Getting Started
So you’re ready to take the plunge and get a hive or two of your very own…way to go! Keeping bees is a fascinating craft. Whether it’s a few hives in your backyard or a few thousand hives traveling cross-country on pollination contracts, honey bees are guaranteed to constantly amaze and surprise you. But keeping bees successfully is far more challenging than most new beekeepers imagine, and failing to prepare adequately for the adventure can negatively impact not only you and your bees, but also neighboring honey bee colonies as well. To maximize your chances of success, we’ve put together a checklist of essential “do’s” you’ll want to consider.
Take a beginner course in beekeeping. New Jersey law requires every prospective beekeeper to take an approved short course in beekeeping before they can legally get and manage bees. There are good reasons for this. Several deadly pests and diseases don’t necessarily stay in one place; they readily migrate to other nearby hives. A good class will, among other things, teach you to recognize and treat such threats before they can spread. Many NJBA chapters offer approved short, beginner courses – taught by highly experienced veteran beekeepers – which fulfill this mandatory requirement and will give you a great introduction to our craft.
Join the NJBA and go to meetings at your local branch. There are so many benefits to being an NJBA member. Here’s just a few:
Monthly branch meetings with great speakers talking about a wide range of beekeeping topics, from mead-making to bear fence construction to queen rearing.
Quarterly state meetings where you can participate in events like the summer picnic-auction, where you can pick up great equipment at bargain prices, or the winter meeting where we auction off winning entries from the annual Honey Show. State meetings boast nationally recognized speakers as well as great food and company.
Mentoring programs. Many chapters offer mentoring of new beekeepers by experienced members. Shadowing someone who’s kept bees for five years (or twenty-five years) can really help boost the confidence of a newcomer.
Beekeeping news. Keeping in touch with what’s going on in NJ beekeeping is easy with the quarterly NJBA state newsletter and monthly chapter newsletters. We’ll let you know about regional conferences, new regulations, seminars and workshops, record-breaking honey flows, and pretty much anything having to do with keeping bees in the Garden State.
Friendships to last a lifetime. It takes a special kind of person to keep bees and beekeepers have a lot in common. Those of us who have stuck with the craft over the course of years have made some great friends through our NJBA membership. We’re pretty sure you will, too!
Familiarize yourself with NJ beekeeping regulations. Beekeeping in NJ is regulated at the state level, by the NJ Department of Agriculture. There are important laws, passed in 2018, that govern how many hives can be kept on a property of a given size, registration of your apiary, access to inspection by the State Apiarist, and other items. You’ll want to make sure you know what the laws are so you can abide by them.
Buy your basic equipment and bees. There are many options and choices you must make (8-frame, 10-frame, deeps, mediums, nucs, packages), which is why we want you to take a class first. The beginner beekeeping course will explain some of these choices and help you make smart decisions that fit your individual situation. Beekeeping is not cheap, although beekeepers are well-known for their frugality. Not only will you need to budget for woodenware for two hives (recommended) and two colonies of bees to get started, you will also need a veil, hive tool, and smoker. In the northern part of the state an electric bear fence is essential, and it’s becoming increasingly important further south, as well. You’ll need medications for your bees, feed and feeders, and equipment to extract your honey. All of this costs money, so if you’re on a shoestring budget, now may not be the best time to start your beekeeping adventure.
Set up your apiary, put together your hives, and install your bees. The moment you’ve been waiting for has finally arrived!
Register your apiary with the Department of Agriculture. This is required by law.
Keep learning! Buying a few good books (e.g. Beekeeping for Dummies and Dewey Caron’s Basic Beekeeping) can help make you a better beekeeper. Further your education by attending NJBA branch and state meetings, and by taking intermediate or more advanced beekeeping classes. Joining regional beekeeping organizations like the Eastern Apicultural Society (EAS) and the American Beekeeping Federation (ABF) and planning to attend their annual conferences is another great way to learn. There are many excellent online presentations, but, unfortunately, there’s also a lot of misinformation on the internet. It’s a good idea to check the source with a trusted, experienced, beekeeper before diving in.