# ISO Beekeepers



## CWS4322 (Jul 15, 2014)

I'm thinking the farm would be the perfect place to set up a few (3) bee hives/boxes (or, as I called them as a child, dressers). I am severely allergic to bees and wasps, so not sure this is a good idea (but so is Dr. Oz, and he keeps bees). I could defintely process the honey, just might not be too crazy about being around the bees...

Looking for some resources as to where to buy a bee colony in Eastern Ontario next spring and good sources for learning about keeping bees. I checked out Mother Earth News and found a good article there, but thought I'd query experienced beekeepers for the lessons learned when they first started out. I'm sure we must have some beekeepers who are part of DC? 

Thanks!


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## Aunt Bea (Jul 15, 2014)

How about these guys?
Sales and Services | Ontario Beekeepers’ Association


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## Kayelle (Jul 16, 2014)

CWS I certainly care a lot more about you than Dr. Oz.

 Nobody who is severely allergic to bees should be giving them a home!!


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## Dawgluver (Jul 16, 2014)

CWS, I agree with Kayelle!  No bees for you, put up a bat house instead!  You are already helping many bees with all your organic plantings.


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## taxlady (Jul 16, 2014)

Kayelle said:


> CWS I certainly care a lot more about you than Dr. Oz.
> 
> Nobody who is severely allergic to bees should be giving them a home!!





Dawgluver said:


> CWS, I agree with Kayelle!  No bees for you, put up a bat house instead!  You are already helping many bees with all your organic plantings.


I have to agree. You may carry an epi-pen, but would you be in good enough condition to use it? You live out in the country. It's not like you could be at the hospital in 10 minutes.


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## GotGarlic (Jul 16, 2014)

Me, too. You probably already have a few bee hives on your property or your farm wouldn't be as successful as it is. It's not worth risking your life.


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## CWS4322 (Jul 17, 2014)

I would not be tending the bees and the hives (houses, dressers?) would be on the back 40. I'm still investigating how secure those bee suits are...


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## GotGarlic (Jul 17, 2014)

I think the beekeepers' association Aunt Bea mentioned is the best way to get the most accurate information. During my master gardener training last year, we had a talk on pollinators by the president of the local association and she was a wealth of information. They work with bees every day.


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## CWS4322 (Jul 17, 2014)

taxlady said:


> I have to agree. You may carry an epi-pen, but would you be in good enough condition to use it? You live out in the country. It's not like you could be at the hospital in 10 minutes.


You're right, TL. I actually haven't been able to use it. I've got 4 epi-pens and have 20 minutes to hit my thigh (blue to the thigh, orange to the sky). The problem is that my hands seize up when I go into *Anaphylaxis*--doesn't matter how big the darned pen is, I couldn't direct it/hold it if I wanted to do so. Fortunately, I haven't been alone when I've gone into anaphylaxis. Luckily, the first sign is I turn bright red (but now at my age, that is not necessarily a sign of anaphylaxis...) and I carry benedryl with me, but ... I still want to raise honey bees!


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## GotGarlic (Jul 17, 2014)

Here's a video of a beekeeper removing honey from a hive. Are you planning to do that yourself? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdCDAu6CX7k


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## Addie (Jul 17, 2014)

CWS4322 said:


> You're right, TL. I actually haven't been able to use it. I've got 4 epi-pens and have 20 minutes to hit my thigh (blue to the thigh, orange to the sky). The problem is that my hands seize up when I go into *Anaphylaxis*--doesn't matter how big the darned pen is, I couldn't direct it/hold it if I wanted to do so. Fortunately, I haven't been alone when I've gone into anaphylaxis. Luckily, the first sign is I turn bright red (but now at my age, that is not necessarily a sign of anaphylaxis...) and I carry benedryl with me, but ... I still want to raise honey bees!



If you are going to be stubborn (oh how well I know that word!) and go ahead with this project, just make sure you have someone with you every time to have to service the hive.


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## Addie (Jul 17, 2014)

CWS4322 said:


> I would not be tending the bees and the hives (houses, dressers?) would be on the back 40. I'm still investigating how secure those bee suits are...



The gentleman in the film, mentioned that he got stung four times the day before and he was fully protected. I wouldn't want to be depending alone on elastic at the critical entry points.


