Raising Bees in TX
Moderator: ZS Global Moderators
3 posts
• Page 1 of 1
Raising Bees in TX
by dodfireman13 » Fri Mar 30, 2012 5:42 pm
Hello everyone, I will be retiring from the military soon and plan on moving back to TX where all my family are at. I have been reading all the benefits of raising bees and want to have a vew hives on my land, but I have one major concern. With the "killer" bees migrating North I'm worried that after a SHTF situation (months, years) I could start having serious problems. Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas or info. Thanks in advance.
-
dodfireman13 - Posts: 10
- Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2009 4:14 am
Re: Raising Bees in TX
by phil_in_cs » Fri Mar 30, 2012 5:50 pm
Contact the TX Ag department. They have the areas with the killer bees marked well, as you can't ship hives past those limits. They have traps out too on the border counties to make sure they don't spread further (gets too cold for them)
Don't confuse a belligerent and aggressive attitude with the strength, training, and conditioning needed to prevail in a fight. How do you know you have the Will To Win, if you don't even have the will to train?
-
phil_in_cs - ZS Moderator
- Posts: 11165
- Joined: Fri Dec 28, 2007 4:18 pm
- Location: central tx
Re: Raising Bees in TX
by npe1pas » Mon Apr 02, 2012 3:13 pm
The ag dept can also direct you to a local bee keeper assoc. the hardest thing is to keep them fed the first year. After that, you can take only the honey you can use and leave the rest for them.
What does your surrounding area look like? Is it subdivision? Golf courses? Farm land? Subdivisions and golf courses are a desert to the bees, very few flowers or flowers for only short periods of time. You will want to plant wild flowers or bushes that will bloom through out the year to give the bees something to feed on all year long, if possible.
The other tidbit that I will throw out there is to buy the bees from someone who has a stationary bee yard. My first nuc came from a commercial keep who worked his bees in the fields of south GA. They were on the aggressive side and didn't do well (struggled to keep the hive populated). The nuc swarmed and left the following spring. I was checking on them one a week to feed them and they were there one week and gone the next.
Replaced them with a nuc from a backyard keeper and these girls are much sweeter. I pulled the entrance reducer and the bottom board out bare handed with out smoking them first. The guards checked me out but left me alone as soon as I stepped away from the hive. The colony is two years old now and thriving with this rush of blooms.
What does your surrounding area look like? Is it subdivision? Golf courses? Farm land? Subdivisions and golf courses are a desert to the bees, very few flowers or flowers for only short periods of time. You will want to plant wild flowers or bushes that will bloom through out the year to give the bees something to feed on all year long, if possible.
The other tidbit that I will throw out there is to buy the bees from someone who has a stationary bee yard. My first nuc came from a commercial keep who worked his bees in the fields of south GA. They were on the aggressive side and didn't do well (struggled to keep the hive populated). The nuc swarmed and left the following spring. I was checking on them one a week to feed them and they were there one week and gone the next.
Replaced them with a nuc from a backyard keeper and these girls are much sweeter. I pulled the entrance reducer and the bottom board out bare handed with out smoking them first. The guards checked me out but left me alone as soon as I stepped away from the hive. The colony is two years old now and thriving with this rush of blooms.
- npe1pas
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2011 9:29 am
3 posts
• Page 1 of 1
Return to Self-Sufficient Living
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: Exabot [Bot] and 2 guests