Responsible beekeeping advice

What's involved in keeping bees

Start-up costs

Start-up costs can be expensive - the cost of a basic hive with frames and tools can be £600 or more. Most beekeepers start with two hives and there will be additional costs for:

• vehicles
• extraction equipment
• sheds & storage
• bee suits
• jars and feed
• bottling equipment and labels
• medication

Time required

You will need to do weekly inspections during the season (April to September) but beekeeping can be time consuming all year round -dealing with swarming, feeding, disease, pests, honey, and repairs. The effort required to maintain healthy bees is not to be underestimated. The more hives you have the more time you will need. 

Biosecurity

Keeping your apiary clean and free from disease can be achieved by having good biosecurity processes in place. Cleaning hive tools between hives and not leaving wax or feed discarded in the apiary are basic tasks. 

Links to helpful "Apiary hygiene" and "Disinfecting a hive after disease" documents which include useful information about biosecurity and how to clean second-hand equipment can be found in our Education page.

Swarming

Responsible beekeepers prevent or control swarming as if you do not, your bees can become a public nuisance, you can lose bees, and you can spread disease. 

You can find additional guidance on preventing and controlling swarming in our dedicated swarming education pages.

Responsible sourcing

Beekeepers can learn how to raise their own queens to expand their apiaries, to avoid the need for buying in.

If you do decide to purchase bees, it's important to find a reputable seller when sourcing them. Local associations are a good place to source bees for beginners. 

Further advice on responsible sourcing can be found in the "Starting Right" document in our education page.

Reporting notifiable diseases and pests

In Scotland, all beekeepers must legally notify the Scottish Government Honey Bee Health Team via the bees mailbox (Bees_mailbox@gov.scot) if they suspect notifiable diseases like European Foulbrood (EFB) or American Foulbrood (AFB). Notifiable pests such as Small Hive Beetle and Tropilaelaps should also be reported.

When reporting, please include a description of what has been happening in your hive with any relevant photos or videos.

More information about these diseases and pests can be found on our dedicated diseases, pests, and education pages.

Varroa medications

You should keep medicine records for five years and only use VMD (Veterinary Medicines Directorate) approved varroa medicines. 

See our module on varroa on our dedicated varroa and education pages. 

Responsible siting

You should consider public safety and if the bees could become a nuisance where they are as well as considering the suitability of the site for the bees and your access.

Other pollinators

You should consider other pollinators. The best thing we can do for all pollinators is to plant plenty of forage. As a responsible beekeeper, you should not put managed bees in areas where forage is lacking. 

Consideration should also be given to the native bee populations and rarer bumblebees and solitary bees.