Beehive Consultations
Not sure what’s happening inside your hives? Need a second opinion? Want an experienced beekeeper to evaluate your colonies without committing to ongoing hive management?
Millheim Honey Company offers professional, on-site beehive consultations and comprehensive hive audits for beekeepers who want experienced, straightforward guidance about their colonies.
Whether you're brand new to beekeeping, have years of experience, recently acquired bees, or are dealing with a problem you can't quite figure out, we'll meet you at your apiary, work through your colonies, identify potential concerns, and help you determine what needs to happen next.
Consultations have a $150 minimum fee, which includes up to the first hour.
The $150 minimum applies even if the consultation takes less than one hour. If more time is needed, the consultation can continue at the standard hourly rate.
There is no maximum time limit on consultations. We can spend the time necessary to work through your hives, questions, and concerns.
What Is a Beehive Consultation?
A beehive consultation is much more than having someone stop by and quickly look inside your colonies.
During your appointment, Millheim Honey Company performs an in-depth evaluation of your apiary and individual colonies while discussing what we're seeing with you along the way.
Think of it as a professional health check and audit for your apiary.
We evaluate your colonies, identify potential problems, discuss management options, answer your questions, and provide recommendations for what should happen next.
You remain responsible for the ongoing management of your bees—we provide the professional evaluation, experience, education, and recommendations to help you make better management decisions.
Comprehensive Hive Audits
One of the primary components of our consultation service is an individual hive audit.
Rather than treating the entire apiary as one unit, we evaluate the condition and performance of each colony we inspect.
Depending on the season, colony condition, and reason for the consultation, we may evaluate:
- Queen presence and performance
- Brood patterns
- Eggs, larvae, and developing brood
- Colony population and strength
- Honey and pollen reserves
- Available laying space
- Comb condition
- Hive configuration
- Signs of pests or disease
- Varroa mite concerns
- Small hive beetle pressure
- Queen cells and swarm indicators
- Colony temperament
- Signs of robbing or resource stress
- Feeding needs
- Supering needs
- Equipment condition
- Seasonal preparedness
- Potential queen failure
- Overall colony health and productivity
After evaluating each colony, we'll explain what we're seeing, why it matters, and what we recommend doing next.
Learn While We Work
Consultations aren't just about inspecting your bees. They're also an opportunity for one-on-one, hands-on beekeeping education at your own apiary.
You're encouraged to be present, ask questions, and follow along as we work through your colonies.
Instead of simply telling you that something is right or wrong, we want to show you what we're seeing inside the hive, what we're looking for, and how we're reaching our recommendations.
Depending on your needs, we can discuss topics such as:
- How to properly inspect a colony
- What healthy brood should look like
- How to evaluate queen performance
- Recognizing common hive problems
- When to add or remove equipment
- Feeding decisions
- Swarm prevention
- Honey production
- Seasonal management
- Pest and disease concerns
- Preparing colonies for extreme weather
- When a colony should be requeened
- Splitting or combining colonies
- Equipment setup and hive configuration
- General apiary management
Bring your questions. This is your time to learn about your bees.
One Problem Hive or an Entire Apiary
Every consultation is different.
You may simply have one colony that doesn't look right, or you may want Millheim Honey Company to work through your entire apiary and evaluate every hive.
Both are welcome.
There is no required number of colonies and no predetermined consultation length. We'll work through the colonies and concerns you want evaluated and spend the time necessary to provide a thorough assessment.
For larger apiaries, we can also prioritize problem colonies first before working through the remaining hives.
Who Are Consultations For?
Our consultation service is a great fit for:
- New beekeepers wanting hands-on guidance
- Experienced beekeepers wanting a second opinion
- Beekeepers struggling with a particular colony
- Someone who recently purchased or inherited hives
- Landowners with existing bees on their property
- Beekeepers experiencing unexpected colony losses
- Beekeepers concerned about queen performance
- Beekeepers preparing colonies for a seasonal transition
- People wanting their entire apiary professionally evaluated
- Beekeepers who aren't sure whether their current management strategy is working
- Clients considering professional hive management who want their colonies evaluated first
You do not have to be an existing Millheim Honey Company management client to schedule a consultation.
Troubleshooting & Second Opinions
Sometimes you know something isn't right—you just don't know what.
Maybe a colony isn't growing. Maybe you're not seeing the brood pattern you expected. Maybe honey production suddenly dropped. Maybe you've received conflicting advice about what you should do next.
That's exactly where a consultation can help.
We'll evaluate the colony based on what is actually happening inside the hive and provide recommendations based on the conditions we observe.
A consultation can help identify problems before they become larger issues and give you a clearer plan for moving forward.
Consultation Pricing
$150 Minimum Consultation Fee
Every beehive consultation has a minimum charge of $150, which includes up to the first hour of consultation time.
The $150 minimum applies even if the consultation takes less than one hour.
Your initial consultation may include:
- On-site apiary evaluation
- Hands-on colony inspections
- Individual hive audits
- Identification of potential concerns
- Professional recommendations
- Management and treatment guidance
- One-on-one beekeeping education
- Troubleshooting
- Questions and answers
Additional Consultation Time
If the consultation extends beyond the first hour, additional time is billed at:
$150 per additional hour
Additional time may be prorated based on the amount of time spent.
There is no maximum consultation length. If you have multiple colonies, extensive questions, or an entire apiary that needs to be evaluated, we can continue working through the hives as needed.
For Example:
A consultation lasting 30 minutes is $150.
A consultation lasting 1 hour is $150.
A consultation lasting longer than one hour will include the initial $150 consultation fee plus the applicable additional consultation time.
Travel charges or other service-related fees may apply depending on the location of the apiary and will be discussed when scheduling.
Consultation vs. Full-Service Hive Management
Not sure which Millheim Honey Company service you need?
The biggest difference is who will be responsible for managing the colonies after we leave.
Beehive Consultation
You manage your bees. We help you understand what they need.
A consultation is ideal when you want professional advice, education, troubleshooting, or an evaluation but plan to continue managing the colonies yourself.
There is no ongoing management commitment.
Full-Service Beehive Management
We manage the colonies for you.
Our full-service management program is designed for clients who want Millheim Honey Company to provide ongoing inspections, health monitoring, seasonal management, feeding decisions, queen monitoring, equipment adjustments, and other routine management throughout the year.
We offer options for both client-owned colonies and qualifying properties interested in leasing MHC-owned hives.
If you're unsure which option is best, a consultation can also be a great place to start.
What Happens After the Consultation?
At the end of the consultation, our goal is for you to have a much clearer understanding of:
Where your colonies currently stand.
What problems or potential concerns we identified.
What actions should be taken next.
From there, you can continue managing the colonies yourself using our recommendations.
If the situation requires additional assistance, we can also discuss whether another consultation or Millheim Honey Company's full-service hive management program would be appropriate.
There is no requirement to sign up for ongoing management after a consultation.
Schedule a Beehive Consultation
If something doesn't look right in your colonies—or you simply want an experienced set of eyes to evaluate your apiary—give us a call.
We'll discuss your location, number of hives, current concerns, and what you'd like to accomplish during the consultation.
Consultations start with a $150 minimum fee, including up to the first hour.
📧 Email: millheimhoney@gmail.com
📞 Phone: (979) 551-5024
Millheim Honey Company
Professional beekeeping experience brought directly to your apiary.