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## GotGarlic (Jul 17, 2014)

CWS4322 said:


> You're right, TL. I actually haven't been able to use it. I've got 4 epi-pens and have 20 minutes to hit my thigh (blue to the thigh, orange to the sky). The problem is that my hands seize up when I go into *Anaphylaxis*--doesn't matter how big the darned pen is, I couldn't direct it/hold it if I wanted to do so. Fortunately, I haven't been alone when I've gone into anaphylaxis. Luckily, the first sign is I turn bright red (but now at my age, that is not necessarily a sign of anaphylaxis...) and I carry benedryl with me, but ... I still want to raise honey bees!



So let's look at this scenario again, shall we  ? You're in the beekeeping suit, and a bee (or more than one) gets in somehow and stings you. You turn red. Can you, or anyone else, see that through the mask? Your hands seize up. Where is the pen? Can you pick it up with the gloves on? Can you use it with seized-up hands and gloves on? If you take the gloves off, you might get stung more. And you say you haven't been able to use the pen heretofore.

I'm not liking this idea.


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## Addie (Jul 17, 2014)

+1


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## Kayelle (Jul 17, 2014)

Shaking my head in disbelief.


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## Dawgluver (Jul 17, 2014)

^^^ What they said.

:sigh:  CWS, don't do it!  Way too dangerous.  Take your Ritalin.


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## Addie (Jul 17, 2014)

Kayelle said:


> Shaking my head in disbelief.



The whole idea is very worrisome to all of your friends here along with your other friends in your life. Please rethink this idea. Not a good one at all. We do love you. And who would take care of the Girls if you got stung?


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## CWS4322 (Jul 17, 2014)

Addie said:


> If you are going to be stubborn (oh how well I know that word!) and go ahead with this project, just make sure you have someone with you every time to have to service the hive.


Actually, I think it is orange to the thigh, blue to the sky.


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## GotGarlic (Jul 17, 2014)

CWS4322 said:


> Actually, I think it is orange to the thigh, blue to the sky.



I was just wondering about that. I have a lot of trouble remembering binaries like that. My guess (GUESS!) is that it's blue to the sky, since the sky is usually blue rather than orange.


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## Dawgluver (Jul 17, 2014)

CWS4322 said:


> Actually, I think it is orange to the thigh, blue to the sky.




:facepalm:


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## Addie (Jul 17, 2014)

CWS4322 said:


> Actually, I think it is orange to the thigh, blue to the sky.



Don't you think you better have it down pat before you head of into this adventure?


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## CWS4322 (Jul 17, 2014)

GotGarlic said:


> I was just wondering about that. I have a lot of trouble remembering binaries like that. My guess (GUESS!) is that it's blue to the sky, since the sky is usually blue rather than orange.


If you've ever used an epi-pen, it would be difficult to mistake which end goes against the thigh. However, the little ditty is helpful for children and others. The first time I went into anaphylaxis was quite scary. I was making pesto and learned I was allergic to pine nuts. Fortunately, I had an epi-pen and was not alone. The only time I was grateful for my insect allergy--it saved my life. I would not have made it to the emergency room (despite how crazy my friend was driving) if I had had to wait for the ambulance. My mother, the RN, told me afterwards that if I hadn't had an epi-pen, her advice as a volunteer for St. John's ambulance would have been to tell the person with me to breathe for me if the ambulance didn't arrive on time. Fortunately, I have not gone into anaphylaxis for more than 25 years. I have however sat in the emergency ward several times waiting to see if "whatever stung" me was one of the various insects to which I am allergic (not wanting to use my epi-pen for a false alarm).


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## Cooking Goddess (Jul 17, 2014)

If you are determined to process your own home-grown honey, you might want to check with a local beekeepers club to see if someone has extra hives they need a home for. Our neighbor up the street has three stacks in his own yard and five in a field a few towns over. Since he processes the honey himself I don't know what kind of arrangements you might need to make with a beekeeper so that you can keep the honey.

If they are on your back 40 AND you aren't dealing with the bees personally, I don't think it would be any more dangerous for you that all the bees that feast on your plants right now. Might be an option that works for you. Just DON'T get stung!


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## CWS4322 (Jul 18, 2014)

I hadn't thought of looking for s/one with hives that need a foster home. I have a doctor's appointment the end of the month. I'll ask about going to an allergist and getting shots next spring. Immunotherapy supposedly can reduce the severity of one's reaction. Might be an option--I believe the shots have to be given over a course of three years. Also thinking a getting a couple of beef cattle...but cattle often knock over hives...


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## Addie (Jul 18, 2014)

CWS4322 said:


> (not wanting to use my epi-pen for a false alarm).



What would happen if you did use it for a false alarm?


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jul 18, 2014)

Tachycardia...


