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General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
 #90  by johnnie1uk
 23 Jul 2018, 20:45
I got my first colony around 5 weeks ago, before I got them I read everything I could, watched a million youtube videos etc, Through putting all this information together I feel satisfied I have got it worked out pretty well, the bees are calm and appear to be doing a great job, and I feel I have a good idea what i'm doing, but I find I have read and heard so much about bee diseases, viruses and pests that everytime I do an inspection I fear the worse, and the slightest thing, I am checking on the internet to see if my colony have a problem. Is this normal for a "newbee"?
 #92  by DianeBees
 23 Jul 2018, 22:14
Don't stress to much. Read up about varroa treatments and integrated pest management. There's a really good booklet available from the NBU. Your local association might have one available for you to have.

It is quite common to become addicted to beekeeping and spend all your waking hours talking about it and reading up on various aspects.

If you're ever in doubt about disease - especially discoloured brood or off smell - you can always ring your local bee inspector. You'll find their number here
http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/public/C ... ntacts.cfm

The bee inspectors are really lovely people, with great skills and knowledge.
 #104  by Patrick
 24 Jul 2018, 17:36
Diane is spot on. Remember beekeeping is supposed to be fun. Bees are more robust than they are often given credit for and whilst things will certainly crop up, do not always assume the worst. Some ailments and pests are actually pretty unusual (thankfully). I do sometimes wonder if there is so much information available that it actually causes some folk to switch off. We made a deliberate decision in our division to ration pest and disease talks as it was becoming rather depressing!

A great modern aid is the phone on your camera, just take a photo of the issue and message another beekeeper and it is often possible to work out what might be going on - it’s quite fun too!
 #105  by DianeBees
 24 Jul 2018, 19:18
Patrick wrote:
24 Jul 2018, 17:36
We made a deliberate decision in our division to ration pest and disease talks as it was becoming rather depressing!
One association I heard about only concentrates on what brood should look like for the first year!
 #107  by Patrick
 24 Jul 2018, 20:16
What a sensible idea. Makes sense to concentrate on the vast majority of stuff that is fine, so when there is something different it stands out.

Use the same principle spotting queens come to think of it.
 #108  by johnnie1uk
 24 Jul 2018, 20:54
O. K. thanks, I will take your advice on board, I do enjoy working with the bees and its firmly my opinion that if I am relaxed and calm with them they will behave likewise.