A beehive in the garden is beneficial in many ways. Caring for the busy people is fun and provides valuable honey and beeswax. Nature-loving gardeners like to keep bees so that the pollinators of their ornamental and crop plants are right there. This guide explains how to properly keep bees in the garden.
What are the requirements and tips for keeping bees in the garden?
To successfully keep bees in the garden, you need a large garden with a variety of plants, a professionally constructed beehive, a water source, sufficient distance from neighboring properties, protective clothing, insect screens and, if necessary.a permit from the veterinary office. Only buy bee colonies from beekeepers during the swarm season.
Important requirements – a checklist
Keeping bees in the garden is not a side project. Although the insects lead a largely independent life, they still assume a great deal of responsibility for many thousands of creatures. Please examine your project carefully using the following checklist. These premises enable the species-appropriate keeping of bees in the garden:
- A large garden with a varied planting of perennials, trees and flowers
- A professionally constructed beehive as a home for the colony
- A pond in the garden or a bee trough
- A distance of 5 meters between the hive and neighboring property to prevent disputes
- Professional beekeeper protective clothing (€7.00 on Amazon) for safe care
- Insect screens in front of all windows and doors in the house
Furthermore, please check with the local veterinary office whether a permit or at least registration is required to keep bees on private property.
Magazine loot tops wicker basket – tips for the right beehive
Traditionally, woven wicker baskets serve as housing for a honey bee colony. Modern beekeepers advocate magazine hives, the technical term for beehives. The construction is easy to understand. With a little craftsmanship you can build the hive yourself. Alternatively, you can use offers from specialist retailers. A beehive consists of these components:
- Wooden box with slightly protruding lid in dimensions (LxWxH) 1,000 x 500 x 300 mm
- Excursion hole 2-4 cm in diameter in the upper third
- Pre-embossed honeycomb panels made from organic beeswax
- Ideally a small window made of Plexiglas as a peephole
If you build the loot yourself, please only use non-toxic materials. The wood stain should have the Blue Angel as a quality mark. In order not to restrict the freedom of movement of bees in their hive, a maximum of one third of the room consists of honeycomb panels. As a rule, new beekeepers prefer the single-comb box to start with in order to familiarize themselves with keeping a colony of bees.
Bees are only available from beekeepers
To purchase your first bee colony, please contact a beekeeper. Responsible beekeepers only offer bee colonies for sale during the swarm season between the beginning of May and mid-June. Get detailed advice from an expert on key questions about beekeeping, such as the location of the hive or the housing of the bee colony.
Tip
Your precautions for establishing beneficial insects in the garden do not conflict with your plans to keep your own bee colony. Honey bees are gentle vegetarians and live in peaceful coexistence with most other insects and small animals. Bees are occasionally on the menu of birds, although this is a completely natural process during the summer breeding season.
