Periodical inspection of the beehive is essential to know bees are comfortable in the colony. For a complete examination of the hive, proper handling of the hive is very much required.

Mostly all the bees are not attacking in nature. Some African wild bees may be aggressive, not the beekeeper’s bees.

The bees are sensitive to vibration, so avoid jolting of the hive. As it may disturb the mood of bees and may attack. So always the handle bees calmly.

Steps on How to Handle Bees?

Being Positive

Always be confident in handling with honey bees. Don’t be afraid of being getting a bee sting. Proper handling with positive feeling will remove the fear of honey bees. Once you gain experience in handling the honey bees, the chances of the bite are very less.

A right mindset with proper handling will always provide a positive effect. So prepare yourself positive before examination of the beehive.

Protective Cloths

For the experienced beekeeper, protective clothing is not must. Because they have excellent knowledge and skill to handle bees.

But for new beekeepers, perfect protective clothing with veil is very much essential for safety and an important step in getting started with beekeeping. Check your clothes for holes, as there is a chance of bees getting inside.

Before handling the beehive be calm and confident. Some people are scared at first and will be fine after a few experiences of opening the hive.

Opening the Hive

Always stand back of the hive, if you stand directly in front, the bees flying outside from hive will sting readily.

It may trigger other guarding bees and will start attacking all at once. So stand back of the hive because the bees flying outside will ignore you.

Always handle the hive smoothly, because shaking of the colony will disturb the bees. Also, these are the fundamental ideas in learning beekeeping.

Smoking

On opening the cover of the colony, listen to the bees. Look whether the bees are calm or aggressive. Gently open the top and puff a little smoke in it.

Now, most of the bees will come outside of the hive. You can inspect the colonies without any troubles. Using the brusher, you can quickly remove the bees in the frames.

Don’t puff too much of smoke in the hive, as the bees can’t breathe of heavy smoke.

If you hear too much buzz sound while opening the hive, wait some time for the bees to calm down. Few beekeepers avoid using smokers, as they are well experienced.

Handling the Frame

Once you opened the beehive top completely, now you take the frames smoothly without disturbing the honey bees.

Always use your finger for taking the frames evenly, so that bees will not feel any disturbance. There are many chances to get stung if you don’t handle the frames correctly.

Don’t drop the frame on the sting, as this will alert other surrounding bees.

Now you have learned how to handle bees specifically. Being calm and positive mindset is very much necessary for handling bees.