“Are you ready to embark on a beekeeping journey? In this video, join Master Beekeeper Eliese Watson as she shares seven essential tips for a successful bee package installation. Let’s dive right in!
Here are some tips to organize your strategy in seven steps.

STEP 1: Do have all your hive equipment ready?  
This includes your bottom board, single box, nine or ten frames, inner cover, lid, and entrance reducer.

STEP 2: Is your beehive on a hive stand?  All beehives should be elevated at least six centimeters off of the ground to decrease the rate of rot on your bottom board,   but also to allow for your hive to remain level on settling earth and away from flooding in heavy rains.

STEP 3: Is your hive stand level? A level hive stand ensures that water will not pool or pour into your beehive as it rains. 

STEP 4: How are you going to feed your honey bees? Is it on hand and ready? Are you going to liquid-feed? If so what feeding strategy are you going to use? Are you going to be offering a pollen supplement? If so, have all these things prepared before installing your colony. 

STEP 5: Do you have all the tools that you’re going to use for installation? You will require a hive tool, a spray bottle with one-to-one sugar syrup Safety equipment like your bee suit, and gloves if you want them. Do you have the tools to safely remove the Apistan strip commonly found in the package and dispose of it? You should not use your bare hands or touch the pesticide strip.

STEP 6: Do not light your smoker. A smoker is used to disrupt the pheromone communication between the bees in the colony. Your goal is to offer as little disruption as possible to decrease stress in your bees and encourage quick orientation to their colony. installation can make their way back home.

STEP 7: Are you planning on doing a direct release of the queen or a slow release of the queen? This is the queen in here. And this here is the candy, the fondant that they give her to eat. You can remove the plastic barrier between the bees and the candy allowing for the bees to chew through the candy and release the queen in a couple of days.  This is called the slow release of the queen. You can also directly release the queen into the colony once the package is installed.”