May I have your attention, please? The following
is not the real Jeff Fox review. If you have
ever uttered the words, I can't wait for the
first sting of the year. You might be a beekeeper
or a masochist. If you flunked high school algebra,
but you can do bee math in your sleep. You might
be a beekeeper. If you have sting -proof gloves,
but for some reason you never were, you might
be a beekeeper. Welcome, welcome to Be Love Beekeeping
presented by our great friends over at Man Lake.
Now that we also have a video version of this
podcast, we will regularly have a new product
corner where we show and demonstrate great new
beekeeping products, gadgets, inventions, maybe
even techniques sometimes. So if you have something
that you would like to see featured, shoot me
an email eric at beelovebeekeeping .com Today
we're headed to Florida to speak with beekeeper
Joshua Diggins. Among other things he will explain
how bee hives and submarines have a lot of similarities.
Bet you never thought of that one before. But
first a brief look into the mental health aspects
of working with honeybees. To me it's always
been a calming time of my day. When I'm in a
hive I'm completely present. There's no work
stress, no politics or world conflict, just peace
in a place that could otherwise be seen as frenetic
energy. I'm going to quote from a few studies
here and they have shown some of the following
benefits of beekeeping. First, stress reduction.
The rhythmic hum of bees and the focused activity
of beekeeping can induce a state of mindfulness
helping individuals disconnect from daily stressors
and promote relaxation, increase self -esteem.
Successfully managing a hive, harvesting honey
and contributing to the well -being of the colony
can boost self -confidence and a sense of accomplishment.
Enhanced connection to nature. Beekeeping provides
a direct link to the natural world, fostering
an appreciation for the environment and a sense
of interconnectedness with ecosystems. Social
connection. Beekeeping can be a social activity,
bringing people together through clubs, workshops,
and shared experiences. Therapeutic application.
Studies have shown beekeeping to be beneficial
in treating conditions like PTSD and improving
the quality of life for individuals with mental
illness. Now here's some examples of how these
things are put into practice. Veterans mental
health. Beekeeping programs have been implemented
to help veterans with PTSD and anxiety transition
to civilian life, providing a sense of purpose
and community. Prison rehabilitation. Beekeeping
has been used as a therapeutic intervention in
prisons, reducing recidivism and promoting positive
behavioral changes. Youth programs. So there
have been many initiatives that utilize beekeeping
to provide therapeutic support and community
building for young people, particularly those
from challenging backgrounds. Green prescribing.
healthcare providers are increasingly prescribing
time in nature, including beekeeping, to improve
mental well -being and potentially reduce the
need for traditional healthcare services. So
in conclusion, beekeeping offers a unique and
multifaceted approach to mental health, providing
opportunities for stress reduction, self -improvement
and social connection with growing evidence supporting
its therapeutic potential. Other beneficial effects
on mental health include reductions in feelings
of anxiety and depression, as well as increases
in positive feelings regarding overall health.
Bees are a perfect example of what a community
should look like, one researcher said. A bunch
of people getting together to make something
better and bigger than themselves that other
people can keep building on. These benefits stem
from the calming nature of working with bees,
the opportunities for mindfulness, and the social
connections fostered through beekeeping activities.
So if you haven't tried beekeeping yet, I would
recommend give it a shot. If you're a seasoned
beekeeper, you probably already enjoy these mental
and physical health benefits. But if you've lost
some of that connectedness, some of that passion
for time with the bees, I would encourage you
to look for it again. Slow down, enjoy the moment,
the sounds, the aromas, the overall feeling of
peace and connection. It's what the love of bees
is all about. Alright, enough of my metaphysical,
philosophical soapbox. Let's meet today's guest.
Hey I'd like to welcome to the show today Joshua
Diggins coming to us from Florida. How are you
Josh? I'm doing great Eric thanks for asking.
Hey I appreciate you being on the show and you're
one of those wonderful people that works for
Man Lake. I want to hear all about your beekeeping.
I want to hear about Florida. First I want you
to tell me what do you do for Man Lake? So for
Man Lake, I am currently the branch manager and
commercial sales at the Florida location. So
everything in our Florida location, from our
shipping and receiving to our sales and our commercial
customers, all falls on me. Sounds like a big
job. Yeah, it definitely is important. You know,
people need their products anywhere from hobbyists
to commercial guys. So never a dull day for sure.
