What Do You Need To Start Beekeeping? 8 Items In A Beekeeper’s Essential Kit

What Do You Need To Start Beekeeping? 8 Items In A Beekeeper’s Essential Kit

Updated: Nov 10, 2021

If you’re reading this, then congratulations! You have decided (or are at least thinking about) to take up beekeeping!

Keeping bees is a wonderful hobby. It’s humane, environmentally friendly, and relatively easy to keep up with once you start it. It’s also profitable, too. If you do it right, not only do you harvest delicious honey, but you can sell the honey for money as a little side hustle.
Before you begin this glorious new venture, however, you need to purchase the 8 items in a beekeeper’s essential kit from the list below. These items will not only help keep you safe around the bees, they will also help you get the best harvest from your hives.
 

1. Beekeepers Suit

 
Let’s talk about the suit you need to wear when you tend your hives. You may have seen them before and wondered why they need to be so big and bulky.
 

Even when you sedate the bees with a smoker (which we’ll talk about further down), these tiny little creatures still pose a potential danger. If you’re not wearing a suit, they could sting you on any exposed skin, or even right through the thin material of your everyday clothes.

 

Not only that, but bees are sneaky. They may try to buzz under your clothes, where they will be extremely difficult for you to remove without getting stung in the process.

 
 
A bee suit like the one we sell at Goldbee solves all these problems. It’s made of thick, sturdy material that will hold up against the bees’ sharp stingers. It also comes with a detachable veil on the hood that allows you to see out while still preventing the bees from flying into your face.
 

Our veil is unique because, unlike other suits, it zips past the suit collar and behind. This feature provides you with maximum protection against wayward bees.

In addition, the ankle and wrist cuffs are cinched so that the tricky little buggers can’t wriggle through into the suit. An elastic thumb loop keeps the sleeves hooked so they don’t slip out from under your gloves.

 

This getup can get hot, so to help you keep cool, you can easily unzip the veil (at a safe distance from the hives) and let the fresh air fan your face. Our suits come in different colors so you can choose the hue that you like best.

The beekeeping suit’s most important function, though, is to keep you safe and sting-free.

2. Jacket

 
What if there’s an emergency with the hives, or you just want to take a minute or two to check on them? You don’t want to take the time to zip yourself into a full body bee suit. That’s what the beekeeping jacket is for!
 
Our jackets are made with the same durable polyester and cotton as our suits. They’re just as protective, too: they’re equipped with the same hood and detachable veil, and elasticated cuffs.

3. Gloves

 
Goldbee beekeeping gloves are as much of a pleasure to wear as they are protective against bee stings. They’re made with supple yet sturdy goatskin leather, sourced from Kashmiri farmers. They extend far up the forearm and cinch tight with elastic. Once again, this is to prevent escapee bees from invading your suit or jacket.
 
Comfortable yet resilient beekeeping gloves are as essential as a suit and a jacket. They keep your hands from getting stung, but our high quality ones provide even more: they protect the bees.
 
You don’t want to touch or scoop the bees using gloves that are rough on the outside or difficult to maneuver in. This type of handling could hurt the queen bee, which is the central figurehead of all honey and honeycomb production in the hive.
 
Fortunately, with Goldbee gloves, you don’t have to worry about that. Both you and the bees will love the soft feeling and protection this essential item provides.

4. Smoker

 
One of the most essential tools you need as a new or experienced beekeeper is a smoker. This device will help you produce enough smoke to calm the bees, allowing you to check their hives and harvest their honey.
 
If your bee suit protects you from stings, why do you need to calm the bees down? Even though your suit, jacket, and gloves prevents the bees from stinging you, you still don’t want a horde of angry insects swarming all over you. Most of your bees, including the queen, could die in the frenzy.
 
A smoker helps keep the entire beekeeping process as smooth and quiet as possible - for your protection as well as the bees’.
 

5. Uncapping Fork

 
An uncapping fork is a bee hand tool that helps you uncap frames of honey. Its tines help you work underneath the caps and separate the frames so you can easily lift them out of the hive.

6. Beehive Frame Lifter

 
A beehive frame lifter is essential to help you get a good grip on the frame to pull it out of the hive.

7. Honey Scraper

A honey scraper is useful for scraping bees away from the frames. The bristles on our scraper are gentle enough that they won’t hurt the insects. Instead, they tenderly remove them so you can continue to harvest the precious honey.

8. Honey Sieve

 
A sieve will help you strain the honeycomb out of the honey. This step is important to make this sweet golden syrup edible and ready to jar up.
 

“Bee” Safe

 
Purchasing your beekeeper essential kit is easy when you use Goldbee. We have all the basics, including the clothing and tools. “Bee” safe and smart, and gather up all your supplies before you embark on your beekeeping adventures.