Author Topic: Dang utilities!  (Read 8708 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline crazy8days

  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 217
  • Thanked: 2 times
  • Gender: Male
    • https://www.facebook.com/pages/Crees-Bees/264227527049555?ref=hl
  • Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Dang utilities!
« on: April 29, 2015, 10:21:54 pm »
Found out today where I usually house 8 hives. Now only 2 after this winter. That the sewer company is running a new line. The property my bees are on has been in my family for 100 years.  What's left is my grandparents house which is now rented out and 3 acres. My hives are where the old sugar shack use to sit. It is close to the road but I have put up a fence and there is a strip of trees to block vision from the road. Subdivisions have grown around the property. So this is the only spot that's away from everyone. I have had bees here for 4 years. Well, today utilities cut every tree down behind my hives. All is standing is my fence and two hives. It won't be long and they will have a big excavator digging for the new sewer line. They said I should be ok but I guess I'm in the easement line. Should I attempt to move them or just see what happens. I hate for all the noise, diesel smell someone getting popped by my bees.

“It's wonderful to me that bees have this simple, age-old thing going on.” -Peter Fonda

Offline Jen

  • Platinum Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10175
  • Thanked: 240 times
  • Gender: Female
  • Location: Upper California
Re: Dang utilities!
« Reply #1 on: April 29, 2015, 11:14:52 pm »
Hi Crazy  :)  Curious how far are your bees into spring there? Reason in my mind is, it would be hard to move them if there is a flow going on. And, do you have a place to move them to?
There Is Peace In The Queendom

Offline crazy8days

  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 217
  • Thanked: 2 times
  • Gender: Male
    • https://www.facebook.com/pages/Crees-Bees/264227527049555?ref=hl
  • Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Re: Dang utilities!
« Reply #2 on: April 29, 2015, 11:47:03 pm »
Flow is on. I do have another yard but geez that's a lot to move!  Even just two hives!   There I'd a lot of good eats here! 
“It's wonderful to me that bees have this simple, age-old thing going on.” -Peter Fonda

Offline Jen

  • Platinum Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10175
  • Thanked: 240 times
  • Gender: Female
  • Location: Upper California
Re: Dang utilities!
« Reply #3 on: April 30, 2015, 12:31:06 am »
Hmmm, tough decision there, but I think I would be inclined to leave them there. Hard time of year to move them when they are accustomed to exactly where their groceries are right now.
There Is Peace In The Queendom

Offline sc-bee

  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 132
  • Thanked: 7 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: SC
Re: Dang utilities!
« Reply #4 on: April 30, 2015, 12:50:46 am »
If they said they should be ok...Just wait and see if one of them gets popped. They will let you know  :o

Offline Jen

  • Platinum Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10175
  • Thanked: 240 times
  • Gender: Female
  • Location: Upper California
Re: Dang utilities!
« Reply #5 on: April 30, 2015, 12:59:38 am »
That may be a consideration there Crazy. I had, note 'had', a hot hive this year, too many stings going on in the neighborhood. Do you know if any of your hives are hot?
There Is Peace In The Queendom

Offline crazy8days

  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 217
  • Thanked: 2 times
  • Gender: Male
    • https://www.facebook.com/pages/Crees-Bees/264227527049555?ref=hl
  • Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Re: Dang utilities!
« Reply #6 on: April 30, 2015, 05:08:28 am »
No hot hives.
“It's wonderful to me that bees have this simple, age-old thing going on.” -Peter Fonda

Offline Ray

  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 200
  • Thanked: 10 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: A 1 hour drive North of Grand Rapids Michigan
Re: Dang utilities!
« Reply #7 on: April 30, 2015, 08:03:08 am »
I guess I'd try moving the hives back a couple three feet and point the entrance away from the road. Good Luck!

Offline LazyBkpr

  • Global Moderator
  • Gold Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 6842
  • Thanked: 205 times
  • Gender: Male
  • www.outyard.net
    • The Outyard
  • Location: Richland Iowa
Re: Dang utilities!
« Reply #8 on: April 30, 2015, 09:02:36 am »
I didnt read the whole thread, just looked at the picture..  I would have my lawyer call and they would have new trees planted within a week..  they can dig up to 15 feet from the center of the road here, and no further, the rest belongs to me.  I would also charge them per inch for the trees that they killed.. measure the diameter and they are liable if they did not have your permission to cut.
  No, I would NOT move my bees, in fact I would move the meanest hives I had down there for the duration, just because they neglected to contact me and ask permission..

   Just looking at the picture I know they would be out of bounds if that were here...   if it is NOT there, I would still be ticked off that they did not notify me, and I would still have about 20 hives within a foot of where their property ended and mine began..  at least until they contacted me and decided to be neighborly and work it out. "THEN"  I would meet them halfway with whatever they need.
Drinking RUM before noon makes you a PIRATE not an alcoholic!

