Up-the-Creek
Lovin' The Homestead
Bee about the bees,...
My Dad has three hives, that's all nothing fancy and just for the family use. He bought three hives that was "supposedly" established from someone else and moved them to our place. One of the three hives dissappeared. They werent a real strong hive so we imagine they swarmed and more than likely died off. Two did fine, but he had to continually feed them due to basically, afterwards he found out he was "dupped". The man he bought these hives from had split them before he went to pick them up,(split the hives)..so in turn they were weak and Dad had many issues getting them established. Then his third hive he bought package bees,...these are doing well,..but they also had to be fed until they were established enough to take care of themselves. Also they had to be quarentined once and gave meds,(all 3 hives) in turn means do not eat the honey, due to them "maybe" having a disease of some sort and plus having to give them meds. We have a county inspector that comes and checks the bees if you register them,(which this is a good idea due to they will help you restablish your colonies if you loose them to CCD,which I believe there has been no reported cases of in WV,.. and they help you understand how to keep your colonies disease free)..this is how we found out they maybe diseased. Thankfully the inspector returned later and found they were not diseased and all was well . They are three healthy hives at this point. My brother also has had the exact same issues with his bees and he lives up north in Roane Co. The only unnatural thing at this point that my brother and father has done with these bees was feed them sugar water,..but they had to or the bees would have starved. We do not use any chemical sprays around the farm and they usually pollinate on the wildflowers and the trees, like blooms from the locust. Oh and of course our gardens and my mothers vast aray of flowers in her yard. They also live out here on my pond in the summer collecting water. They are beautiful to watch and yes the honey is WONDERFUL,..but,...they can be hard to deal with if you aren't careful. Also they can be very costly too. I can't even imagine how much $ my Dad has spent on bags of sugar making them food and just the cost of the bees and equipment. Your best bet is to contact you local county extension office,...they can put you in contact with someone close by that knows bees and how they do in your area. They will also have info on any and all local bee clubs,..which is an excellent learning oppurtunity because there is usually so many experienced beekeepers in the crowd. My brother belongs to the local club in Roane county and they have meetings all the time and he has learned so much. Plus they are having a big bee expo in Parkersburg, I believe, at the end of this month. My point being,..do your research and do A LOT of it. Talking to local people can sometimes get you further than a book,...there is SO MANY folks out there that does this,..and more natural than you may think. Just saying from a friend to a friend,... Good luck!
My Dad has three hives, that's all nothing fancy and just for the family use. He bought three hives that was "supposedly" established from someone else and moved them to our place. One of the three hives dissappeared. They werent a real strong hive so we imagine they swarmed and more than likely died off. Two did fine, but he had to continually feed them due to basically, afterwards he found out he was "dupped". The man he bought these hives from had split them before he went to pick them up,(split the hives)..so in turn they were weak and Dad had many issues getting them established. Then his third hive he bought package bees,...these are doing well,..but they also had to be fed until they were established enough to take care of themselves. Also they had to be quarentined once and gave meds,(all 3 hives) in turn means do not eat the honey, due to them "maybe" having a disease of some sort and plus having to give them meds. We have a county inspector that comes and checks the bees if you register them,(which this is a good idea due to they will help you restablish your colonies if you loose them to CCD,which I believe there has been no reported cases of in WV,.. and they help you understand how to keep your colonies disease free)..this is how we found out they maybe diseased. Thankfully the inspector returned later and found they were not diseased and all was well . They are three healthy hives at this point. My brother also has had the exact same issues with his bees and he lives up north in Roane Co. The only unnatural thing at this point that my brother and father has done with these bees was feed them sugar water,..but they had to or the bees would have starved. We do not use any chemical sprays around the farm and they usually pollinate on the wildflowers and the trees, like blooms from the locust. Oh and of course our gardens and my mothers vast aray of flowers in her yard. They also live out here on my pond in the summer collecting water. They are beautiful to watch and yes the honey is WONDERFUL,..but,...they can be hard to deal with if you aren't careful. Also they can be very costly too. I can't even imagine how much $ my Dad has spent on bags of sugar making them food and just the cost of the bees and equipment. Your best bet is to contact you local county extension office,...they can put you in contact with someone close by that knows bees and how they do in your area. They will also have info on any and all local bee clubs,..which is an excellent learning oppurtunity because there is usually so many experienced beekeepers in the crowd. My brother belongs to the local club in Roane county and they have meetings all the time and he has learned so much. Plus they are having a big bee expo in Parkersburg, I believe, at the end of this month. My point being,..do your research and do A LOT of it. Talking to local people can sometimes get you further than a book,...there is SO MANY folks out there that does this,..and more natural than you may think. Just saying from a friend to a friend,...
Good luck!
But...if there were, I would try this. I've also heard that, if you place a dead cat under a peach tree, it will bear much fruit....... 
