Frequently asked questions
ABOUT THE BEES
I HEARD BEE POPULATIONS ARE DWINDLING, WHAT IF THE HIVE I HOST DIES?
To be honest, there's a really good chance (but not certain) that at least one of your hives is going to die within the first three years. It doesn't matter if you treat your hives, don't treat your hives or use "organic" methods, you'll lose anywhere from 15-50% of your hives (though treatment-free seems to lose less). We recognize that and are so confident that treatment-free works, we'll to give you a guarantee. Bee Found does something that no other bee company would even think to do. We'll replace your bess should they die out. If you are part of our rental or host a hive program, and if the bees happen to die, we will replace them at no cost (dependent on availability of nucs and splits). If you're in our host a hive program, you'll still get guaranteed honey to tie you over until we can get a new colony in there.
SO I HEARD ABOUT THE DRASTIC DECLINE OF THE BEES AND COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER (CCD). CAN YOU EXPLAIN?
The media says that no one knows what is causing our bee populations to decline but Bee Found strongly believes that it is due to a compromised immune system caused by a class of pesticides known as Neonicotinoid pesticides. Neonicotinoid pesticides differ from your normal pesticides because they are bred into plants’ genetics. It is a systematic approach that results in a systematic poisoning of the life cycle. The pesticides are in a plant’s vascular system, which means they are in the leaves, roots, pollen, and nectar. It’s killing pollinators, earthworms and probably isn't too great for you either! Neonicotinoids seems to have disappeared from the spotlite, despite research that shows that this type of pesticide weakens the bees’ immune systems in even undetectable amounts. Check out this video of a study conducted in France that shows the effects on honeybees after collecting pollen from genetically modified sunflower and maize. Of course there are other factors that are leading to the bees’ decline. We also believe climate change and loss of habitat are big factors but in our opinion these pesticides are the driving force. We encourage everyone to read up and speak up about what is happening to the bees because of these deadly poisons.
WHAT CAN I DO TO MAKE MY YARD MORE BEE FRIENDLY?
Even if you decided that hosting or keeping bees isn't right for you, you can still attract bees to your garden in a variety of ways. We recommend you plant a variety of natives that bloom at different times of year. The Honey Bee Conservatory has some excellent tips for how to create a bee-friendly garden. Apart from plants, bees need water. If you have a fountain or a vessel that can serve to feed the bees, put that out with rocks or pebbles at varying heights so that no matter the level of water, bees will be able to safely land and take a sip. If you have a flower and/or vegetable garden, bees will be more likely to keep coming back because of your water source.
I 'D LIKE TO HAVE BEE-FRIENDLY PLANTS BUT I AM WORRIED THAT THERE WILL THEN BE TOO MANY BEES AND I DON'T WANT TO BE STUNG. WHAT DO I DO?
Don't worry. When bees sting they are doing it in self defense or defense of their colony, and then they end up dying. Bees don't want to give up their life if they don't have to and just want collect honey and pollen when they're out foraging. Drawing bees to your garden will bring more fruit, flowers and healthy plants.
HIVE HOSTING
IS IT SAFE TO HOST A HIVE IF I HAVE PETS OR CHILDREN?
HOW MUCH SPACE IS NEEDED TO HOST A HIVE?
WILL HOSTING A HIVE INCREASE THE YIELD FROM MY FRUIT TREES AND/OR GARDEN?
WHAT IF AFTER HOSTING A HIVE I WANT TO START BEEKEEPING MYSELF?
CAN I BUY THE HIVE I HOSTED AND TAKE OVER MANAGEMENT OF IT?
AS A ‘HOST A HIVE’ PARTICIPANT, WILL MY FAMILY AND I HAVE THE CHANCE TO LEARN ABOUT HONEYBEES FROM YOU?
ALL ABOUT HONEY
WHY IS RAW, UNHEATED HONEY SO MUCH BETTER?
WHAT IS “COMB HONEY”?
HOW MANY TIMES A YEAR DO YOU HARVEST HONEY?
WHY TREATMENT FREE?
Bee Found is committed to educating beekeepers in how to manage treatment-free bees which eliminates dependence on chemicals, pesticides, antibiotics, and eventually fed sugar, found in almost all honey supplies today. We aim to to produce clean, raw, unheated, local honey and we think new beekeepers should too. Even most local beekeepers use in-hive treatments and chemicals. When buying "local" honey at your farmer's market, asked them what they use to treat their pests and diseases. If there's something you can't identify, don't buy their honey.
We don't want chemicals in our honey or wax, and there's an ever-growing movement that wants less (or no) chemicals in their food and products they consume. Bee Found caters to that and more. We are also committed to eliminating dependence on the consuming time and energy intensive manipulations that have come to be a part of today's beekeeping which many traditional beekeepers have indoctrinated into their beekeeping philosophy. Together, we can Bee Found.