SustainaBee’s Hive Hosting Program is a unique opportunity to learn about bees and become engaged with your local honey bee population. In exchange for an annual fee, our hive hosting program provides:
Placement of 2 beehives on your property, business, or other agreed upon location for eight months (April - November).
A personalized learning opportunity tailored specifically to you and your beehives needs. We can simply take care of the hives for you while giving you an updated progress report throughout the season, or you can assist us in taking care of the hives.
Local honey from your beehives.
Added benefit of extra pollinators to help support your garden with increased floral and food yields.
Beekeeping equipment to use while working with the bees.
The educational experience you receive from hive hosting will be based on your current beekeeping knowledge, the needs of the bees and what you want from the experience. This is a fun and unique opportunity to gain a one-on-one mentorship with one of our professional beekeepers who will provide you with the knowledge to better understand honey bee biology, physiology, and their overall needs.
Hosting beehives is an excellent way to help support local honey bees and beekeepers while enjoying the benefit of receiving honey directly from the hives. You can become involved as much or as little as you want, whatever meets your circumstances.
We currently provide service to the following counties: Sonoma, Marin, Yolo, Solano. Applications for Spring 2020 are now open. If you are interested in hive hosting for 2020, please complete an application form and a SustainaBee representative will contact you to review application details. Availability of hives will be limited, so please submit your application as soon as possible. Our deadline for applications will end December 31, 2019. Annual renewal is required.
Cost:
Deposit: $300
Monthly fee $212.50 (8 months)*
*additional fees may apply
Hive Hosting - Things to Consider
Hosting a hive is a great opportunity to learn about bees. However, there are a few things you should consider:
Host(s) should have an interest in bees, beekeeping and in planting and/or enhancing pollinator supportive habitat on their property.
We need 24x7 access to the hives and sometimes without checking-in first (rare occasions). This is in case of emergencies if the bees need to be moved or checked on due to an environmental occurrence in the area (predators, chemical exposure, etc.).
We require a 1 (one) season commitment (April-Nov) as this is best for the bees (some exceptions may apply).
We would need to place 2 hives minimum so please consider spacing and forage availability in your area. Some cities require a special permit to keep honey bees on property so please be advised of any permitting needed in your area before considering hosting our hives. In some cases we can provide wildflower seed to plant as food for the bees and to promote biodiversity.
No spraying of pesticides, chemicals or herbicides in yard, garden, lawn, or trees. Please encourage the use of biological or cultural controls for pests on your property and with your neighbors.
Local water source is necessary for bees. If local water source not available or dries up depending on season, host to provide water source with assistance from SustainaBee.
Bees, hives, honey and equipment remain the property of SustainaBee.
Honey bees are wild insects and have a natural tendency to swarm in spring and summer months. It is possible that a swarm could temporarily home in a tree or area on your property other than the provided hives. We will do our best to collect any swarms that may appear on your property with notice.