For those of us who haven't been there, what
part of Florida are you in? So the Man Lake location
is located in Winter Haven, Florida. If you're
not familiar with Florida at all, that's going
to fall right in between Orlando and Tampa. And
if you are familiar with theme parks or have
small kids, then Lego Land is about 10 or 15
minutes away from our building. All right. How
long have you been keeping bees yourself? So
I started keeping bees in late 2022. Going on
four years now. Oh, okay. So you're sort of a
newbie, but you've got experience enough that
you can help people that come out to the store.
Do you have hives at the store too? We do, yep.
So not only do we have a fully functioning nuke
yard for our customers that come in and purchase
bees from us, we also have a training yard that
we use for new employees to learn bees and then
also for our YouTube videos to be able to train
the YouTube audience. And you're on those. You're
the big star. Hey the thing I wanted to talk
about first that I thought was so interesting
when we were talking about before was now you
were in the Navy on a submarine right? Correct,
yeah. Okay you were making a comparison to how
a submarine works and how a beehive works. Now
most people would say what they have nothing
to do with each other. Go ahead and explain that.
I thought this was interesting. So really, it's
really kind about the industry and then just
beekeeping as a whole. On a submarine, less than
1 % of active duty military members are on a
submarine. So it's a very small niche segment
of the military and they call us the silent service
one because that's our job. We go down, we stay
quiet and you only see us when we need us. So
a lot of people think about submarines or maybe
not even think about submarines and they don't
really get the whole picture the whole concept
and I relate that a lot to beekeeping whereas
we call beekeepers the forgotten farmers because
you know people see the honey they buy the honey
but not too many people actually sit down to
think about where does that money actually come
from? So it's a very small niche part of the
agricultural business. So much so that, you know,
oftentimes beekeepers are forgotten about. And
I relate that a lot to submarines as, you know,
we were that 1 % silent service that people didn't
really think about or didn't really know about
too often. So that definitely has helped me and
kind of put it all together and relate a little
bit of beekeeping to my prior service. What about
the community aspect of it? Because we think
of a bee hive or a bee colony sort of as one
mass but we know there's thousands and thousands
of bees all making it happen and we think of
a submarine as one submarine but there's a bunch
of guys in there making that happen too. Can
you explain is there some kind of a correlation
there as well? Yeah, so as far as like the community
aspect goes on it, you have those 200, 300 guys
on a submarine all working together to complete
that mission or even just to operate the submarine
successfully. So that way everyone can kind of
get back alive, if you will. And then the bees
are the same way. A submarine was an all -male
force and beekeeping is kind of an all -female
force with all those female bees in there. But
all of them working together to accomplish that
one goal, whether it be a pollination contract
or even just a honey yield for the season. So
all right, let's talk beekeeping in Florida.
What kinds of challenges do you have there compared
to other places in the world? So I would say
number one, small high beetles, especially during
the rainy season, which is right now June into
probably August timeframe is kind of our hurricane
season. But before the hurricanes come, we get
tons of rain, which just amplifies that small
beetle, that small high beetle population. So
it's definitely a constant struggle to maintain
that equilibrium between the small high beetles
and the actual colony itself, because there's
no real eradicating them all. together. It's
definitely something you just monitor and just
try to keep it kind of at acceptable levels so
that way they're not in there taking over the
hive. So I would say number one first and foremost
would definitely be that small hive beetle situation.
What are some of the things that you have found
work best? So far, the things that I've seen
work best is constant monitoring. That would
be the number one. You can put the beetle traps
in there. You can put your Swiffer pads or your
beetle towels in there. You can use your CheckMite
Plus in there. But at the end of the day, if
you are not in that hive, I would say every week
and a half to two weeks, just checking on them,
making sure that those beetles haven't kind of
take hold. So to me, the number one combat against
small high beetles on top of, you know, your
traps, your towels, your, uh, check my plus is
definitely going to be just monitor. Just keep
an eye on it, especially during the rainy seasons.
And especially if you already have a situation
in your VR, just monitor like crazy. Are there
different things that you can do with where you
actually place the hives that help? Some people
have told me that they have gravel or concrete
around the hive stands. Have you found things
like that help? So, I would definitely say prepping
your yard if possible, especially for hobbyists,
any kind of real thick tarp, maybe some gravel,
concrete, anything to kind of keep them from
burrowing down into that sandy soil that we have
next to your hive and kind of completing that
metamorphosis that goes on down there. And then
also Permethrin, diatomaceous earth, just prep
that ground before you get your bees in there.
Or if you are having an issue, you know, it might
be beneficial to kind of move those hives out
so that way you can treat that ground and put
them back. Also direct sunlight. Trees are nice.
