Articles

The first honey harvest is a milestone for any new beekeeper. But honey isn’t the only useful substance made by bees. Beeswax, which is used to store and cover honey in the hive, is a valuable beekeeping by-product. Even if you’re not interested in using the wax yourself, it’s worth collecting and clarifying your wax for resale, or to give to friends. After all, your bees expend so much energy making and using wax, it seems wasteful to simply throw it away.

The Ecrotek team talks you through everything you need to know on moving or transporting hives easily and safely.

​​​Honey is a high-value product, so if your bees are producing a lot, it makes sense to think about selling the excess. But it’s not quite as simple as jarring it up and taking it down to your local market. Because honey is a natural, ‘wholesome’ product, people tend to forget that it does have risks, and that food safety requirements apply. Making sure your honey is suitable for sale involves a number of different tests, to find out what test you need to be doing check out our guide on to honey testing.

What is the best brood box strategy for your hives – one box or two? Ecrotek outlines the pros and cons of each option.

Whether you want 1 or 1000 hives, beekeeping can be a hugely rewarding hobby. Beehives take time; they need to be managed carefully...

The idea of a bee swarm is pretty alarming to most people. We imagine a horde of aggressive bees crawling over us and covering us with stings – scary stuff. But in reality, swarming is natural bee behaviour, and in this state bees are usually fairly docile and harmless. As summer approaches, it’s good to know what to do about swarms without hurting the bees – or yourself.

Ecrotek’s guide to homesteading – the basics, the benefits and some easy backyard homesteading activities.

Ecrotek explains how to identify the different queen cells, and what they can tell you about your hive.

Learn how to get the most out of your synthetic varroa treatments (Bayvarol and Apitraz) with our informational treatment guide.