# TBH distances



## John E W (Jan 11, 2014)

Hi there! Can anyone give me advice on how close is a safe close to having a TBH in your backyard but not so close that the bees bother your neighbors!!!
I've read that they travel up to 2 miles around the hive but the closer they are to nectar the better.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

The real answer to distance from the neighbors is - _It Depends_. 

If you have only a couple of hives, and you are sure to keep _attractive _water available (so the bees don't go to the neighbors pools or fountains) 100 ft would be more than reasonable.

But there are situations where hives are within 20 ft of the neighbors without disturbing the peace.

How much space do you have to work with? If there are city/county/municipal rules where you live, what do those regulations say?


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## John E W (Jan 11, 2014)

I've asked my municipality already and they have no prob with me having hives. 
They think it's cool!
As for distance from neighbors... I'd put the hive in my backyard and the closest house would be about 250-325 feet away. Maybe more!
My better half just thought it would be a nuisance for the neighbors kids etc!
I'd only want one TBH and eventually turning it into 2 TBH when I'd have enough bees etc! 
I've got a beeman like 10 miles from home but he wants 300$ for a hive of bees!
I can build a TBH for little to nothing and I'd have to find a place in Quebec or where ever that that sending a box of bees here is ok! And it would cost me way less than 225$ with my tools needed!


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

I would choose a spot that gets full sun, and is at least 100 ft away from the neighbors if you can manage it. If that full sun spot is somewhat sheltered from the wind - even better. Be sure to always have water available on your property.

It may seem odd, but water with a distinct smell (at least to the bees) is better than "pure" water at keeping the bees out of the neighbors' water sources.


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## Duncan151 (Aug 3, 2013)

My TBH are 1600 feet from my house, and about 1400ft from my fathers. Everything was good till the end of summer. They were then in his humming bird feeders, and they were around my house, which was under construction at the time, going through the sawdust. They also were very fond of the Mt Dews that the construction guys would leave around the site. I need to build some better bee fences!


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## KPeacock (Jan 29, 2013)

Duncan makes a good point. I've got 6 hives about 300ft from my house. I saw maybe 4 or 5 bees all season long (except for inspections), and probably a couple dozen on the goldenrod in the fall. Late summer before the GR was ready for them, i did see bees checking things out near the house, outbuilding, vehicles...etc. They would just fly around one their own and investiate stuff. They weren't at all aggressive, but with nothing for them to forage on, they were just looking for _something_. Moral of the story, their visibility away from the hive changes with the seasons. It was till a let down for me to see so few of them during the year.


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## burns375 (Jul 15, 2013)

Rader Sidetrack said:


> The real answer to distance from the neighbors is - _It Depends_.


Everything radar says is true. Depends on your neighbors, the enviroment, the weather/flow (rainfall), their mood.

I use to have hives in my urban backyard. Very small lots near the city. The roofers toredown and put up roof no problem, hive 50ft away in september. In june and july weather got really dry and hot I had bees head butt me in the garden 20ft away. No flow, they were mean. 

This year at new location in a more rural but urban area the mexican mowers on big loud commercial machine are 2-3 ft away from hives no problem all year. I could have worked the hives except maybe in spring spring without a veil no issue. 2013 was very good bee year.

I'll have matting nucs at my house this spring, but probably won't put a full size hive here again. Just to close and the one neighbor with a oriental wife complains. Hes 30 and still plays video games in the basement. Heres a pic to give you idea of proximity. There are other club members down the street with hives too, one with 3, one with 2, one with 4

Google Map


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## mdadams1 (Apr 17, 2012)

I have my hive on my upstairs balcony. Neighbors house is 20 ft away. They don't know I even have one.... In NYC (lower manhattan) I saw three hives no more than 10 feet from a sidewalk.


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## wmsuber (Apr 4, 2011)

I keep 3 to 4 of my hives, in my garden which is immediately behind my house, maybe 40 feet to the closest hive, 100 feet to the farther one. Most of the time we seldom see any bees around the house, but I do keep water jars on the front similar to the bottom board feeders. On the other hand, at night when we leave the outside light by our back door on, there will often be 20 or bees hovering around the light. A few get in the reoccurring always present spider webs, but they leave when we turn off the light. Sometimes if we open the door to go out, a few will come to the interior lights if they have already gathered. Even worse is when we leave the door slightly cracked, so the dog can return from his pee runs, and he bumps the door open and it stays open with mud room light on. Since that light is in direct line of sight to a hive, the bees come right on in. Unfortunately, the wife is more of a concern than my neighbors. She does not find doing the laundry in a room full of bees very much fun. Thank goodness she is pretty cool about the whole thing and it only happens a few times a year.


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