Successful Apiary Management

Successful apiary management needs a beekeeper to devote some time in managing his/her Apiary. We recommend the following practices:

• Fence the apiary well with barbed wire or a live hedge to keep off animals and people.
• The hedge should be more than 2 meters high so that bees can fly high when leaving or returning to the apiary.  This height reduces exposure and risk of being stung.
• Clean the apiary and by cutting overgrown and undesirable vegetation around the hives to prevent pests from accessing the hives.
• Hung the hives properly frequently grease the hanging wires to keep off crawling pests.
• Plant more bee plants in and around the apiary to ensure that the bees have enough forage.
• Dilapidated posts should be repaired or replaced.
• Provide a bee house to enhance security of the hives and provide shade especially in hot areas.
• Successful apiary management requires control pests and predators.

Construct the bee house using locally available materials, such as:

• Grass thatching for roofing.
• Rafters and mud for walls.
• Any available timber for hive stands

The above guidelines will drastically reduce the stress of successfully managing an apiary.

References
1. The Backyard Beekeeper
2. The Practical Beekeeper
3. Technical Beekeeping Handbook 2013

By Isaac Adala.