Bees: Good Deal?

[humbug]

I ran into are local beekeeper. We got to talking and I told him I would like to get a hive of bees so I could start learning about raising and taking care of them. We talked for about an hour about different diseases and problems with bees. He finally said that he would sell me a complete hive, with bees comb and everything in the the Spring for $150.00. Is this a good deal or should I explore more opportunities? I would have to go and get packaged bees about 200 miles if I started from scratch.

[annabella1]

I think it would be a good deal even if you could get everything cheaper, because it comes with the good will of an experienced bee keeper. And he will want everything going all right for you. The fact that he said in the spring (now would be a terrible time to get a hive) means that he is looking out for your interests. Don't let him down, ask questions and show you are willing to work on this.

[Gringo]

Sounds pretty good. Ditto what annabella said.

[humbug]

Thanks for the input. I feel that buying from the local beekeeper also gives me free advice and tutoring while I am just learning.

[jajbellsouthnet]

I get all the bees I can handle for free! It seems that whatever was killing colonies here in Florida has moved on and swarms of feral bees are everywhere. I left my name and phone number with the local Animal Control people and had four calls the first week. Two weeks later, I had to remove my name from their call list as I didn't have time to capture all of the swarms which I got calls for. Big swarms, too. One was so big that I had to stack two brood chambers to house them all.