Keep Your Bees Buzzin’

Bee keeping was one of the first agricultural endeavors that Dr. Melissa undertook after starting Chubb E Acres Farm. Her continued love of her honey-bees has inspired her to keep working with the apiary community as a hive-veterinarian. If you keep honey or bumble bees Dr. Melissa can help you manage the variety of health-threats that might affect your hives.

Honey Bee Health Assessment

Honey bees, just like our family pets, can get sick from a variety of parasites and pathogens (bacterial, viral, fungal diseases, etc.). You can reduce your risk of colony collapse with basic honey bee health and colony care, good nutritional support when needed and an integrated pest management strategy for varroa mites (and other colony pests). Just like our cats and dogs it’s important to protect our honey bees from parasites and to keep them healthy. 

Whether you’re new to keeping bees or a seasoned beekeeper the most important factor is knowing how to do a quick but thorough hive inspection. Knowing how to identify the signs of a healthy colony as well as how to quickly determine when disease is present. As your veterinarian I will work with you to develop a concise but complete hive inspection protocol. If we determine that any of your colonies are diseased we will work together to determine the best treatment plan for you and your bees. 

Contact us if you are concerned that your colony is suffering from an illness and may need a veterinarian for diagnosis & treatment. Unsure if you need a vet still? Check out this article for further insight! Do My Bees Need A Veterinarian?

Sick Hive Call 

If during your hive inspections you suspect or have confirmed one or more of your colonies is diseased you may need a veterinarian. If a medicated feed/antibiotic is required for treatment a Veterinary Feed Directive is now required. On a hive call we will inspect the diseased colony (or colonies) and/or a representative sample of colonies (in the case of a larger apiary). Then together we will determine the best approach. Many colony diseases/conditions have a number of different treatments and we will work to make the best plan for your apiary. 

Fees below are for hive calls Monday-Friday (weekend hours are limited and additional fees do apply) and do not include additional diagnostic/prescription fees:

Initial Apiary Health Assessment $150/hour + farm call (minimum $65 or $3/mile)

Private one-on-one instruction (on our apiary) $75/hour