As the beekeeping season begins, do you have all the tools you need to look aſter your bees effectively and efficiently? Browsing supplier catalogues, we are faced with an exciting range of ‘essential’ gadgets. Here are some tips about what tools and general supplies are most useful to have at your side during inspections.
By Richard Rickit, co-editor HOW TO BE KIT READY Box, bag or bucket?
Find the right container for your equipment and your situation.
If your hives are at home, you can put the essentials in a bucket for the short journey from shed to hives and it doesn’t mater if you have to pop back to get something you weren’t expecting to use. If you have out- apiaries, you need to be more organised.
A friend of mine (who happens to be an equipment supplier – and female) insists that women prefer some sort of bag for their tools, while men invariably choose the biggest toolbox they can find. I’d like to say this is a terrible generalisation, but maybe there is some truth in what she says.
Either way, find a container that holds all the equipment you might possibly need so that you never have to dash home to get something. But it needs to hold only tools that will be required at the hive – there’s no point weighing yourself down with bits and pieces that will only be used at home.
Having worked my way through various containers, I now conform to stereotype and use a large plastic toolbox. It has plenty of room for larger items, a compartmentalised tray at the top with a clear lid so that I can quickly check that I have remembered to return and store small items. And it is easily washed. I can even sit on it for a rest and a cup of coffee (yes, it even holds my flask).
Smokers and smoker fuel are a subject in their own right. I carry mine in a separate, metal box, especially if travelling in the car. But what equipment is in my toolkit?
20 Hive tools
Most people have a favourite design of hive tool, but I am very unfaithful. I tend to use one style for a while and then switch to another. Whichever you prefer, plan to have at least two hive tools with you because there will be times when you put your tool down and then can’t find it. In any case, it’s hive tools for courses – the j-tool is not favoured by some, but I find it invaluable in prising apart frames that have become wedged too close together.
If you have out-apiaries it’s worth keeping a spare hive tool in the car or beter still under a roof of one hive in each apiary. Aſter use, I put my tools in washing soda solution in a plastic tupperware box with a waterproof seal – it all fits into the tool box.
String
A roll of gardener’s twine comes in handy for all manner of tasks around the apiary – from securing roofs when a storm is approaching to tying wild comb into frames. The nylon type is strongest and lasts well if used outside.
Knife
Whether for cuting comb, opening packets of fondant or quickly fashioning a stick into a temporary entrance block, a good sharp knife is essential. A craſt knife with folding or snap-off blades fits the bill.
Marking pen
Some people use nail varnish or modeler’s paint to mark queens, but I recommend only water-based pens or one recommended by your bee supplier. You can change colours each year according to convention, but I use only white. Some people used a branded correcting fluid but then the manufacturer (legitimately) changed the ingredients without warning – some beekeepers noticed!
Queen cages
There are several designs of cage to hold queens temporarily during manipulations or to introduce new queens to colonies. I like these for ease of use.
Bee Craſt April 2020
All photos: Richard Rickit
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