In this video, I show you my first step toward natural beekeeping with a swarm trap unboxing.
What's a Swarm Trap?
I have been wanting to add bees to the farm for a while, but it just seemed like a lot of work and a lot of expensive equipment. Last year, I went to a homesteading conference hosted by Off Grid with Doug and Stacy where I met Dr. Leo Sharashkin. He has a different method for keeping bees that is more natural and seems a lot easier. The first step is collecting bees from the wild to give them a new home. I bought Dr. Leo's swarm trap kit, so I have all the materials needed to collect my own swarm.
Why Natural Beekeeping?
Did you know that a lot of the honey that you buy in the store is made by bees that are fed sugar water? And, did you know that even if you think you are buying local honey, that local company could have bought honey from someone out of state and packaged it in their packaging? If you have a local, trusted source for honey, then you are lucky. If you're like me, I usually end up buying honey at the grocery store. And I really don't know how to choose the best product.
Because of all these unknowns, I want to try to keep bees and harvest honey. In this way, I will know that the bees are local to the area. I will also know that they have not been given any chemical treatments and have not been fed sugar water to produce more honey.
Resources to Learn More about Natural Beekeeping and the Swarm Trap
To learn more about Doug and Stacy's Homesteading Life Conference, take a look here.
To learn more about Dr. Leo and his beekeeping methods, or to order your own swarm trap, take a look here.
Shop this Post
Books
Keeping Bees with a Smile by Fedor Lazutin
Keeping Bees in Horizontal Hives: A Complete Guide to Apiculture by George de Layens
Swarm Trap Starter Kit I went with the Layens Swarm Trap Starter Kit which included everything to get started, but there are other options as well. Dr. Leo also has free plans to build your own as well!
Pin it for Later