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## taxlady (Jul 18, 2014)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Tachycardia...


I even know what that means.


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## Addie (Jul 18, 2014)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Tachycardia...



That doesn't sound good at all. Knowing from personal experience. I ended up in surgery for open heart surgery. 130 bpm.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jul 18, 2014)

Imagine being startled x 1000...you don't want to use an epi-pen unless you need it.


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## Addie (Jul 18, 2014)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Imagine being startled x 1000...you don't want to use an epi-pen unless you need it.



The only allergies I have are from medicines and seafood high in iodine. And the minute I put a piece in my mouth that has a lot of iodine, I can taste it immediately on the tip on my tongue. I get it mostly with scallops. So I willingly pass on them. No sense in taking chances.


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## CWS4322 (Jul 18, 2014)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Imagine being startled x 1000...you don't want to use an epi-pen unless you need it.


+1

I have four epi-pens. One at the farm, one at the DH's house, one at my house, and one that I carry with me when I go on-site or travel. The DH knows not to use it unless I am in anaphylaxis. It is not pleasant using an epi-pen when it is needed (I end up with a bruise the size of a dinner plate and sleep for 36 hours straight). I certainly don't want to experience what it is like when not needed--hence why I have spent time in the emerg ward waiting to see if I needed to use my epi-pen. I can't be the only DCer who has experienced anaphylaxis?!

This is one of the reasons I prepare almost everything I eat from scratch and why we grow our own food--I'm allergic to food dyes, additives, preservatives, and fear cross-contamination in restaurants. Hence, why I rarely eat out. That "luxury" of growing our own food actually stems from my allergies. I need to be in control of what goes in my mouth.


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## CWS4322 (Jul 18, 2014)

Addie said:


> The only allergies I have are from medicines and seafood high in iodine. And the minute I put a piece in my mouth that has a lot of iodine, I can taste it immediately on the tip on my tongue. I get it mostly with scallops. So I willingly pass on them. No sense in taking chances.


+1 not worth the risk. I am also allergic to cleaning products. When I do have to travel for work, I have to make arrangements in advance that the room is not cleaned with certain products and FeBreeze is not used. And, I have to bring my own sheets because of my allergies to detergents. I have structured my life around my allergies and forget that out there in the "real world" how I live is not how things work--it is very hard for me to be in a "normal" environment for extended periods. White vinegar is one of my best friends for cleaning, as is my steam cleaner.


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## CWS4322 (Jul 18, 2014)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Tachycardia...


Don't want to go there--anaphylaxis is scary enough.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jul 18, 2014)

Shrek has had complete anaphylaxsis...bee stung him 4 times through his jeans.  We didn't know he was allergic and we were up in the mountains.  I had to drive us back to a Ranger Station about a mile and the Ranger staff had an e-kit with an epi-pen.  Luckily, we had studied anaphylaxis the year before in nursing school, so I knew what was happening.

I had a very mild case last December while eating shrimp, I haven't pushed it.


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## Addie (Jul 18, 2014)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Shrek has had complete anaphylaxsis...bee stung him 4 times through his jeans.  We didn't know he was allergic and we were up in the mountains.  I had to drive us back to a Ranger Station about a mile and the Ranger staff had an e-kit with an epi-pen.  Luckily, we had studied anaphylaxis the year before in nursing school, so I knew what was happening.
> 
> I had a very mild case last December *while eating shrimp*, I haven't pushed it.



I remember that. I made the mistake of pushing it and paid for it. Won't make that mistake again.


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## CWS4322 (Jul 19, 2014)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Shrek has had complete anaphylaxsis...bee stung him 4 times through his jeans.  We didn't know he was allergic and we were up in the mountains.  I had to drive us back to a Ranger Station about a mile and the Ranger staff had an e-kit with an epi-pen.  Luckily, we had studied anaphylaxis the year before in nursing school, so I knew what was happening.
> 
> I had a very mild case last December while eating shrimp, I haven't pushed it.


