Start Your Own Organic Beekeeping Business
Article by Tommy Coffler
In the ruthless quest to breed bees for their honey, beekeepers have been spraying bees for many years with all sorts of pesticides and herbicides. Bees are even grown in plastic hives so that they will turn into ultimate honey-making machines. A disturbing news article in the April, 2011 issue of The Guardian reports that certain species of honeybees have begun to adapt to the constant spraying of pesticides onto their hives; they are now “entombing” their hives to protect themselves from the harmful chemicals. In the wake of this modernized honey bees beekeeping method that has disrupted the ecological balance, the prospect of promoting the mutual benefits of organic beekeeping is very timely.
Organic beekeeping not only considers the benefits that we can derive from the bees; we also care for them in return. The main principles of organic beekeeping revolve around these three conditions: an unpolluted hive location, natural bee-feeding materials and methods, and avoidance of pesticides and traditional veterinary medicine. If you are a small-scale organic beekeeping hobbyist, then you do not need to follow all these. But if you are running a business and you want to label your product as “organic,” then all three requirements must be met.
Amazing business opportunities can be derived from beekeeping. Organic beekeeping for beginners can be turned into a profitable business. The products that you can sell from your very own honeybee farm are raw organic honey, royal jelly, and beeswax which can be turned into nontoxic crayons or modeling wax. Secondary honey-containing products include mead, flavored honey, honey wine, and baked goods.
Another important thing to consider is the food supply for the bees. If you feed the bees with commercially available feeds, then you can no longer have your products certified as organic. Since honey bees need a steady and reliable supply of pollen and nectar, then you must aggregate your beekeeping business with small-scale operations that deal in cut or dried flowers, organic herbs, market gardening, or orchards.
Profitable beekeeping can be achieved in an organically driven environment if you have the will and the motivation to do it. Of course, you will need to read more on how best to pursue this remarkable business venture. Get the most updated and well-researched articles about the organic way to grow and care for your honey bees. Turn it into a business while you help the environment. To know more, visit Organic Beekeeping.
About the Author
Tommy Coffler is an expert author and blogger from London. His articles have appeared in many article directories and different websites around the world. You can read some of his articles at Organic Beekeeping.
BEE FARMING
Article by James C Harris
This introduction section is for the individual interested in tending bees or for a student who is doing a report on honeybees and beekeeping. To be honest this can be a fascinating hobby or a thriving business with a lot of side benefits but there is a lot of knowledge that will be needed so let’s get started. There are three bee entities here – the queen whose job is to procreate the hive through egg-laying, the drones which tend to the queen, and the workers who gather the nectar and make the honey and boy do they work. If human beings worked as hard as they do productivity would be through the roof. Now beekeeping is not as simple as throwing a wood box in the back yard and hoping the bees will move right in – there is a lot of thought as to how the box or hive is to be constructed, how to entice bees in when you find a swarm or when you purchase a hive, how to keep them and keep them happy, how to protect, how to extract and process honey – so you see things are starting to get complicated. And there are pests and diseases that can attack the hive also so you will need some up front knowledge here. As a plus when you keep bees and a garden you will have a better garden with more produce because of better pollination and if a flower garden more bountiful flowers. For more information on this: skip to the bottom for referral to an information website.
For the experienced beekeeper you know there is always room for improvement. There can be new ideas in honey processing and hive construction, new pest and disease detection and how to control procedures. What about new research in bee behavior and the work being done about routing out the bad or aggressive breeds? Then the new products being derived from honey, beeswax, bee pollen and propolis wouldn’t you like to know this? Probably a lot of your knowledge was derived by trial and error, so for more profitability one can learn the successes of others who have overcome the problems associated with bees and beekeeping.
There is no way to put all the information in this short article so for more complete information go to http://www.beemeister.info to gain some insight on this fascinating hobby or way of life.
About the Author
To learn how to be a beekeeper or gain more knowledge about beekeeping go to http://www.beemeister.info.
How to keep bees way with bee repellents
Article by Elena Semick
Bees are stinging insects and their sting can prove painful and dangerous. You can educate yourself on simple facts about bees. This proves beneficial at reducing your fears about bees. If you find a bee flying around you, relax and do not swat at it. Swatting causes bee to feel you are attacking it and it turns aggressive. Being relaxed causes bee to move away from you. Also, gather information about any bee repellent that proves easy to use.
Bees are attracted to all sweet-smelling substances like sweet vegetables, open meats, sweets, and similar others. Similarly, even perfumes attract bees due to their sweet fragrance. Keeping away such things in closed containers or refrigerators can act as a natural bee repellent.
If you kill a bee accidentally, and if a bee nest is close by, other bees would soon come attacking you, as they can smell the kill. Further, being afraid or scared cause bees to be attracted to you as your fear emits chemicals that attract bees. Similarly, excessive sweating also attracts bees. As a precaution, never feel scared if you come across a bee or locate a bee nest near your garden. It is always best to use an effective bee repellent to keep yourself protected.
You can try an herbal bee repellent made of tea tree oil. This repellent consists of tea tree oil and benzaldehyde. Combination of these two ingredients proves repulsive for bees and they therefore stay away. Alternatively, you can try other commercially available repellents for bees.
Another herbal remedy to keep off bees includes a combination of lemongrass, peppermint oil, and citronella. Most herbal bee repellents are safe for use on children and pets. Ideally, you should use such repellents on collars, hair, wrists, and sock tops.
Although a bee repellent can successfully ward off bees, yet you can take few precautions if venturing near bees. Wear light colored and smooth textured clothing, as bees are attracted towards dark colored and rough clothing. Do not wear any woolens or leather clothing as these irritate bees and they attack you.
Insecticide is another effective bee repellent. If you locate bee nests, inject insecticide around nest entrance specifically at night. Further, do not flash any light at nest entrance as this could aggravate bees. Use red cellophane on your flashlight as bees cannot see red light. Put two tablespoons of insecticide dust into a dry and empty liquid detergent bottle. Shake the bottle lightly and squeeze it at nest opening. Normally, this proves effective within two or three days. If need be, you can repeat the process after two or three days.
A bee repellent is also available as a spray. Often such sprays are environment-friendly and you can use the sprays around your garden without any fear of any toxic barrier that could affect children or pets. Sprays prove effective for a height of more than ten feet. Most bee repellents are biodegradable and have a pleasant odor. Further, their potency remains intact for many weeks and hence proves very economical.
About the Author
Elena Semick writes for RepelAll.com
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