Sustainable bee-keeping practices in your backyard

If you’d like to try beekeeping and perhaps learn how to maintain a beehive using bee friendly methods, we can help you out.

We can advise you on hive types and work with you to identify your specific needs.

Contact us for a free consultation where we will discuss:

• Your reasons for wanting bees

• The best position for a hive in your yard

• The type of hive that most suits your yard and personal preference

• Bees and how to get them. We will help you hive or install them in your hive.

• Health and safety aspects eg your reaction and that of family members, to being stung by a bee

• Costings and the service you require

• Registering as a beekeeper in the ACT

• A suitable time for the face to face site inspection
  

Want to get started?

We make bee friendly hives

We site and install hives in your backyard

During the site inspection we will, in consultation with you, choose the best site for your hive.

Ideally hives should:

• Face the morning sun

• Be shaded from the western sun especially in summer

• Be in a low traffic area and away from bright lights eg street lights

• Provide the bees with a flight path largely avoiding areas of human activity. This would include your neighbours..

When your hive is ready we will install it on site.

• Already have a hive or want to make one yourself?

• No worries we can help you with the other things you don’t have.

We will help you get started

Spring-to-early summer is the time to get started. Once you have a hive you need bees. There are two sources, a swarm or a what we call a nuc or nucleus hive. Nucs are available from beekeeping suppliers but must be ordered in advance. It’s best to get them from a local source. That way the bees are familiar with living in your environment. And yes, it can make a difference.

Getting your bees

• Contact a swarm collector and order a swarm. Do this late winter or early in spring as this is swarming season.

• Or buy bees from local beekeeping suppliers.

  Canberra Bee Collective

  Bindaree Bees in Murrumbateman

• And we’re very happy to help you hive bees that you buy (‘hiving’ is getting your bees into their permanent home).

We help you become bee-wise

We absolutely recommend doing a beekeeping course:

• Canberra Region Beekeeper’s courses

• Natural Beekeeping course (usually in spring in Canberra)

• And, if you wish further support, augment it with our mentoring services