource," she says.

While it doesn't require a ton in the way of supplies, beekeeping is definitely more complicated than putting some bees in a box. You'll want to make sure you have a solid setup before you order your first colony. The typical hive contains a hive stand, one to two bottom layers called a brood chamber (where your bees live), a queen excluder (a barrier that keeps the queen bee from laying eggs in the hive's honey), and at least one honey super (where the honey goes!).

There are two main ways to get your (bee-suit-protected) hands on thousands of bees at once. First, you can buy a bee package from a company like Mann Lake or Dadant. These screened boxes filled with a queen bee and her started colony get delivered right to your door. However, Hardison notes, it'll take a while for your bees to acclimate to your hive and start building out frames of honey in their new home. "With that route, you're probably not going to get honey the first year," she says.

Honey flow season, when your hive's super layer is full of sweet honey ready to be extracted, typically falls during the summer months. The traditional honey extraction process is somewhat labor-intensive: You need to remove the honey layer, brush off any bees on it, and run it through an extractor. These machines, which typically cost around $100 to $200, will forcefully remove the honey from its frame, after which it can be processed and stored.

The best beekeepers know what's going on with their bees at all times. They are consistently monitoring their hives for issues like diseases, pest infestations, and bee death. And every time they do, they're careful! Hardison notes that you'll want to always use personal protective equipment when you're inspecting your hives to minimize the risk of nasty stings. Remember: Bees can get aggressive, so learning as much as you can about their needs is the best way to keep yourself and your hive safe.