*Sponsor*
The following users thanked this post: Slowmodem

Offline riverbee

  • Gold Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 8924
  • Thanked: 410 times
  • Gender: Female
  • ***Forum Sponsor***
  • Location: El Paso Twp, Wisconsin
Re: Dang utilities!
« Reply #9 on: April 30, 2015, 11:08:29 am »
scott, roadway right of ways are different than utility easements, and varies.  if the trees are within the easement, there is nothing one can do, and the utility company has the right to cut them down.  if the trees were outside of the easement, then one would have recourse.

crazy, tough question, if the hives are within the easement, but they said that you would probably be okay?  just be sure the utility company doesn't have an issue with it later down the road.  hard to tell, but does your fence shield a little from the roadway?
i keep wild things in a box..........™
if you obey the rules, you miss all the fun.....katherine hepburn
Forum Sponsor

Offline beemanseamon

  • New Member
  • *
  • Posts: 1
  • Gender: Male
Re: Dang utilities!
« Reply #10 on: April 30, 2015, 12:20:42 pm »
Well, there's progress for you... What's underground in that area? Do you have ledge or soil that might need to be hammered or blasted? If so, I'd be loading 'em up and heading for a place with some peace and quiet.

Offline efmesch

  • Gold Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1696
  • Thanked: 201 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: Israel
Re: Dang utilities!
« Reply #11 on: April 30, 2015, 04:18:12 pm »
If you should decide to move the hives, move them both at the same time (one after the other, on the same night), the same distance in the same direction, keeping their relative positions as they were initially.  This way, you should avoid confusion in the hives.  Since you are moving them only a short distance, you can do it over the course of a few days, a few feet each time.
The following users thanked this post: Ray

Offline crazy8days

  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 217
  • Thanked: 2 times
  • Gender: Male
    • https://www.facebook.com/pages/Crees-Bees/264227527049555?ref=hl
  • Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Re: Dang utilities!
« Reply #12 on: April 30, 2015, 06:12:14 pm »
In the pic you can see the stake with a yellow tape on it.  That's the easement.  I'm in the easement.  No one in the family knew.  Ray, hives are pointed away from road.  When the trees were there you could not see my hives driving down the road.  They were tucked in.  The fence was added coverage in winter to keep people from seeing them. 

River, They are removing an old lift station about 100 ft. away. There running new sewage line to it.  That's why the trees had to go.  I have more fence I can put up to block vision but hate to put it up cause it will still be in the easement.  Really don't want to move them.  It's 3 acres surrounded by houses.
“It's wonderful to me that bees have this simple, age-old thing going on.” -Peter Fonda

Offline Ray

  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 200
  • Thanked: 10 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: A 1 hour drive North of Grand Rapids Michigan
Re: Dang utilities!
« Reply #13 on: April 30, 2015, 06:18:24 pm »
 :sad: A bitter pill to swallow and unless you already have a lawyer on retainer, you might as well chase that pill with a 12 pack.  :sad:

Offline riverbee

  • Gold Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 8924
  • Thanked: 410 times
  • Gender: Female
  • ***Forum Sponsor***
  • Location: El Paso Twp, Wisconsin
Re: Dang utilities!
« Reply #14 on: April 30, 2015, 07:29:37 pm »
"In the pic you can see the stake with a yellow tape on it.  That's the easement.  I'm in the easement.  No one in the family knew.  Ray, hives are pointed away from road.  When the trees were there you could not see my hives driving down the road.  They were tucked in.  The fence was added coverage in winter to keep people from seeing them.
River, They are removing an old lift station about 100 ft. away. There running new sewage line to it.  That's why the trees had to go.  I have more fence I can put up to block vision but hate to put it up cause it will still be in the easement.  Really don't want to move them.  It's 3 acres surrounded by houses."


okay crazy thanks!  i do see the yellow tape now in the pix.......all, let's lose the lawyer thing, if the utility company goes outside the yellow tape, then crazy has recourse but to be honest, utility companies know the easement because they don't want problems with lawsuits and such from a landowner.  crazy, at some point your family has paperwork on this and may have been, or probably paid one time for the easement, and a very descriptive legal paper on it. 

this does not matter now.  crazy, i wouldn't place any additional fencing within the easement.  i would have a conversation with the utility company about the hives, sorry are they located within the easement? the utility company may not care, but at some point they might, and get it in writing.  i think what i would do, if you don't want to move them out of the easement for now, i would contact whomever that deals with easements for that utility company, to ensure that your hives are indeed 'okay' to be there for now, get it in writing.....they have a right to remove anything within the easement.  i would plan to move the hives outside of the easement in the future if need be to avoid any problems or surprises in the future.  you need to have a conversation with the utility company about this.  typically they are very open to conversation, and willing to work with the landowner.  i said typically....... :D
i keep wild things in a box..........™
if you obey the rules, you miss all the fun.....katherine hepburn
Forum Sponsor

