The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping [Paperback]

Dean Stiglitz (Author), Laurie Herboldsheimer (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 4, 2010 | Series: The Complete Idiot's Guide

The buzz on beekeeping.

The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to Beekeeping has all the information a begin­ning beekeeper needs to know to start a hive and keep it buzzing. Expert beekeepers Dean Stiglitz and Laurie Herboldsheimer, owners of Golden Rule Honey, take readers step by step through the entire process-from information on the inhabitants of a hive and how it works to collecting bees, keeping them healthy, raising a queen, harvesting honey and wax, and stor­ing hives for the off- season.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"When we learn to live by creating a better world rather than using up the one we have, keeping bees without treatments will be easy. Until that time, methods like those that Dean and Laurie describe are necessary, and worth every bit of struggle. It's the best way."
-Kirk Webster, Vermont Beekeeper

About the Author

Dean Stiglitz and Laurie Herboldsheimer are both expert beekeepers and the owners of Golden Rule Honey, LLC. They run beekeeping conferences and write for beekeeping magazines and other industry journals.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: ALPHA (May 4, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1615640118
• ISBN-13: 978-1615640119
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,460 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #26 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Animals > Insects & Spiders
  • #77 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Agricultural Sciences > Animal Husbandry

More About the Author

Laurie and Dean are treatment-free beekeepers and the authors of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping", the first treatment-free beekeeping book since beekeeping treatments. They live in Leominster, Massachusetts where they own and operate Golden Rule Honey, produce The Queen of Chocolate, and run the annual Northeast Treatment-Free Beekeeping Conference.
www.BeeUntoOthers.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Only Treatment-Free Beekeeping Book May 11, 2010

By Adam Schreiber

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

As a relatively new beekeeper interested in natural beekeeping methods I have been searching for a book like this for 2 years. The book is easy to read, very well written and best of all, it contains information that no other book on beekeeping contains. The concise information on small-cell beekeeping, unlimited broodnest, the importance of the microbial environment of the hive, and the general approach of treatment free management methods is all a breath of fresh air in a genre of books that usually advocates for unnecessarily micro-managing our hives and also dumping all kinds of unhealthy chemicals into our hives.

I congratulate the authors on writing a book that I will undoubtedly refer to over and over again as I continue to learn more about bees and beekeeping. I highly recommend this book - especially if you are just getting started with bees.

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential guide for *non-chemical* beekeeping ... August 20, 2010

By Robert MacKimmie

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

In an age of Roundup resistant weeds that are out of control in 13 states, staph infections from bacteria which are immune from any treatment and considered *killer* infections which breed in hospitals, and beef/chicken/swine production so dependent on anti-bacterial drugs that the animals are artificially surviving ----- this book offers beekeeping methods FREE OF CHEMICAL TREATMENTS. Bravo!

One chapter in the book, "Managing for long-term success," sums up why this book is different. For those of us who know that putting apistan and terramyacin in hives is just wrong and no longer effective, this book provides an entire management program (many different methods) for keeping bees naturally.

With so many ecosystems, (fisheries, forests, pollinators), crashing or becoming extinct, it's time that we start saving our planet's natural systems so that we might survive as a species. A school child asked a biologist when on a field trip, "What is your favorite endangered species?," and the biologist answered, "human beings."

This is a comprehensive guide for beekeepers who want to have good information about the various practices which allow *sensible* and *thoughtful* beekeeping in an age where solid solutions are required. Get this book and start thinking for yourself about what makes sense for your bees, then implement those methods and start becoming part of the new chemical-free beekeepers. After my first year, I abandoned the use of chemicals and have always felt it was my wisest move in beekeeping. This book provides an overview and methods for being successful without chemicals.

Make your beekeeping healthy - this book helps you get there!

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Introduction to Beekeeping May 5, 2010

By Erik H. Knutzen

Format:Paperback

What's great about this book is that it explains small cell, foundationless, no treatment beekeeping for beginners. It's the first book, that I'm aware of, to do so. I know from experience that these methods work well. I've also found these natural methods to be a lot less labor intensive than conventional beekeeping. A great book for beginners or for beekeepers thinking of switching over to natural methods.