Guilfordbeekeepers.org

On craigs list - Greensboro

Complete bee hive, 2 smokers, hive tool, extra bee hive body, extra frames, 2 top feeders, and some foundation wax. Call David at (336) 708-0559.

Hey, thank you. I called this guy and I am meeting him to look at the equipment. He has two deep supers, not my first choice, but I guess I will have to just get a little more upperbody strength. There are 33 hive frames in all.

Anyway, my question is this, buying used equipment, what should I look for to make sure it isn't bad?

I would assume wood rot, evidence of wax moth damage, evidence of mice

Anything else? I am an extreme newbee = please help!!!

I asked him why he was selling the equipment, he said he was not raising bees anymore. I don't want to raise them either - I want to keep them....

I would ask an experienced beek to go with you.

If you purchase, spend a few extra dollars and send to state for fumigation if there is any concern at all.

I went and checked it out today. The seller said the equipment was in pretty good shape, but apparently his bees swarmed and he just packed it all away as it sat. Maybe a more experienced beekeeper could put a good price on this that he would accept, but for $150 total, I was not interested.

The frames were not in good shape, some of the stuff was decent, but he wanted to sell it as a package. He said he had Russian bees and they swarmed while he was out of town.

The seller had other interested buyers, so he wasn't ready to accept a low offer today. Maybe in a week he will be.

Just my pretty uneducated opinion

Michelle

Michelle,
When bees swarm they raise a new queen before swarming,
then take the old queen and about half the colony with them to search for a new home.
If he returned from a trip to find an empty hive, the bees absconded.
The primary reasons for absconding are overheating, lack of food, and frequent disturbance.
However, it can also be caused by bad odors, parasites in the hive, or disease.
I would be wary of this equipment.
If you do decide to purchase it or any used equipment
please take Kurts advice and send it to the state for fumigation.

I did decide to not buy the equipment after reflection and reading up here. I just don't think it was in good shape and I am too inexperienced to deal with other people's problems yet. Thank you for all the help given to me.

Michelle

Michelle, if you are still needing some equipment I listed all of mine last night. Check out the 'for sale' section. I've never had moths, mice, or any disease at all and I've never treated my bees with anything except powdered sugar for a few varroa last season. They are extremely healthy and my equipment is in great shape.