How does one have a mild case? I didn't know I was allergic to bees/wasps, or pine nuts until I experienced anaphylaxis--funny that. I remember having allergy tests when I was around 12 yrs. old because of my wheezing (feathers, mold, mildew at that time). I have it on my list to ask my doctor to send me back to the allergist--haven't been for awhile, probably wouldn't be a bad idea to have allergy tests done again. Glad that epi-pens are no longer prescription--still darned expensive, but available w/out a prescription here in Canada.My mom saved a person's life when she was a St. John's ambulance volunteer. The kid was in anaphylaxis and the closest hospital was over an hour away. She had an epi-pen at the cottage for me. She used it on the kid--even though it was against the rules for a volunteer ambulance person to break skin. The Good Samaritan rule protected her (and the lad lived). After that, she was given some sort of special "allowance" by the ON government that allowed her to behave as a nurse when she was volunteering for the ambulance service. In other words, she could break skin.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jul 19, 2014)

CWS4322 said:


> *How does one have a mild case?* I didn't know I was allergic to bees/wasps, or pine nuts until I experienced anaphylaxis--funny that. I remember having allergy tests when I was around 12 yrs. old because of my wheezing (feathers, mold, mildew at that time). I have it on my list to ask my doctor to send me back to the allergist--haven't been for awhile, probably wouldn't be a bad idea to have allergy tests done again. Glad that epi-pens are no longer prescription--still darned expensive, but available w/out a prescription here in Canada.My mom saved a person's life when she was a St. John's ambulance volunteer. The kid was in anaphylaxis and the closest hospital was over an hour away. She had an epi-pen at the cottage for me. She used it on the kid--even though it was against the rules for a volunteer ambulance person to break skin. The Good Samaritan rule protected her (and the lad lived). After that, she was given some sort of special "allowance" by the ON government that allowed her to behave as a nurse when she was volunteering for the ambulance service. In other words, she could break skin.



I've eaten shrimp my entire life, never had a problem.  But, last December in mid-Christmas season gluttony, I was eating a large portion of shrimp and my lips started tingling, ears itching, throat felt like it was swelling shut.  I stopped eating them and it didn't get worse, took about an hour for it to stop.

After my surgery, I tried shrimp again and was only able to eat about 4 shrimp before I started getting those reactions.  Stopped and haven't tested it since.  I don't want to give up shrimp, but I will.


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## GotGarlic (Jul 19, 2014)

I tried a different medication for my Crohn's disease several years ago; it gave me hives. My doctor told me to try taking Benadryl before my next dose, but I still got hives. We discontinued that one and now I'm taking something else with no problems. If I had continued it, though, the reactions might have gotten worse.


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## CWS4322 (Jul 20, 2014)

I have prescription benadryl, it is stronger than OTC benadryl. And yes, reactions get worse and happen faster. I am allergic to most food dyes, so can't eat packaged foods or candy.


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## Addie (Jul 20, 2014)

One recent study found that a child can overcome an allergy to nuts if you start to desensitize them with minute amount of peanut butter on their skin each day.  I am not sure I would want my allergic child to be part of that study. What happens if my child is the one that doesn't respond like other children do.


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## sparrowgrass (Jul 22, 2014)

Hey, C-Dub!  I have a hive on my place.  I wanted pollinators, not honey (I don't really care for honey) so I asked at the local beekeepers club, and I had lots of offers!  My beekeeper lives in town, and can't keep bees at her house.  She says she will give me beeswax, which I do use sometimes.

I had more cucumbers this year than ever--the bees just loved the blossoms, and another beekeeper told me that the bees keep the squash bugs away.


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## CWS4322 (Jul 23, 2014)

+1

I'll investigate that. Did you get the hive in the spring? I guess I missed the boat for this year...

A friend of mine kept sheep for the summer on loan...in exchange for the fleece.

Our cukes haven't really taken off, but I could send you BEANS, BEANS, and more BEANS!


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## GotGarlic (Jul 23, 2014)

I came across this yesterday - thought you might find it interesting. There are a couple of book recommendations for hive owners, too: The Secret Lives of Honeybees: How Honey Gets Made | Serious Eats


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## Addie (Jul 23, 2014)

CWS4322 said:


> +1
> 
> I'll investigate that. Did you get the hive in the spring? I guess I missed the boat for this year...
> 
> ...



I have always been fascinated with spinning wool from fleece. But then I don't have a spinning wheel.


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## CWS4322 (Jul 23, 2014)

Addie said:


> I have always been fascinated with spinning wool from fleece. But then I don't have a spinning wheel.


Spinning is very relaxing...I have several wheels (and drop spindles). I usually spin in the winter...


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## taxlady (Jul 23, 2014)

GotGarlic said:


> I came across this yesterday - thought you might find it interesting. There are a couple of book recommendations for hive owners, too: The Secret Lives of Honeybees: How Honey Gets Made | Serious Eats


Good read. Thanks for the link. Now I'm wondering about bumblebees, since I know they live in much smaller hives, but do produce some honey.


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