Building Beehives For Dummies

About this book

The easy way to build your own beehives and beekeeping equipment Building Beehives For Dummies is the follow-up book to the bestselling Beekeeping For Dummies . It provides everything you need to learn how to build some of the world's most popular hives and beekeeping accessories. For each design Building Beehives For Dummies includes a detailed materials list (what lumber, hardware and fasteners you'll need), step-by-step building instructions, and illustrative drawings that show how the components all fit together.

There are over a dozen plans in all, including the traditional Langstroth hive, the eight frame garden hive, designs for elevated hive stands, the Warre hive, screened bottom board, the Kenya top-bar hive, four-frame observation hive, hive top feeders, and more.Building Beehives For Dummies contains introductory chapters that teach you the basic carpentry skills necessary to build any of the plans in Building Beehives For Dummies.

Whether you are a new beekeeper or a seasoned ol'timer, Building Beehives For Dummies provides you withthe information you need to plan and succeed at building beehives (and other cool accessories). You'll discover what type of hive to build, hints on how to maintain your equipment, what bees need to stay happy and healthy, where to locate your hive, and much more.

In today's world of self-sufficiency, back-to-basics and sustainability, building beehives is a fun hobby that both you and your bees will appreciate and benefit from.

Contents

Introduction 1

Part I: The Buzz on Beehives 7
Chapter 1: Getting Sweet on Building Your Own Beehives 9
Chapter 2: Comb Sweet Comb: Beehive Basics 21
Chapter 3: Gathering Basic Tools and Materials 35
Chapter 4: Fine-Tuning Your Carpentry Skills 55

Part II: The World’s Most Popular Beehive Designs 67
Chapter 5: The Kenya Top Bar Hive 69
Chapter 6: The Five-Frame Nuc Hive 83
Chapter 7: The Four-Frame Observation Hive 97
Chapter 8: The Warré Hive 109
Chapter 9: The British National Hive 123
Chapter 10: The Langstroth Hive 145

Part III: Sweet Beehive Accessories 165
Chapter 11: The Frame Jig 167
Chapter 12: The Double Screened Inner Cover 173
Chapter 13: The Elevated Hive Stand 183
Chapter 14: The IPM Screened Bottom Board 189
Chapter 15: The Hive-Top Feeder 197
Chapter 16: The Solar Wax Melter 207
Chapter 17: Langstroth Frames 217

Part IV: The Part of Tens 229
Chapter 18: Ten (Or So) Tips for Extending the Life of Your Equipment 231
Chapter 19: Ten (Or So) Ways to Trick Out Your Hives 239
Chapter 20: Ten Fun Facts about Beehives 249

Index 255
 

Customer Reviews

Biography

Howland Blackiston has been a backyard beekeeper since 1984. He has appeared on dozens of television and radio programs, including the Discovery Channel, CNBC, CNN, and NPR. He is the author of Beekeeping For Dummies.