Become a beekeeper
Similar to keeping any livestock or pets, you have various responsibilities to maintain the health of your bees, provide adequate hive space, feed them in times of dearth (low nectar flow), manage the hives to prevent swarming and prepare the hives to survive the winter. When keeping bees in an urban backyard setting, there is also the responsibility to ensure they do not affect your neighbours by carefully locating your hives to direct their flight path and again, prevent swarming which will likely end up in a neighbour’s yard.
How much time will beekeeping take?
Hives should ideally be inspected every week but definitely every 2 weeks. This will keep you aware of the changes in the bee population and allow you to add hive boxes as needed, watch for signs of swarm preparation and building queen cells, monitor bee health and diseases.
What does the beekeeping year look like?
The beekeeping season starts in early March as the weather warms up and the bees start flying looking for early pollen sources.
- Early Spring is when the population builds rapidly and hives often need to be split
- Mid Summer is when nectar is flowing and the bees rapidly fill the comb with honey. Honey supers must be added to keep up with the demand.
- Late Summer is honey harvesting time
- Early Fall is time to feed the bees in preparation for winter stores, disease treatments and hive wrapping.
- By the end of October, final treatments and feeding is completed and the beekeeping season is mostly over for the year.
Steps to becoming a
beekeeper
Each municipality will have their own legislation but here are the general guidelines to follow:
Take an (approved) beekeeping course (not all courses are approved) Do your training just before you plan to start your journey. Courses with mentorship and hands on is highly advised
See if you need to Apply for a beekeeping licence in your city/municipality. All bees fall under the Alberta Bee Act and those rules have to be followed. Municipalities and Cities may also have their unique rules that have to be followed. (See city links below)
- Decide on a hive location and make sure it falls within the guidelines
- Notify adjoining neighbours (If this is a requirement in your area)
- Once you are approved or allowed to place bees on your property:
- Have a backup location that you can move the bees to if they become a problem
- Purchase liability insurance, legal battles on liability can be costly
- Register with the Alberta Provincial Apiculturist (link to follow)
- Obtain a Premises Identification (PID) number per the Alberta Animal Health Act. (link to follow)
- Purchase beekeeping equipment and hives (Spring before the middle of June)
- Purchase a nucleus hive (nuc) or honey bee package