Offline Riverrat

  • Gold Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 2169
  • Thanked: 56 times
  • Location: oxford kansas
Re: Dang utilities!
« Reply #15 on: April 30, 2015, 07:34:36 pm »
bet the workers drew straws to see who had to cut near the hives ;)
"no man ever stood so tall as one that  stoops to help a child"

Forum Supporter

Offline G3farms

  • Bee Wrangler
  • Global Moderator
  • Gold Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 1724
  • Thanked: 37 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: Concord, TN
Re: Dang utilities!
« Reply #16 on: April 30, 2015, 08:05:10 pm »
I think I would move them. The first utility worker that gets stung will surely be spraying them with wasp and bee killer.
Bees are bees and do as they please!

.... --- -   -... . . ...   .-- .. .-.. .-..   .... .- ...- .   -.-- --- ..-   ... - . .--. .--. .. -. --.   .- -. -..   ..-. . - -.-. .... .. -. --.   .-.. .. -.- .   -.-- --- ..- .-.   .... . .- -..   .. ...   --- -.   ..-. .. .-. .   .- -. -..   -.-- --- ..- .-.   .- ... ...   .. ...   -.-. .- - -.-. .... .. -. --.

Offline LazyBkpr

  • Global Moderator
  • Gold Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 6842
  • Thanked: 205 times
  • Gender: Male
  • www.outyard.net
    • The Outyard
  • Location: Richland Iowa
Re: Dang utilities!
« Reply #17 on: April 30, 2015, 10:35:50 pm »


   wow.. easement...   they get about a foot here...  anything past a foot I have to deal with... in fact I have a dead tree that needs dealt with now.. they cut the branch back that foot, then told me I better get the tree down or they will charge me to do it...   sometimes living rural can have downfalls...
Drinking RUM before noon makes you a PIRATE not an alcoholic!

*Sponsor*

Offline crazy8days

  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 217
  • Thanked: 2 times
  • Gender: Male
    • https://www.facebook.com/pages/Crees-Bees/264227527049555?ref=hl
  • Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Re: Dang utilities!
« Reply #18 on: May 01, 2015, 05:09:01 pm »
Thanks River for the info.  I called the utility company today.  The lady I spoke with was all excited to hear from me.  They were concern that they would disturb them.  I talked to her for about 10 minutes about bees.  She remembers as a kid walking through her Uncles bee yard and never had an issue.  She loves bees.  She was asking if I sold comb honey.  She said she has not been able to locate some in the 900 mile stretch she travels to her home state of Alabama.  (I think)  She is going to do what she can to keep them there.  They have a meeting with all contractors every Monday and it will be brought up.  So, we'll see!  If all is good I need to locate some comb honey for her.   :)
“It's wonderful to me that bees have this simple, age-old thing going on.” -Peter Fonda

Offline riverbee

  • Gold Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 8924
  • Thanked: 410 times
  • Gender: Female
  • ***Forum Sponsor***
  • Location: El Paso Twp, Wisconsin
Re: Dang utilities!
« Reply #19 on: May 02, 2015, 12:40:22 am »
neat to hear that the utility company was concerned about disturbing the bees.
great crazy, good to keep up the conversation with the utility company.  we have been there done that like you. the key is to converse with them.
keep the communication going, they may be willing to work with you. we have three easements on our property, they all seem to work with as as long as we keep the communication going with them.  they may even be willing to agree to and/or pay for the planting of bee friendly plants in the easement once the work has been completed. all you need to do is ask. it doesn't hurt.  but keep up the conversation with her, and results or feedback of the contractors meetings. 

comb honey? i will send you a chunk of comb honey to give to her if need be, just let me know!

EDIT AND ADD:
" wow.. easement...   they get about a foot here...  anything past a foot I have to deal with... in fact I have a dead tree that needs dealt with now.. they cut the branch back that foot, then told me I better get the tree down or they will charge me to do it...   sometimes living rural can have downfalls..."

easements are more than a foot scott. the easement depends on what the easement is for.  i live in a very rural area with 3 easements and a road right away; koch/flint gas pipeline, excel energy,  local electrical, township. each one is different.  all seem to work with us on the easements/rightaway. we have had some issues with flint, and one year, cutting a 100 foot wide swath when the easement is only 50 feet. flint reimbursed us for everything cut down or cleared outside of the easement, not to mention the survey markers the contractors working for flint that they tore out of the ground. flint paid for an additional survey to replace the markers. in these easements are wildflower plantings, and as long as there aren't trees or scrub brush they don't have a problem, and don't have a problem with my bees that are nearby.
i keep wild things in a box..........™
if you obey the rules, you miss all the fun.....katherine hepburn
Forum Sponsor