Buckle up, honey lovers — this episode is a wild ride through the wonderfully chaotic world of beekeeping with Connecticut backyard beekeeper Lauren Doninger!

Before diving into the conversation, host Eric drops ten mind-blowing facts about honey bees (spoiler: they might understand the concept of zero and play soccer). Then Lauren takes us through her approach to swarm catching, the vertical split technique, condensing hives, her biggest beekeeping mistakes and a ton more!

She also gives us a peek into her utterly charming self-service honey stand, where neighbors stop by, grab a jar, and leave cash or Venmo on the honor system. Because that's just the kind of beekeeper Lauren is.

Lauren doesn't shy away from the messy parts of beekeeping either. She shares cringe-worthy (and relatable) rookie mistakes, and — the crown jewel of disaster stories — leaving her slider door open with 20+ frames of honey on the porch, only to come home to a full-scale robbing frenzy with thousands of honey bees in her house.

Through it all, Lauren's message is clear: make mistakes, learn from them, treat your mites, and lean on your beekeeping community — because beekeepers, she says, are simply the best people.

Video Version of This Episode

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• Discount Code: SHOWMETHECOLOR

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Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, Mann Lake! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/

Mann Lake discount code: MLBEELOVE10 for $10 off your first $100 order.

Follow Us: https://www.beelovebeekeeping.com/follow/

https://www.beelovebeekeeping.com/

Eric@BeeLoveBeekeeping.com

Lauren: https://yellowhousehoney.com/

What do a Massachusetts eviction standoff, a forklift disaster, and the secret to a thriving bee yard have in common? They all made an appearance in this week's absolutely buzzing episode of Bee Love Beekeeping!

Host Eric Bennett kicked things off with a wild news story about a beekeeper who showed up to a $1.9 million home eviction with a truck full of hives — and yes, things went exactly as chaotically as you'd imagine.

Then Eric welcomed Utah commercial beekeeper Seth Homer, whose family operation grew from his dad overhearing a gardening class conversation about honey bees to running nearly 950 colonies. Talk about catching the bug.

The meat of the episode dove deep into the art of splitting beehives, and Seth delivered the goods. He also walked through the classic five-frame nuc split, preaching the gospel of capped brood, nurse bees, and for the love of all things honeyed, keeping a calendar.

Seth wrapped up with his wild beekeeping story: toppling three pallets of hives off a skid steer in the middle of the night, armed with nothing but a jacket and jeans. He got stung senseless, but — miraculously — didn't lose a single queen. A true beekeeper's baptism by fire.

Video Version of This Episode

________________

10% Discount on Color Collection hive kits. https://www.mannlakeltd.com/

• Discount Code: SHOWMETHECOLOR

_________________

Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, Mann Lake! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/

Mann Lake discount code: MLBEELOVE10 for $10 off your first $100 order.

Follow Us: https://www.beelovebeekeeping.com/follow/

https://www.beelovebeekeeping.com/

Eric@BeeLoveBeekeeping.com

Seth Homer: https://homershoneybee.com/ instagram.com/homershoneybee

Bob Ford of Sticky Bee Honey Farm in southern Minnesota is living proof that beekeepers never do anything halfway. What started as two hives quickly ballooned to 65–80 before his back had other ideas.

Now running 40–45 hives, Bob shares the joys and heartbreaks of Minnesota beekeeping — where you can survive a brutal winter only to watch colonies mysteriously collapse during a "false spring" a few weeks later.

He also gets real about varroa mite management, wind exposure, and the sad reality of neighboring beekeepers who just let their bees die every year and buy new packages in the spring.

But the real fun is in Bob's beekeeping business side hustles. Not content to just sell jars of honey at farmers markets, he designed a centrifugal honey straw filler (which once redecorated his entire open-concept kitchen in a fine mist of honey), built a food trailer selling honey lemonade and honey kettle corn, and 3D printed custom honey dippers with his logo on top.

Oh, and during nine months of post-surgery bed rest, he wrote 25–30 children's books starring a little bee named Sticky. Because apparently when Bob can't work, he still can't stop working.

Video Version of This Episode

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10% Discount on Color Collection hive kits. https://www.mannlakeltd.com/

• Discount Code: SHOWMETHECOLOR

_________________

10% Discount Primal Bee Hives: PrimalBee.com/BEELOVE

• Discount Code: BEELOVE

________________

Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, Mann Lake! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/

Mann Lake discount code: MLBEELOVE10 for $10 off your first $100 order.

Follow Us: https://www.beelovebeekeeping.com/follow/

https://www.beelovebeekeeping.com/

Eric@BeeLoveBeekeeping.com

Bob Ford/Sticky Bee Honey Farms: https://sites.google.com/ibinc.us/sticky-bee-honey-farms/home http://amazon.com/author/stickybeehoneyfarms