Starting Beekeeping: How Much Time Does Two Hives Need?

Possibly the most regular question I’m asked by would-be beekeepers is “how much time does it require?”

Many times people talk of wanting to keep bees during their retirement as they are concerned that the bees will need constant time and attention. In this post I hope to provide some insight into what to expect and will tell some stories from my own experiences along the way.

I bought my first hives in my thirties, whilst working a fulltime job with an hour commute each way. I didn’t have a lot of time and my hives were located a couple of miles down the road in a beautiful secluded area the local farmer wasn’t using.

From May to July the hive inspections ideally take place every week, the primary reason for this is to keep on top of any swarming behaviour and to ensure they have enough space.

Initially I carved out a couple of hours every Saturday morning where I would pack up my car with spare equipment, my beekeeping suit and inspection kit, drive to the hives, inspect, observe, immerse myself in the bees and then return home where I would empty the car and get on with my day.

Then the weather (rain of course!) would start to impact my Saturday visits so I started to go on my way home from work and on the odd occasion I’d pop by on my way into the office. Each hive would take about half an hour to inspect thoroughly so two hours was generally fine.

In my second year; when I had the crazy idea to jump from 2 to 25 hives, it took rather more of my time. The hives were split across three apiaries - one apiary at home and two others a few miles from each other. At this point I had to be more organised with my time but again would check on the way home from work and on weekends.

This frenetic activity took place from May to the end of July, in August things started to slow a little and by September the time requirement had significantly diminished. During October to March there is very little to be done at the hive, inspections are minimal and quick, and perhaps once a month; if that. This is because we want to disrupt them as little as possible when it isn’t warm and dry.

So for two hives you should expect to need up to two hours each week from May to August and then a few hours a month at most for the rest of the year.

When not inspecting your hives there are a few jobs to be done around the apiary or in your workshop/ garage.

In the summertime keeping the apiary tidy is one to add to the gardening list - it’s amazing how quickly nettles can go from nothing to 4ft tall and blocking entrances, so a quick strim and mow around the hives (if you have grass of course) is needed probably ever other week during the summer.  There may be a day you put aside to remove any excess honey during the summer too.   Ideally your equipment making and cleaning happens during off-season when you’re not required to do something hive-side. This could be cleaning old equipment ready for swarms or as replacements, building extra brood or super frames and boxes, reading and researching for the following season etc. Inspections are few and far between during the cooler months with more hefting and feeding if required than fully opening hives to view the bees.

As with everything in life, we all vary with how much time things take; factors such as age, health, work hours, location of your hives, trying to get some space from the family for a while 😉, time slowing down when you’re with the bees, etc, all have an affect on how long you spend with your hives and in the end the decision is yours as to whether you think you can commit to becoming their guardian.

It’s worth remembering that honey bees have been around for millions of years, so if life runs away with you or your plans are interrupted; your bees will likely be ok for a little while without your constant pestering of them!

I hope this has helped provide a little more insight in how much time you need to allocate to keeping bees. Beekeeping is certainly less time consuming than having many other pets or livestock, they don’t require checking on a daily basis and you don’t have to feed them every day (in fact you may not have to feed them at all). Be warned though, they may not take up your physical time but they could start taking up your time mentally as you fall in love with the fascinating creatures!