When carrying out any task,
it is better to have the correct equipment and tools for the job,
and bee-keeping is no exception. You don't need many tools for
this wonderful hobby, but from experience, I have found the following
to be essential items.
It is said that
a bad workman blames his or her tools. In the world of beekeeping,
this could really become true, because if the wrong tools
are used, then the job is not going to get done properly. Mistakes
will then be made, sometimes with disastrous results. My advice
then is to purchase the necessary tools at the very beginning
of your new found hobby, as it will pay dividends later on.
Some equipment can be made at home, but there are certain tools
which are specialised, and I therefore found it best to invest
in some of these as well, in order to do a proper job.
Hive tool One tool that
you really will need is an instrument to get inside the hive.
You will find that the busy bees have used propolis (bee glue)
to 'batten down all hatches', in order to seal their home
against the elements and unwelcome visitors, which include
us humans. There are several tools available for this job,
and if you are fortunate enough to be able to make one yourself,
then you will save yourself about £6. However, do not be tempted
to use an ordinary chisel as this will in time, cause
damage to the edges of both brood and super boxes. This will
cause gaps to appear, through which robber bees, wasps etc
will be able to gain access. The tool pictured opposite is
the one that I use, I have found that it is very strong, and
the flat edge can also be used to scrape honeycomb from the
top of the frames.
Frame
ScraperThis
is one tool which you can either buy, or make yourself. It's
used to channel out the grove in the side of both brood and
super frames, in order that new wax foundation can then slide
down along the cleaned out grouve. You will find that the
wax moth uses this grouve for breeding, and this metal scraper works well
by gouging out wax moth casings as well as old wax and propolis.
The tool itself can be made out of an old screwdriver by placing
the shank in a vice, and then twisting and bending it to the
desired shape. The blade will of course need grinding down to a blade. The picture opposite shows such a tool, which
I made myself. It's simple to make, but very effective.
One tool that
you really will need is an instrument to get inside the hive.
You will find that the busy bees have used propolis (bee glue)
to 'batten down all hatches', in order to seal their home
against the elements and unwelcome visitors, which include
us humans. There are several tools available for this job,
and if you are fortunate enough to be able to make one yourself,
then you will save yourself about £6. However, do not be tempted
to use an ordinary chisel as this will in time, cause
damage to the edges of both brood and super boxes. This will
cause gaps to appear, through which robber bees, wasps etc
will be able to gain access. The tool pictured opposite is
the one that I use, I have found that it is very strong, and
the flat edge can also be used to scrape honeycomb from the
top of the frames.
this grouve for breeding, and this metal scraper works well
by gouging out wax moth casings as well as old wax and propolis.
The tool itself can be made out of an old screwdriver by placing
the shank in a vice, and then twisting and bending it to the
desired shape. The blade will of course need grinding down to a blade. The picture opposite shows such a tool, which
I made myself. It's simple to make, but very effective. 