They're great for a beekeeper. You get the shade.
You're not in there in a hundred degree heat,
but small high beetles love shady areas. So as
awesome as that hive is going to look tucked
into some, some trees on your property, you're
really just going to kind of. create the perfect
environment for those small hot beetles to kind
of come in and do what they do. Well, I appreciate
that. I have to admit I'm no expert on them at
all because we don't have them where I am. Thank
goodness we have plenty of other problems, but
that's not one of them. And so I don't have a
ton of experience with it. So anything that you
can share would be helpful because I know most
people do have to deal with it. Yeah, for sure.
So you're really lucky. Yeah. Not having that
issue to deal with. Last fall, we had Andrew
on the show from down there at your same location.
And this was right after the hurricanes had blown
through. And we were talking about some of the
relief effort that Man Lake and a bunch of other
groups had done. And again, we appreciate all
of that and the beekeepers do. What kind of a
bounce back have you seen? Has most of the beekeeping
community come back pretty well from that? It
really kind of messed up the pepper crop last
year, the Brazilian pepper. It kind of came in
right as that was getting ready to bloom. I think
it was Hurricane Milton, the second one that
year, kind of came in right as that was getting
ready to bloom. So it knocked out a lot of that
forage for those bees and a lot of the commercial
guys kind of rely on that last crop of the season
to hold that feed over. So that way they're not
spending the money on the syrup and unnecessary
things. So the hurricane definitely affects immediately,
but then, you know, you have the months after
that, that the plants and the trees are still
trying to repair. So as of right now, just kind
of scattered throughout Florida in general, I've
heard not so good things about orange blossom.
And now whether that was just due to the hurricane
itself damaging some crops, or is it just because
the development that's going on in Florida ripping
out those crops? Goldberry was great this year.
So I'm going to say that now that we're I would
say about eight months after the hurricane. I
think that it is definitely starting to rebound,
but we'll definitely really be able to tell come
pepper season in September to kind of see where
that lands. And then we'll definitely see hopefully
a big boost or at least back to normal levels
of the Brazilian coming in. If I were moving
to a place that was hurricane prone, whether
it's Florida or Texas, New Orleans or someplace
in the South Pacific for that matter and I was
just setting up my apiary Do you have any advice
as far as? You know, hopefully the hurricanes
don't roll through but if they're going to what
can I do to prepare for it? That's a great question
Eric So I would definitely say a lot of people
can't pick their property just based on their
bees alone So it's gonna be beneficial to prep
those bees for success when when those hurricanes
inevitably do come through so You want to keep
them up off the ground. Cinder blocks, four by
fours, just your general hive stand usually will
give you enough clearance pending any kind of
catastrophic flooding or anything like that.
But I would say anywhere between 16 to 24 inches
off the ground, you would definitely be in a
safe zone. Again, really dependent on where exactly
you're at and how big that hurricane is, but
just your general inland areas, keeping it up
off the ground to prevent that flooding inside
the hive. Ratchet straps to keep it down. Quick
break here to thank our presenting sponsor, Man
Lake. Whether you're a beekeeper or not, you
know that nutrition is key for healthy honey
bees, native bees, and other pollinators. The
Man Lake app is a great resource for determining
pollinator -friendly plants that thrive in your
area, and its plant identification feature is
super helpful and fun. When I see a plant covered
in bees, I fire up the app, find out what it
is, then plant them in my yard. If you haven't
already downloaded the Man Lake app, give it
a try today. Oh, and did I mention it's free?
And if you're shopping for beekeeping supplies,
don't forget your discount code MLBlove10. It's
in the show notes for $10 off your first $100
purchase. Last season when we had that hurricane
roll through we had nukes sitting on four by
fours So we just ended up throwing an extra four
by four across the long way and then just kind
of ratchet strapping them down just enough so
that way that wind isn't gonna push them over
and then after the hurricane kind of you you
definitely want to assess resources in the hive
and you definitely want to assess kind of the
Forage around your area how bad did the plants
and the trees get damaged to kind of really depend
on? do we need to go ahead and supplement feeding
to kind of get them through this area and more
times than not if you are in that path of that
hurricane you would definitely need to supplement
feeding for sure. So it sounds like really a
two -part thing. One, keeping them safe from
the elements and then two, being prepared to
feed them afterwards. You know, maybe stocking
up on some of that ahead of time. Yeah, that's
a great way to put it for sure. And I'd get those
ratchet straps ahead of time too because when
a hurricane is announced that it's coming through
in three days You may be too late to find that
kind of equipment. That's right. Yeah, and hurricanes
are very tricky You know one one day they're
they're headed straight for you and the next
day they're they're headed 50 miles north of
you So just definitely want to be on your toes
And then if if you get an indication that a hurricane
is coming close to your area You might as well
just go ahead and prep for it just to be safe.
