If you're at all like me, and prone to get the cart a bit before the horse, please heed this advice.
One of the things you definitely want to do before launching into raising honeybees is to get all your beekeeper supplies in advance.
It's kind of like diving into a repair job on your car, only to realize you don't have all the right tools or that you are missing a critical replacement part.
If you have all the beekeeper supplies you think you'll need, you can avoid the frustration of being unprepared.
Also, you want to make sure you stay safe.
It's not often that beekeeping becomes dangerous, but having all the necessary beekeeper supplies can really reduce the chances of something going wrong.
If you have the standard gear, such as a hat, gloves, veil and suit, you can keep the bees off of you.
You especially want to have a good hat and veil to keep bees from getting to your head, which is the most dangerous area.
While protecting the head is most important, do not dismiss the body as a whole.
The suit is one of the pivotal items in your beekeepers supplies arsenal.
Using a light weight material, which is also light in color, you have a great line of defense should the bees decide to swarm on you.
By the time you've protected your body, which is very wise, you'll realize why gloves are one of the most important beekeeper supplies.
Without gloves, it's hard to keep the bees from entering up your sleeves or pants.
Gloves can be bulky, and you may not always use them, but you certainly want to own them in case you need them.
Another item you should put on your list of essential beekeeper supplies is a smoker.
I know you may be inclined to think the stuff you've seen on television is all hocus-pocus, the there is a science to "charming" bees with smoke.
There are different types of smokers, and they can use different fuels types to generate the smoke.
Interestingly, when smoke is produced around the hive, it actually prevents attack and instead encourages them to feed.
Who knows exactly why this is the case? Some believe that the bees are escaping a fire.
In any event, the smoke relaxes the release of the alarm pheromones that the guard bees use to announce to the rest of the troops that they are being attacked.
During this time of confusion, you can readily get around the hive without incident.
You can even get a number of natural fuels for your smoker if you prefer.
Some use pine needles or twine, while others use hessian or even cardboard, rotting wood or burlap if you have it.
So don't throw away your cardboard, instead add it to your beekeeper supplies.
Some additional beekeeper supplies to keep on hand are feeders.
Obviously we love beekeeping because they are low maintenance pets, right? Well, note that it's a good idea to add to their natural diet with a sugar solution of sorts.
For various reasons, food sources for the bees will decrease throughout the year.
Also, it's a good idea to supplement to encourage them to lay eggs.
Finally, I want to briefly mention some often-overlooked beekeeper supplies.
Inside the artificial hives your bees live in, you can place a wax foundation that allows the bees to build honeycomb in an "encouraged" manner that makes harvest easier.
This foundation will have a pattern of hexagons on each side.
This prevents the bees from having to lay the groundwork.