Host a Hive!
We will not be accepting host-a-hive applications for the 2024-2025 seasons due to the Chief Bee being deployed with the Missouri National Guard. Please check back Fall 2025. Thank you for understanding!
Live in the St. Louis metropolitan area? Interested in having backyard beehives, but don’t want to become a beekeeper yourself? Apply to be one of our beehive hosts! Our ‘Host a Hive’ program offers backyard beehive installations and maintenance for people who would like to pollinate their gardens, gain access to honey and beeswax from their own backyards, help to save the bees and learn more about bees! All installations, maintenance and harvests will be done by Bee Found. Suitable participants can support the bees and experience what it’s like to have a backyard hive without any of the hassle or time investment for an annual fee. You will also gain access to all the products bees have to offer, as they're available, all made in their own backyard. Beekeeping takes a lot of knowledge, time and money. We want to make its benefits accessible to the community on every level. The annual fee is determined by your location. It helps to offset the cost of gas and the time spent maintaining the hive. The honey and wax sales are how we sustain the project.
We Take Care Of It
You benefit from it!
Generally, a one-year commitment is $650 for the season (only during bee season). This covers the cost of the bees, the equipment and the time it takes to manage the bees on a regular basis. The price for each hive includes a full hive setup with bees, care and maintenance of bees and hives, all beekeeping services for the bees, a 2 lb honey share per hive and 1/2 lb of beeswax.
We ask that the landowner agrees to keep their property a bee safe zone by not applying or allowing pesticides on their property (including insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, defoliants, desiccants etc. and those that may be applied by a tree care, lawn care, gardening company, etc) except those products approved in writing ahead of time by Bee Found as being bee safe products and/or applied in a bee safe manner as instructed by the beekeeper.
By hosting a hive you do not gain ownership of the equipment or the bees inside. But if you find yourself really enjoying having bees on your property, then an offer can be made to purchase them.
If you are on the fence about starting your own hive vs. participating in our hosting program, we would be happy to come to talk to you about the benefits of having bees on your property. This will give you an idea of what is involved in becoming a beekeeper and you will be better equipped to decide what is the best option for you. We also do consulting and for new and intermediate beekeepers who need one-on-one help with their hives. No matter what state of Bee Found you're in, we are here to support you on your beekeeping journey!
Anytime honeybees are present, there is a risk of getting stung! Applicants must be willing to accept that risk.
If the physical hive itself is stolen or damaged while on your property, an additional fee will be assessed for repair or replacement.
We are currently accepting applicants for St. Louis City and St. Louis County areas.
Worried about safety or spacial issues in your yard? Don’t worry, we specialize in managing beehives in urban and suburban areas. Check out our FAQ section.
Qualifying applicants will be placed into a lottery system and selected at random to be a hive sponsor. Those selected will be notified in a short amount of time.
Winter is unpredictable! Our ability to place hives is directly affected by how many of our colonies survive. Though unlikely, there is always a chance we may have fewer hives survive than sponsorship slots advertised. In this case, fewer applicants will be selected as hive sponsors.
To get updates of when we'll be accepting new applicants for our Host a Hive program, please sign up here. If you have a friend who you would like to purchase on their behalf, let us know!
If you would like your home to be considered for hive placement, please answer the following questions: