Bees in my backyard – how to be a backyard beekeeper in a small yard!

So. Im guessing you are at one of two points in your backyard beekeeping journey:

1. The idea of backyard beekeeping is so lovely to you, but its so random and scary and completely foreign. You can’t imagine how to actually get there, so it’s in your “one day when I buy my dream land” list. Or,
2. You are convinced that you MUST become a beekeeper! You’ve told all your friends and they told you that you are finally fully nuts – you need land for that!

Either way! Im here to tell you that getting started with small space or backyard beekeeping is NOT scary, and you don’t need a lot of space to do it. Small space and backyard beekeeping are not new concepts – it’s really just a return to traditional cottage beekeeping.

Its funny that nowadays, beekeeping is often seen as a strange hobby practiced exclusively by middle aged men. Probably with extensive model train sets. Ok, probably because that accurately describes a fair chunk of beekeepers – but that wasn’t always the case! And it certainly doesn’t need to be.

Beekeeping can be very peaceful, nurturing, even meditative. This could explain why there seems to have always been a deep connection between people and bees. An old custom that absolutely warms my soul is that of “Telling the Bees”. A beautiful long lost tradition, and one that so delicately demonstrates the absurdity that is our current view of beekeeping. 

In days gone by, a household would be lost without some treasured and pampered hives. Imagine a dreary life without honey for the larder and wax for…. the list of uses for beeswax is endless! I imagine that’s one of the reasons you are here – right?

But I don’t have a big enough yard!

Here at the Grand Ole Apiary cottage, we have approximately 100 sqm of land in our backyard. 40 sqm of that is garage, so really we are working with around 60sqm. We need to allow for areas for kids to play, veggie gardens, patio area for the grown ups to play. Not much left for bees! But that’s OK – because guess what? A beehive needs around 1 sqm – and you could even get away with less than that through clever positioning.

Positioning your hives

Positioning is much more important than area size, as the bees will have a “traffic flow” in and out of the hive. As long as this traffic flow is not leading straight into a path or a play area, it will barely be noticeable. We have had hives in different areas of our yard, but we generally place them either at one edge of the veggie garden , or towards the back of the yard by the back fence (facing into our yard). You do need to leave a little space to work either beside or behind the hive, so that you are not standing directly in front and causing a traffic jam.

In the past, we have had hives facing a human path. In fact we positioned our very first hives this way and they happily remained there for 2 years. We would walk the path from house to shed/veggie garden many times a day, and each time get bumped into by one or two bees. Quite quickly, we learned to walk a little more slowly, so the bees could see and fly around us. We were more worried about the poor bee dropping her precious pollen than any thoughts of being stung. And you know, we never did get stung by any of the bees that bumped into us. Our instincts did tell us though, that if you are walking through bee traffic quickly, do it with your mouth closed.

No more excuses!

Yes, there may be some heavy lifting. But if you can lift a small child, you can keep become a backyard beekeeper. I promise, keeping a hive or two in your backyard, or even your balcony, is really not a big deal. Though probably your friends and family will think it is! And the rewards are definitely worth it. There are the obvious – honey & wax. But you will find, within a day or two of getting your hive, the secret reward – you get to watch the bees. This will become a favourite pass time, where you will watch and learn, and be stunned at the tiny world you are caring for right there in your own backyard.

You will become obsessed, and you will want to learn all you can about them. You will find beekeepers who have been keeping bees for years and still openly admit to not knowing everything about them. And you wont care! They are amazing creatures. Once you get to know yours, any fears you have of being stung will seem so silly! 

Have I convinced you yet??? Good! Lets get some bees in your backyard!

You will need:

• One, preferably two hives
• Bee suit
• Smoker
• Hive tools

Lets break these down a bit:

Bee Hives

The best place to find a hive is not Facebook Marketplace, or any other selling platform. The best place is through your local Beekeeping Club. Join! They are not scary, and are usually a wealth of knowledge and willing advice givers. Backyard beekeeping is growing in popularity world wide – many of the club members will be backyarders just like you.

TWO HIVES??????

Now – I know you are thinking that two hives is crazy talk, one is PLENTY, you just want to “start small”. I get it. The thing you need to understand, is that a hive is only as strong as its queen, and the sum of its workers. If anything happens to either of those – you could lose your whole hive. Having two hives is obviously twice the work, but you will find out pretty quickly that having one hive is barely any work, so having two is barely any more work! The benefits outweigh the small amount of extra work – trust me.

Its just easier to keep two hives alive than one – you can borrow from one hive to lend to the other – taking a frame of brood (unhatched bee eggs) from a strong hive, and popping it into a weakened hive, for example. Now, it’s not 100% necessary to have multiple hives, just preferable, so if you really can’t do two hives don’t stress! It’s a good idea though, to make connections where you can with other beekeepers in your area (that club you just joined maybe??). You might be able to work out a bit of a swap or barter system.

Beekeeping Suit

There are some very fancy and expensive suits on the market. My advice is – if you cant afford a full beesuit, just buy some white overalls and spend your money on the best head gear you can afford. The fancy thick rubber mesh type beesuits are a great idea – but most stings on the body come from bees being caught up in folds, creases, etc. If a bee is on the crook of your arm when you bend it – its going to sting straight through the suit anyway. Look for something loose but not too loose, airy, neck to ankle/wrist, light coloured (so you can see if any bees are on you when you go to take it off!). Elastic ankle and wrist cuffs would be a bonus, but this is something you can DIY if you find you want it. This one is a good starting point.

Headgear

This is where you want to do a little more research. We have a bunch of different types that we use, and cost has little to do with effectiveness and comfort. Our favourite ones we got off eBay for about $7! Visibility is hands down the most important thing, and of course being bee proof. You certainly don’t want any bees in your headgear! If you can try some on before purchasing – definitely do that. Otherwise, go for something wide brimmed, underarm straps, and with a nice wide viewing area. 

Gloves

You will see many instances of beekeepers working bare handed, but as a beginner beekeeper, you should use gloves. This is because it takes time to build up the skills you need to work deftly and carefully enough, that you are unlikely to kill any bees or upset the hive. In the beginning, you will accidentally kill bees. It is unfortunate and you will feel like a murderous monster, but it happens. Eventually, you will become confident enough that you will forego (or more likely forget!) your gloves and you will be fine. But until then – if you can get some big leather gloves – get them.

Backyard Beekeeping Tools

In the beginning, you can get away with:

• Smoker (essential)
• The very imaginatively named “hive tool” (not technically essential but for the cost you are crazy to not get one as soon as possible).

There may be other things you will need depending on your location in the world, the type of hive you have, and how you intend to process your honey. This is all information you will no doubt gather when you go to a meeting at your new beekeeping club – right? 

So go on

Joining your local club is the first step on your backyard beekeeping journey. Many people join well before they get their first hive. Even if you are not yet ready to take the plunge, you can still have some hands on fun and build your skills and confidence. Just do it!!