great thread, and great question.
"but some people just don't want to hear it." very true.....some, like baker's and barry indicated, no matter what you do, they won't really listen or a have a willingness to listen.
for myself education goes a long way, a jar of honey, and the willingness to answer questions and educate. sometimes not. i let the kids wear a veil, put on the gloves, fire up the smoker, give them a hive tool, get them close to a hive, hold a drone, hold a frame, etc....test drive.... children who have no fear, or not the fear of their parents are very curious and want to know. all of my country neighbors love it that i keep bees, and most of my rural city suburb neighbors, except one. biggest PITA on the planet.
i have known this city neighbor for 21 years. she and her now deceased husband lived across the street from us. we were the best of friends. i have always brought nucs, divides or starter hives to my city residence to get them built up. no one had a problem. it was and is nice to hear my neighbors say they are seeing my honey bees in their gardens and on their flowers. awareness of the honey bee plight has touched them all in one form another, being a beekeeper that lives in close proximity to them, i think, does make them more aware. and so does a gift of honey or comb honey.
the neighbor across the street...she never had a problem. one of my next door neighbors, he never had a problem, or his kids or grandkids (known him the same amount of time. sort of a story here.....anyway the next door neighbor's wife died. a few months later neighbor across the street her husband died. within 6 months, my neighbor across the street had moved in and shacked up with my next door neighbor......(some prior history there) and sold her house....
anyway, that summer i brought some nucs to care for in the city until they built up. she literally FLIPPED on me, told me how allergic she was, blah, blah, blah.......allergic you say? hmmm, do you carry an epi pen?........
she's not allergic, has never been to an allergist, and suffers from large local reactions to all stinging insects......and the fear factor. having a true allergy, when someone tells me they are allergic and do not carry an eppy, is an open door for me.
part of education to folks when this comes up is teaching them about what an allergy is......and what a normal local reaction is to a sting and what's not normal. what a honey bee's gentle nature truly is and what their defenses are compared to other stinging insects. some think when they swell up, that this is an 'allergy'. it's not, but their fear is greater or overrides anything you can tell them, and most folks are amazed that i continue to keep bees, but i get a great deal of 'mileage' on the education part and a listening ear. she will never change, even with a jar or more of honey, and his grandkids coming over to my place to see the bees, 'help' me out, and returning sting free.
don't worry about it ledifni, until the problem neighbor moves in. be kind to them and listen. post here for suggestions on how to handle them. sometimes they can be won over, sometimes not, but i would say if they are arses about it.....don't match being an arse back......
the saying is,
" if you want to gather honey don't kick over the beehive" ...........
