Upcoming ‘Beginning Beekeeping Class’ to answer questions, help guide people interested in beekeeping

RIGBY — A class aimed at helping aspiring beekeepers get started will be held in Rigby next week.

The “Beginning Beekeeping Class” is sponsored by the Northeast Idaho Beekeepers Association. It will be held on Feb. 15, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Jefferson County School District offices at 3850 East 300 North in Rigby.

“(The class is) for people who want to get started in beekeeping and don’t know where to begin. It’s for people who may have been beekeeping for a while and want to learn more. And it’s for anybody who is interested in bees and wants to know more about them,” said Brad Eldredge, president of the Northeast Idaho Beekeepers Association, who will be teaching the class.

The four-hour class will cover basic bee biology, what kind of hives to use, where to buy the hives, where to get the bees, and what kind to get. There will also be information about what to do after you get the bees, how to install them in the hive, and the diseases and parasites one has to deal with as a beekeeper.

“Last but not least, (we’ll talk about) what do you do after you’ve had the bees for a while? How do you harvest your honey? How do you make sure the bees survive over the winter? And just getting into it for the long haul,” Eldredge mentioned.

The “Beginning Beekeeping Class” is held once a year, typically sometime in February, because Eldredge said that’s when a beekeeper’s year begins. He noted bees should be ordered in February or March, and the bees will show up in April.

“Beekeeping has a really steep learning curve, and it’s pretty intimidating for most folks, so we’re trying to lower that learning curve a little bit,” he said. “Once the bees show up, you’re committed. We’re helping people to be ready for that big start-up in April.”

There will be door prizes at the event including some items that beekeeping suppliers have donated. There will be hive tools, gallons of sugar syrup that can be used to feed the bees, books, and hats to give away. Each participant will also receive a copy of “First Lessons in Beekeeping” by Keith Delaplane.

There will also be around a dozen different honey samples that those in attendance can try.

“I’ve got honey from all over the United States, so you can taste the different flavors,” he said. “It’s really interesting — even from year to year — the bees, depending on what flowers they go to, will get different types of nectar, and that will produce different flavors in the honey.”

The class capacity is 45 people. There are 14 people currently enrolled. It costs $70 per person or $95 per couple to attend. To register for the event, click here.

Eldredge wants community members to know that monthly meetings are held at the Jefferson County School District offices on the first Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. He encourages people interested in beekeeping to attend. The monthly meetings focus on what you should be doing with your hive for that particular month.

“We focus on the local issues that affect beekeepers here and how to be successful,” he said.

A March workshop will also be held to show people how to put together their hives if they want to build them themselves. For more information on this and the Northeast Idaho Beekeepers Association, visit its website or Facebook page.