Author Topic: Beehives in front of house in suburbia  (Read 1640 times)

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omnimirage

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Beehives in front of house in suburbia
« on: January 16, 2018, 10:11:55 pm »
Someone has asked me to place some hives in front of their house. It's somewhat shielded by folage, but the bees would be quite visible to people looking in at a number of angles.

I read some government brochure for a neighboring Australian state recommending not to place beehives at the front of properties. The neighbor seems fine with it, and it's not necessarily a bad neighbor, but I wonder if there's any risks involved with setting up bees at the front.

Should I avoid doing so? Does anyone have any experience with such?

Offline apisbees

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Re: Beehives in front of house in suburbia
« Reply #1 on: January 17, 2018, 04:55:57 am »
Unless there is a high fence (6 foot) to divert the bees up and over peoples heads, the bees will be flying into people and they will be freaking out so I would avoid it. Also the temptation for the neighbor hood boys to throw stones at them, they will come out mad and could sting some innocent bystander.
Honey Judge, Beekeeping Display Coordinator, Armstrong Fair and Rodeo.

Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: Beehives in front of house in suburbia
« Reply #2 on: January 17, 2018, 06:00:15 am »
I wouldn't do it.  It's an invitation for problems.  Remember when locating colonies, Out of sight, out of mind.  Think of all the people who access the front of that house.  Mailmen, deliveries, neighborhood children, visitors, homeowner etc.  The first time the neighbor has a problem with a honey bee, they might change their minds.

Offline apisbees

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Re: Beehives in front of house in suburbia
« Reply #3 on: January 17, 2018, 06:25:31 am »
I will add. it depends on the size of the front yard. if it is an acre in size it is a totally different story than the front yard of a 20 X 30 meter lot.
Honey Judge, Beekeeping Display Coordinator, Armstrong Fair and Rodeo.

omnimirage

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Re: Beehives in front of house in suburbia
« Reply #4 on: January 17, 2018, 07:32:00 am »
It's a small suburban front yard. I have similiar reservations as you guys do but the owner seemed rather proud to be supporting his local environment by housing more bees. I think I'll avoid placing them at the front.

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Re: Beehives in front of house in suburbia
« Reply #5 on: January 17, 2018, 12:25:01 pm »
It is not economical to have single hive placements, the time, effort, and gas to attend to one or two hives doesn't make sense.
Honey Judge, Beekeeping Display Coordinator, Armstrong Fair and Rodeo.

omnimirage

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Re: Beehives in front of house in suburbia
« Reply #6 on: January 17, 2018, 04:48:51 pm »
Yeah. I have three hives at this location already. Part of the reason why I decided to set up there was, that the owner is a gardener and he's basically offering me vegetables from his garden whenever I visit. It's also close to a few food shops that I like to visit, and isn't too far either so it wasn't so much of an economical burden to set up there. I asked him what he thought about me setting up more hives at his place, to make it more worthwhile to visit which is when he said that I could set up some hives at the front of his property.

Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: Beehives in front of house in suburbia
« Reply #7 on: January 17, 2018, 06:56:34 pm »
It's a small suburban front yard. I have similiar reservations as you guys do but the owner seemed rather proud to be supporting his local environment by housing more bees. I think I'll avoid placing them at the front.
He sounds like a nice guy.  Suggest he put a sign in his yard saying he is Pollinator Friendly or some such.

Offline Barbarian

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Re: Beehives in front of house in suburbia
« Reply #8 on: January 18, 2018, 01:24:17 am »
Denise had a lot of problems from a neighbour when she had hives at home. It only takes one neighbour who has a thing about bees to cause a lot of problems.

I use a bait hive for a person who wants bees in their garden. For most of the time, the hive is empty. The site host gets pleasure from watching the scouts checking the hive. If the host sees a swarm arrive then it's a big pleasure. When the bait hive is removed, I have often had requests for an immediate replacement or for another next season.
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omnimirage

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Re: Beehives in front of house in suburbia
« Reply #9 on: January 18, 2018, 06:03:39 am »
I put a bait hive at the site alongside two hives. The bait hive wasn't touched though unfortunately.

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Re: Beehives in front of house in suburbia
« Reply #10 on: January 18, 2018, 08:06:24 am »
Bees don't like to swarm into a hive next to another hive. They do do it but you will have more success it the hive is a little removed from the others. Put the bait hive in the front yard and place more hives with the other.
With your mild climate you may not have his problem because your bees can get in flight days every month of the year but in areas where the bees are forced to stay inside when the weather does finally break we can end up with a $#!+ fest. Brown spots on cars, sides of houses, boats, RV's, on the neighbors laundry hanging on the line.
Honey Judge, Beekeeping Display Coordinator, Armstrong Fair and Rodeo.

omnimirage

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Re: Beehives in front of house in suburbia
« Reply #11 on: January 18, 2018, 07:09:24 pm »
How far away is "little" removed? Two swarm seasons ago, I had 6 swarms set up all within 10 meters of my four hives so I figured they were attracted to the bees there. How far away should I put trap hives?

Why would the bees have issues with pooping everywhere when they're forced inside their hive?


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Re: Beehives in front of house in suburbia
« Reply #12 on: January 18, 2018, 08:24:32 pm »
10 meters is a little removed.
the longer the bees have to hold it in, the more they have to go so after 2 to 4 months of holding it in then they are allowed to fly. they paint everything in the area brown. The more hives the more bees the more crap. with you being in a mild climate with lots of flight days for the bees through out your winter I doubt you will notice it much.
Honey Judge, Beekeeping Display Coordinator, Armstrong Fair and Rodeo.

omnimirage

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Re: Beehives in front of house in suburbia
« Reply #13 on: January 19, 2018, 11:13:30 pm »
How interesting. I do remember the man who initially taught me beekeeping, pointing out that one hive had a lot of poop stains on it, and he said to pay attention to it, that such could indicate the bees are sick with diarrhea.