Tell me about your work with hives for heroes
Okay, yeah, great. So, Hives for Heroes, I ended
up kind of finding by accident. I was at a bee
expo in Alabama and I saw their booth set up
and I reached out to them and just let them know
that I was a veteran and just really curious
about the program. And their rep told me all
about it, which is if you don't know about it,
it's a great program and all they do is just
a matching service, essentially. It's free to
sign up for veterans, first responders, I believe
even teachers as well. And then what they do
is they kind of locate a mentor or an experienced
beekeeper within your area to match them up with
you. So that way, if you want to learn beekeeping.
They have someone that's experienced that will
be able to kind of guide you and help you out.
That was the gist of the program. And I got kind
of really excited about it, especially after
about two or three years of being in my role
here and kind of really getting a deep dive into
beekeeping. So I took on a mentee, her and her
granddaughter, and we spent, they ended up moving
away about eight months into it, but we spent
about eight months every weekend doing hive inspections,
going from the basics, teaching them how to light
a starter. to teach them how to read frames and
then key things to look for as the season kind
of progressed. So it's a really great program,
one for just community, being able to kind of
link up with fellow veterans and first responders
and just kind of have that, that mentor mentee
relationship. And then also you kind of get away
from the YouTube beekeeping, which I'm not against.
Um, everyone got to learn their own way, but
to have actually someone there where you can
put hands on with them and they can kind of walk
you through, um, and maybe identify things that,
you know, are not covered in beekeeping videos,
you know, where the swarm cells are located and
hive beetles and what it looks like when hive
beetles take over a hive and wax moths. And then
the, just the treatments and things like that.
So it's, it's a great program. I encourage anyone
that wants to get into beekeeping that has. any
kind of background in military or police or teaching
to sign up for that program. And then I do know
that they really need mentors as well. So you
don't have to be a first responder or a veteran
to sign up to be a mentor. Maybe you just kind
of want to pass on that knowledge to fellow people.
So if you've got beekeeping experience, I definitely
recommend reaching out and signing up to be a
mentor as well. We had one of the head people
of Hives for Heroes on the show back last December,
so that was December 2024. And by the way, all
of those past episodes can be found, well, wherever
you're getting this podcast, but also on BeLoveBeKeeping
.com. You can even go in and put in a search
term like Hives for Heroes or something like
that, and it'll pull up that episode if you want
to. If you want to know more, one of the things
that he mentioned to me was the benefits of people
with PTSD. and how this can be a really therapeutic
thing for them. It's not just, hey, let's teach
beekeeping to people. It can really change people's
lives in very, very positive ways. For example,
the suicide rate among veterans is super high.
And this is just one of so many things that we
can do to get involved and help with some of
that kind of stuff. And you don't have to be
a 50 year beekeeper or something like that if
you're if you're experienced you can be a mentor
if you need the help and are interested Yeah,
reach out to them. Okay enough plugs for them
But but hey, I think they're a great organization
and I appreciate that you're someone that is
willing to step up and help them All right. I
want to hear With your beekeeping and it's only
been four years but I know you've been deep into
it all day every day pretty much. Can you give
me an idea of a wild and crazy story that you've
had beekeeping? Yeah, so wild and crazy, maybe
not, but wild and painful for sure. Every beekeeper
eventually is going to get stung. We always cross
our fingers and hope it's at least through the
suit so it takes kind of that away, but every
now and again your bees just have a different
idea for you. So I spent all day long. I was
in a bee suit. It was probably middle of July
in Florida. So it's pushing like a hundred something
degrees all day long, prepping the bee yard,
getting the permethrin laid out, getting your
tarp down, getting the hive stands laid out and
moving the bees. And I didn't have any issues
all day long. So I finish up the bee yard. I
get all the bees in place and everyone's doing
well. So I go back inside. I change out of my
beekeeping suit. And I think to myself, Man,
I didn't get a picture. I would really like to
get a picture of this, so that way I can show
how beautiful my bee yard looks. So I walk back
there, get a picture, nothing fancy, and then
as I'm walking away, one of those bees comes
and stings me right in the wrist. No suit, no
gloves, and my hand was probably as big as a
catcher's mitt for I would say every bit of three
or four days. And then trying to get to the office
and do work on the computer and type and things
like that was definitely hard one handed for
sure. So that's just one instance. Another great
story that I have is, I mean, I remember we talked
about getting a bee in your veil and how that
is pretty common for the most time, especially
if you've been doing it, you know, longer than
a couple of weeks, you're eventually going to
get one of those bees in your veil somehow. We
had a swarm in the back of our building, coming
out of one of our nukes. And I did not know,
as I'm walking through the bee yard, I just noticed
kind of a funny shaped leaf, if you will, is
what I thought it was as I was walking by. But
closer look, it was probably about... a football
size cluster of bees just on the ground. So I
have my suit on and I get down on my hands and
knees and I'm looking for this queen just wanting
to catch her so that way I can get all these
bees back into a box. In the meantime, the bees
are just crawling all over my suit. I mean, I
have probably this big of a cluster just right
here on my pocket. They're all over my head.
