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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https://www.beelovebeekeeping.com/

Eric@BeeLoveBeekeeping.com

Lauren: https://yellowhousehoney.com/