Return to the Bees and Beekeeping Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
Got a bee skep for Christmas, do I just
| | |
Posted by
brensaun z8b FL (
My Page) on
Sun, Jan 2, 05 at 14:08
| set it on the ground in the garden? Which direction does the little door face? We are on a bayou near the Gulf of Mexico. Do I need to order bees with a queen? Looks expensive. We are near vast apiaries of Wewahitchka, FL. I just want a place for the bumblebees to live. Should I put it up on a wooden frame per the graphic at the top of this page? Thanks in advance for your help. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Got a bee skep for Christmas, do I just
| | |
| First of all, the bee skep is decorative only. They're not legal anywhere in the US or Canada, where the law is bees can be kept only in a hive with movable frames. Second, bumblebees nest in the ground, not in a skep or a beehive. Enjoy it as decoration. Stick it in the garden if you must, but don't encourage bees to nest in it. If you want to keep bees, however, use a standard movable frame beehive, have it inspected, and be a responsible beekeeper. Why do I say responsible? Because a beeskep with bees living in it would breed disease and parasites and put a real burden on the neighboring apiaries. You don't want to be a major source of infestation for your county. |
RE: Got a bee skep for Christmas, do I just
| | |
| With all the mites going around, I doubt a bee colony would inhabit a skep since so many cavities are now vacant in the trees. And a skep placed near the ground would almost certainly not house anything more than a mouse. Furthermore, as pointed out above, it is illegal to have bees in a skep. However, one placed a little above the ground could house some wasps, if you are a mind to house them. I use last year's gourds that the birds are done with for wasp nests. If the bottom is taken out, and the top is hung in a tree, almost all will have a wasp nest by mid-summer. Wasps are carnivorous and eat many kinds of flies and mosquitos, so if you can get a wasp to live in there, it is a good thing. Otherwise, enjoy it as a garden ornament and put some mesh across the entrance to prevent its use as a mouse house. |
RE: Got a bee skep for Christmas, do I just
| | |
All of the above is good advise, I want to know where you or the party that gave it to you got the skept. I talk to different orgainizations on beekeeping and am having a hard time finding a real skept. Its great for show and tell, I have surched the net with no luck.
Thanks Steve |
RE: Got a bee skep for Christmas, do I just
| | |
| Hi Steve, I'm not a beekeeper, just searching for answers to a question I have - but the problem may be the way you're spelling it. A Google search on "Bee Skep" without the "t" yielded some results. |
RE: Got a bee skep for Christmas, do I just
| | |
| Also I found several on Ebay and at Amazon.com. I'm sorry to say that all the sellers are advertising this as a responsible way to encourage bees. |
RE: Got a bee skep for Christmas, do I just
| | |
| I contacted the guy selling them on ebay. he wouldn't change his claim. |
RE: Got a bee skep for Christmas, do I just
| | |
| The housedad at my son's group home grappled with a similar issue. For several years they have been building these gorgeous birdhouses using reclaimed materials. They make quite a good living for themselves. Then the housedad found out that a birdhouse with a perch is irresponsible because only predators use the perch. So now he has a different line of perchless houses for use outside, and the customers are told that the houses with the perches are for indoor decorative use. Most of their regular customers are keeping the houses indoors anyway. Would it hurt people to sell a skep with no door? I don't think so. |
RE: Got a bee skep for Christmas, do I just
| | |
- Posted by MeMo NE-Zone 4B (My Page) on
Wed, Jul 20, 05 at 0:02
| My skep has no door. I bought it at the auction of a commercial bee keeper who was retiring and going out of business. It is in my cottage garden entirely for looks. MeMo |
Post a Follow-Up
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in.
If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Bees and Beekeeping Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