And then as I'm looking for this queen, I just
feel the slightest tickle on my ear. and that
just all too familiar buzzing sound right past
your ear. I pause for a second and I'm like,
okay, is one of these really in my veil or maybe
just my mind's playing tricks on me? And then
sure enough, right across my nose, it flies and
I'm just, okay, don't panic. That's when you
start causing crazy reactions is when you start
slapping and knocking everything around. So I
get up and I just start walking away from the
bees. and just ever so gently brushing all the
bees off of me just so I can get this one bee
out of my suit. And I think it took me probably
all of 50 yards to walk to be able to get all
these bees off long enough to where I could get
my veil off and get this one bee out. So I made
it out without no issues. The bee didn't get
me in my face. I didn't want that distinctive
raccoon look that you get when you get stuck
in the face. Definitely an experience for sure.
Well, sounds like you still swell up quite a
bit you probably haven't been stung enough yet
No, yeah, I definitely I try not to get stung
just because I do swell up quite a bit when uh
when I do When I do get stung outside of the
suit inside the suit, you know stung multiple
times But at that point it's just kind of annoying
little itch Definitely try try to avoid that
direct skin contact for sure the full -on sting
most of us find that The more you get stung,
the less it affects you, the less you're going
to blow up. Although I would love to see a picture
of your hand looking like a pitcher. What'd you
call it? A catcher's mitt? A catcher's mitt.
Yeah, I think I might have a pitcher somewhere.
I'll have to get that over to you for sure. Send
that over to me. People are going to like that.
Anyway, yeah, that'd be in the veil the first
time. That's an experience of self -control.
Very true. Yes, very true. So working in a store
and for a company like Man Lake who has gazillions
of products for beekeepers Are there some that
stand out or maybe some brand new things that
you've seen that you think are pretty cool? So
yeah, a couple of things that I love personally,
and I try pretty much every new product, if it's
applicable to my beekeeping setup, just to kind
of experience it all and just to see what I like
and what I do not like. And to me, a hive tool
is just one of those things. A hive tool you're
gonna need, whether it's an actual hive tool
or a variation of that hive tool. At first I
started with just your regular hive tool standard
and then your j -hook but what I found and I
actually brought one here so that way I could
show you this is the easy pry and it has kind
of a weird end on it with just your typical beveled
end on the other side but what this allows you
to do is get that frame and then as you kind
of tilt it this is just long enough to sit on
that other frame. So it's definitely very beneficial
getting like that very first frame out Just because
once it's propolized and it's kind of real snug
inside there It kind of gets a little difficult
to kind of dig in there and try it out whereas
this just one end of it and you can kind of Pry
it out one side and then pry it out the other
side and just makes life a little bit easier
So I really enjoy this hive tool I recommend
it pretty much to everyone who asked me my opinion
on it But your standard hive tool works just
as great, but in my preference. This is the one
right here I've never used one like that. That's
cool. Hold that up again. There was also a little
hole in there Turn it. Yeah, what's the purpose
of that? So the hole really has no significant
purpose other than like storage. You got a hook
on your truck or maybe next to your bee yard.
