Not only do bees cost money, it's an uphill battle when trying to maintain the bees you do have. As mites are always a concern, treatments to control them are constantly evolving. Some products that are available to beekeepers were useful for a time, but mites become resistant to them. I spoke to Davey who is currently buying strips that the government has allowed beekeepers some sort of temporary registration to use. They are currently that only thing that really work to treat the bees, but at a cost of $2.50 per strip and thousands of hives to place these on, that number rises very quickly. To keep his bees in the best health possible, Davey has been purchasing 92,500 pounds of protein a year! And then sugar syrup on top of that! Beekeeping these days is not a get-rich-quick operation by any means.