Bee hive spin-off question

My dad and I started about a year ago (mostly him).
We caught a swarm at our camp but they ended up leaving the box. My dad later ordered a colony and has them at the camp.
Our second colony we caught in Metairie using a catch box.

We are amateurs as well. I think checking on them periodically for beetles or moths is most of it. We have grates on the bottom that the small beetles and mites can fall through into a pan of oil. The bees can't go through the grate. We also bought little traps that go on the top of the frames. My dad also rigged up an old plastic jug on a tree next to the hive. I forget what he put inside, but it's full of dead moths.

Good luck. It's fun to watch them work. We are hoping to collect some honey this year.

Buy the book Beekeeping for Dummies. The wood purchase for your boxes is the most expensive part. I buy from Mann Lake due to lower shipping costs. Put 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of paint on all outside surfaces and the top and bottom lip.

For bees, I went with two Nucs of Italians from Bee Gold Honey in Hattiesburg. They offer classes as well to help you get started. I made splits with those hives a few months after transferring to my house, and now have 4 colonies. I would just catch swarms to save a few hundred dollars though if I were you.

Get a ventilated jacket and not a full suit. You'll have a heat stroke in a full suit. I normally just wear a veil when working my bees though.

I check my hives once a week during spring and summer, and maybe once a month in winter just to make sure I don't need to supplement their feed due to low honey stores.

The key is to not rob them of so much honey that they starve in the winter.

I'm treatment free. I just make my splits from hives that aren't affected by the mites or beetles. I'm weary of creating welfare bees by treating weaker hives that wouldn't make it on their own in nature.