Those interested in becoming a beekeeper are faced with some hefty start up costs. Beekeeping supplies are needed for the bees and you need things for the beekeeper. Sorting out which types of beekeeping equipment to buy can be quite a chore. The good news is you don’t need everything at once. Let’s sift through the wants and needs of various beekeeper supplies.

1. Beehives:Hives are where the bees live. You will need to do some research to decide which type of hive you’d like to have. I personally use Langstroth hives, but I hope to try out a Top Bar Hive sometime soon.

You’ll need to decide if you are going to keep bees as a hobby or try to morph them into business for your homestead. This will determine what type of hive you’d like to use.

2. Beehive frames:Frames are rectangles that hang inside of a hive like a filing system. The bees will build their comb inside of these frames. This is where they will make honey, lay brood, and live their lives constantly preparing for winter.

3. Smoker:Smoke is used to calm the bees so you can get into the hive. The smoke masks the pheromones that the bees give off to communicate with each other. A smoker makes getting smoke pretty easy. You can use wood chips, small twigs, leaves or pine needles in the smoker.

4. Hive Tool :Sometimes you’ll need to pry the top of the hive off or loosen the frames since bees really like a snug home and glue everything together with propolis. This is where a hive tool comes in handy. These are really inexpensive and totally worth purchasing instead of using something around the house.

5. Queen catcher:A queen catcher is a handy tool to have when you want to keep the queen separated for a while. A prime example of this is when you are going through your hives. Sometimes it is easier to place her in this catcher so you don’t lose her in the process.

6.Beekeeper’s Suit : While you will want to buy a real beekeeper’s veil, you don’t necessarily need a real beekeeper’s suit. If you can and want to purchase a new one, that is probably a good thing.

7.Queen excluder:There are times with your hive that you might want to use a queen excluder. I’ll say this upfront, if you prefer to go with natural beekeeping, then you probably will not need this.

8.Bee Brush:When you pull up a frame from the hive, you will most likely need to brush bees off of it. Most will come off if you shake the frame some, but there are always a few that just don’t want to get off.

9.Honey Extractor :This is at the end of the beekeeping supplies list for a reason; you don’t need it right away. A honey extractor is a great way to get the honey from a Lansthroth hive but they can be quite expensive.

10.Bees:Unless you catch a swarm, you will most likely have to purchase your first bees. After that, you should be able to split your hives to keep things rolling and multiplying.