One of the things that concerns people thinking of taking up beekeeping is does beekeeping take a lot of time?
The short answer is no, and actually beekeeping is one of the few hobbies involving animals that fits well with modern life, especially if you are working. Dogs need walking two or three times a day and feeding, cats need feeding every day and even goldfish require attention. That’s not to say bees can be put in the hive and ignored but the time to look after them is limited.
Every seven to ten days during the season (usually April to August in the UK) you will need to inspect your bees to ensure they are healthy and have enough stores. This will usually take between fifteen and twenty minutes per hive but you will probably want to take a bit longer as it is so fascinating. If you want to see what is involved please have a look at our YouTube video Inspecting The Hive
A couple of times a year you may have to carry out swarm management techniques and maybe set aside something like an hour a week over a three week period to do this.
Whilst it is advisable to check your bees every seven to ten days it is fine to go away on holiday for a couple of weeks so long as you check them before you go and again as soon as you come back. If you are away for more than two weeks then we always advise that you pal up with someone who can have a look at your bees for you.
Hopefully, twice a year you will need to harvest your honey and you probably need to allow for between half a day and a day each time depending upon whether you spin your honey or do comb.
During the winter there is much less to do. Prepare equipment for the spring, make sure the bees have sufficient stores by checking one a month and feeding if necessary.
As you can see beekeeping is great. Just enough time required to be really interesting but not so much that it becomes a chore.
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