My recommendation to new beekeepers as well is
always keep a spare one out by your hive. Countless
of times I have definitely walked out to my bee
yard and was like, I forgot my hive tool. And
as anyone knows, if they're propylized and you
have to sit there and try to use your fingers
to kind of crack these open, it's not impossible,
but it definitely makes your job a little bit
harder. So, just for storage purposes, that little
hole right there. Just so you can hang it up
on a nail or something. Just so you can hang
it up. Now, if you find it useful, great. But
for the main part, it's just this little end
that just makes it great to me. Just that ingenuity
where they just bent it a little bit more so
that way you can get it to rest on that one additional
frame to prop it up. So, I love it. I'm going
to order one of those. I love gadgets. I can't
wait to give it a try. Awesome then I would say
probably my second my second thing protective
clothing is always a big issue for me because
I do swell up So I just try to kind of be as
safe as possible But I used to do the goatskin
gloves, which I really liked because they were
very thin Dexterity and the fingers were there
You didn't kind of have that big bulky finger
like you do and like your cowhide gloves and
things like that So I use goatskin for a while
but what I noticed with the goatskin is after
you kind of sweating them a little bit that that
that goat skin gets a little bit thinner and
a little bit easier for those stingers to get
through. So Man Lake came out with tactical gloves
is what we call them and they offer them in this
size and then I believe just kind of right up
to your wrist as well. So you have different
styles of them which I just use the ones that
go up to my wrist but it's vented which makes
it a lot cooler. Which I love there's a lot of
space with some padding and some netting in between
your actual skin So I would say probably about
an eighth of an inch which makes it great So
the bees don't get through it and then it also
has that dexterity in the fingers that I like
as well So I'm not I'm not stuck with that big
bulky cowhide and so I have a little bit more
Dexterity in my fingers to kind of manipulate
the frames and and do just other things like
my smoker things like that So you find the dexterity
is good enough for all of that and you're not
squishing a lot of bees and stuff. Right yeah
it's kind of the best of all the world's adequate
protection and then mobility for sure. Well Josh
hey I appreciate you being with me today I've
learned some things. I want to leave our listeners
with this and that is Josh what do you love about
bees so much? I just, I love how the colonies
work really. I love the learning of the seasons.
I definitely just looking out across just my
landscape at home or just on my drive to work,
learning the different plants and the different
seasons to which they bloom and what's beneficial
and what's not beneficial for honey making and
pollen for the bees. So I really love that you
take something like beekeeping where you're just
learning how these bees operate and how you can
kind of influence that operation to maybe increase
a honey yield or pollination of your garden,
but also just zoning out, zooming out away from
that colony and just all the other things that
kind of make you open your eyes and say, oh,
look, my orange blossom is starting to bloom
down the street. That happens in late February,
early March. So it's really awesome that you
start with beekeeping and then it just kind of
expands out to where now you're keeping track
of weather. Now you're looking at seasonal flowers
and plants, and then you're keeping track on
what's kind of around you and the forage that
you're able to kind of get these bees to go and
draw nectar from. So I just love the aspect that
it starts with beekeeping and then zoom out.
all of a sudden you're just in depth and a whole
lot of other things that you never really would
have thought of. That is so true. I think the
bees are so fascinating and it's also made me
so much more aware of everything else around.
We have a lot of, you know, wild flowers in the
hills by me and things like that that I didn't
pay as much attention to before, but now I do
and I appreciate all of those kinds of things.
Anyway, Josh, appreciate your time. Any closing
thoughts? My closing thoughts to anyone who is
listening to this that maybe is not into beekeeping,
highly recommend it. It's a community like no
other. Just relating that back to some rainforests.
You talk to someone about you being a beekeeper
and it's definitely a conversation starter. It's
something that not a lot of people hear about.
And then also you talk to people about beekeeping
and they are a beekeeper and all of a sudden
you have so many things to talk about So it really
kind of really brings people together So if you
are in beekeeping and just starting out, I would
definitely recommend joining your local bee club
Just to kind of have that camaraderie and that
that source of information there for you And
if you haven't gotten to beekeeping and you're
just kind of listening this as a passing through
podcast I would definitely recommend just doing
some doing some looking up and some education
on it. So that way you can kind of, even if you
don't get into beekeeping, at least learn where
your local honey is coming from and just the
amount of work that goes into producing that
honey. So that way, hopefully it will encourage
you to buy local, support those small mom and
pop businesses that go out every day and work
in this heat to make that happen for you. Thanks
again for joining us here on Bee Love Beekeeping
presented by Man Lake. Remember right now to
follow or subscribe and share this podcast. Also
a shout out to Vita Bee Health for their support
of the show. Vita's Varroa Control range of products
includes Apistan, Apigard, and now Varroxan Extended
Release Oxalic Acids Trips. Hey thanks guys,
we really appreciate it. Enjoy this beautiful
summer, enjoy your bees, and remember... If you're
not just in it for the honey or the money, you're
in it for the love. See you next week.