Start Keeping Bees > Equipment
Novice beekeepers are advised not to buy non-essential equipment to start with in order to keep overall start-up
costs low. If you can acquire second hand equipment, so much the better, but advice should be sought from someone with experience before committing to second-hand hives.
The essential equipment to commence the craft is:
A beehive (Thornes - Bees on a Budget "National" hive)
A beehive stand (concrete blocks or wooden frame etc)
A protective beesuit
A smoker for calming bees
A hive tool for manipulating frames
A queen marking ring for holding a queen bee still
A queen marking pen (a single colour will suffice - white preferred)
A pair of "Marigold" type protective gloves
Not included is honey extraction equipment which is very expensive. A strainer and filter cloth are likely to be useful, but an extractor and uncapping tray may be borrowed from the branch or possibly another Branch member and there is the Branch honey extraction facility available