On Reflection

We would recommend you buy nothing until you have attended theory and practical sessions on beekeeping run by your local beekeeping association.

As a Christmas present, I brought my wife a flat pack National hive in pine. This was well packed and kept in the house lying flat. On assembling in early April it was clear that the brood box sides had warped, and it was very difficult to assemble. Had I waited until after the training sessions I would not have brought a flat pack and may even have gone for a poly hive.

My eldest daughter brought her mum a beginners bee equipment pack. The only items worth keeping or using are the smoker and soft brushes. The leather gloves with cotton gauntlets are fine but they reduce the feeling in your fingers, they get dirty and are a vehicle for transmitting disease from one colony to another. The bee jacket is lightweight cotton, great for those hot summer days. However, it offers little in the way of protection from bee stings, especially as there are no thumb loops and the cuffs ride up exposing your wrists. The veil is integral with the hat but has no facial supports so hangs around your face and bees get caught in the folds and become agitated; not a good situation.

On reflection, both my daughter and I should have waited and brought after we had attended the training. We can’t overemphasize the importance of this because you see and use different tools and open the different hives and get sound information on required equipment and hives, etc.