How To Set Up a Beehive | Ask This Old House

Ask This Old House’s Roger Cook takes you through everything you need to plan and install a beehive in your backyard or a field near your home.
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Time: 1-2 days
Cost: $300
Skill Level: Medium
Tools List:
Protective Beekeeping suit
Sprayer filled with sugar water
Bee brush
Hive tool
Shopping List:
Langstroth Beekeeping Kit
Cinderblocks
Protective gear
3-lb package of bees
Steps:
1. Consider hiring a professional beekeeper if you feel you need help.
2. Place cinderblocks on the ground to keep the hive dry and out of any rainwater
3. Place the baseboard on top of the blocks
4. Place the Langstroth bee box on the bottom board.
5. Hang the new ‘frames’ by the rabbit ears.
6. Hang the older, pre-started frames from another hive.
7. Spray your 3-lb bee package with sugar water, coating the bees.
8. Remove the Queen cage, take out the plug and hang the Queen box in the middle of the frames with the candy-side facing down.
9. Don protective clothing and pour the bees into the box of frames.
10. Use a Bee brush to gently brush the bees off the top of the frames and into the hive.
11. Place the inner cover on top of the box.
12. Add the internal feeder and fill with a mixture of a pound of sugar to one pint of water. You’ll need roughly a gallon
13. Place the internal cover and external cover on the hive to protect the bees
14. Put a rock on the top to make sure the cover stays on.
15. Leave the bee package next to the hive so any remaining bees can find their way to the hive
16. In a month add another bee box layer with frames as the hive grows.
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Homeowners have a virtual truckload of questions for us on smaller projects, and we're ready to answer. Ask This Old House solves the steady stream of home improvement problems faced by our viewers—and we make house calls! Ask This Old House features some familiar faces from This Old House, including Kevin O'Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, and landscape contractor Roger Cook.
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How To Set Up a Beehive | Ask This Old House
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