Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Intern Maci Carter had the chance to visit with Courtney Bir, an OSU Extension Farm Management Specialist. Bir and Carter discussed upcoming bee workshops, her own bee farm, how to handle unwanted swarms and hives, and her take on “Save the bees”.
“We have two main workshops,” Bir said. “The first one is July 26, from nine to three in Oklahoma County, and then September 7, we have a workshop in Tulsa County.”
Bir was excited to share that OSU Extension has a few beekeeping workshops coming up in the near future. She shared that registration will be $20, and you can register through OSU Extension.
“The Oklahoma City one is more geared towards beginners,” Bir said. “The Tulsa one will go into a little bit more advanced topics.”
Some information Bir said attendees could expect is how to get started, common pitfalls, the economics of beekeeping, regulations, labeling laws, opportunities for beekeepers to participate in government programs, and more.
“I am an urban beekeeper, meaning I live in Stillwater city limits, and I have two beehives in my backyard,” Bir said. “I really got started because I felt that the materials out there to learn about beekeeping, some of it was contradictory, so as the person that’s working on the economics of beekeeping, I wanted to have a better understanding myself.”
Bir said that honeybees and urban beekeepers, like herself, are protected under the Oklahoma Apiary Act, however, HOAs can prohibit them. She said she has enjoyed being able to gift the honey, having natural pollinators, and all the other benefits that come with having honeybees.
“I’ve actually had multiple issues that have come up over the past three years that I’ve been doing this, so it just allows me to talk to beekeepers, and talk about the challenges that I’ve had, and kind of commiserate with them a little bit,” Bir said.
Having her own honeybees played a big role in allowing her to help others, according to Bir. While it wasn’t easy, going through her own struggles made it easier to understand and relate to other beekeepers when they called her for help. She explained it as an extension of her work.
“Doing all the homework, participating in these clubs, going to some workshops, taking some courses, finding a mentor- those are all great things to do before you even begin thinking about getting bees,” Bir said.
If Bir made anything clear, it was that bees are not an easy thing to manage. Even she had struggles, so preparing, finding support, and educating yourself prior to taking on bees is vital to the success of your own hives.
“So, there are two big differences when it comes to getting calls for bees,” Bir said. “Calling a beekeeper and taking a photo -that’s really important. We need to know what we’re dealing with.”
Bir said in the case that a swarm settles in your home, the best thing to do is to call the professionals and get as much photo evidence as possible. She recommended calling your local extension agent, herself, and even turning to Facebook groups. Bir said beekeepers love swarms.
“If there’s a hive in your house, so if a hive ends up in, like, the soffit of your house or in a tree in your yard, and that’s a little bit more difficult to deal with,” Bir said. “I would not recommend just killing bees, especially if they’re in the side of your house, because what happens is, sure, you kill the bees, but all that honey and comb and baby bees are left in the side of your house and that goes bad.”
Hives are a different story, according to Bir. While they’re not as easy to get rid of and finding people who will get rid of them is harder too, as Bir said, there are bigger downfalls in just trying to kill the bees yourself.
“So the bees that we’re talking about, honey bees, they’re actually an invasive species,” Bir said. “They’re classified as livestock.”
Due to the fact that they produce things like honey, wax, and pollination services, the USDA classifies honey bees as livestock.
“I would say making sure that you read the labels on any kind of pesticide that you’re using and try and use best practices on that,” Bir said, “Planting any kind of pollinator-friendly plant, especially for native pollinators, is great, and leaving patches of your yard as wildflowers and other types of plants other than just cut green grass is fantastic for pollinators.”
Bir said that anything that pollinates is a good insect to have around. Her recommendation is to ensure that your garden practices are bee friendly and maybe even implement some pollinator plants into your property is an amazing step towards doing your role in saving the bees!
