# Mowing Near Bee Box...



## Hive5ive (Nov 21, 2015)

I have no problem running my dozer near the hives. It's bright yellow and shakes the ground. They just fly on by and ignore me! Maybe they think it's a giant angry sunflower...


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## johnbeejohn (Jun 30, 2013)

I always end my passed by my bees an make a pass around them then get away from them have a zero turn mower then do the close work with a weed Wacker as fast as I can all around them


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## bee keeper chef (Nov 1, 2015)

When its hot and dry AKA Dearth I don't even try to mow any where near my bees I mowed yesterday right up to the hives but I had on a jacket a veil they were not bothered to much I can tell you do not try a weed wacker around the hives. mine will go crazy. I tried it I only tried it 1 time lesson learned


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## Scott Gough (Dec 10, 2015)

Mine do not like it when I run a push mower right next to the hive so I always wear a veil when I do that. I run the riding mower within 10 feet of the entrance to mow a path and I have been stung twice in two years when doing that without a veil. So it depends upon what you mean by "near" and how sensitive your bees are that particular day.


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## Riverderwent (May 23, 2013)

BCB said:


> I have heard from sources (maybe unreliable) that mowing next to a bee hive with a diesel tractor, I have a Kubota, can anger the bees because of the sound of a diesel engine…
> 
> Any truth to this? And will I be able to mow near my bee box, either by a push mower or the Kubota?


It depends on the bees, the time of year, and whether there have been other disturbances of the hive.


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## DavidZ (Apr 9, 2016)

my 85yr old neighbour in Oregon has a orange Kub and drives 30' away along his fence line keeping the ground tilled every 3-4 days. no problems yet, he knows the bees are there in the fenced apiary and in the barn next to his Hazelnut orchard. Russian and Carni's


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## Agis Apiaries (Jul 22, 2014)

We run gas mowers and weed wackers right up to the hive stands with no issues.


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## thesecurityeagle (Jun 21, 2016)

I have a kubota and I run right by the hive with no problem. I also drive past them with the exhaust on the left pointing at the hives. The girls step back and never have come after me. Weedeating.....different story. Wanna get them going? Run that weedeater up next to the hive.


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## Hops Brewster (Jun 17, 2014)

I have an MTV lawnmower  and I mow right up to within a foot of my hives. I make sure the discharges blows away from them and I usually do it in the AM before it gets hot.


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## Western (May 29, 2016)

I also use my tractor, so far with no negatives. Haven't tried a weed-eater yet, maybe the smaller form factor, or the higher rpm sounds (vibration) PO's them IDK. 
I also have a feral hive in an oak tree and have ran the tractor shredder withing 6" of their entrance (base of tree), I did suit up for that, since I am in a possible AHB zone, didn't even get "head butted", may be all different the next time...


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## enjambres (Jun 30, 2013)

No issues here with our SCAG commercial mower running all around the hives. 

We often lift and carry a whole strapped-together hive stack with our diesel farm tractor, with me walking along holding the stack so it doesn't swing. Both of us wearing jackets, though I can't recall it being necessary. We wear them in case something should go wrong (rope breaks, etc.) And because (for me at least) I am already wearing one while I prep the hive for the lift.

I use a weed whacker right along the face of the stand, no issues with it upsetting the bees.

In general l usually wear a jacket when I am around the bees mostly because I have long hair hanging down my back and the bees get tangled in it, and I would always wear at least a veil to protect my eyes.

I think it is different in areas with Africanized honey bee (aka killer bees). There aren't any AHB in PA,

Enj.


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## tnmtn (May 27, 2016)

The guy that mows for me does it to within a foot of the hives without a problem. But he will not weed whack around them.

Is there a way to keep the weeds down around the hive? I live in the Smokies, which is pretty tropical and stuff grows really fast.

Do any of you mulch? Do you put down a weed barrier first? One person told me she mulches with garden lime because she feels it helps keep out SHB.


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## Hops Brewster (Jun 17, 2014)

sure, lots of folks around here use weed barriers and/or mulch. Anything from cardboard lain around the hives to weed fabric and bark mulch. I've seen patio pavers and gravel. Some even spray Roundup right up to the hive stands (it's and herbicide, not a pesticide).

I just kick the weeds down as I work around the hives. Sometimes weed-whack 'em.


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## Jim_in_PA (May 17, 2016)

Neither my Kubota tractor nor my ZTR seem to bother our colonies when I pass as close as 4' from them. When mowing, the discharge is always away from them, however.


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## Artur_M (Aug 14, 2016)

Lets agree on "everything is relative".

When I mow my lawn near hives, about 1 foot away with exhaust blowing away from hive, in the morning cool time - the bees are ignoring me.
But when my neighbors mower is mowing at about 5PM hot time with his gigantic mower, which blows dust 20 feet far, they chase him even 50-100 feet away.
My hives were behind a bushes from neighbor side, and he with his "elephant" machine was blowing towards my bees passing by property line, so the bees were teaching him a lesson.

But he complained and government require me to move my hives - what can I say?
If you want more details about this, read http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?329899-My-Neighbor-Wants-to-Kill-My-Bees/page5


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

Lukily this year I haven't had a single sting from the bees from mowing. I run the deck from the garden tractor UNDER the hives then return a few minutes later to weed whip. 
Last year I took about 5 mowing on one cutting, but that was it. Orientation flights start about 4:30 pm here. I tend to mow before that! lol


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## BCB (Aug 21, 2016)

So it seems one can mow near a hive. I would try to mow very early in the morning around the hive--say 0630 hours. Maybe the bees would still be sleeping!!!...

What are Orientation Flights?...

Thanks...BCB


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## Peasey (Mar 2, 2015)

I foolishly thought I could run the weed eater under the hives and got hit right in the center of my forehead 

I went back out in the evening with a little smoke and trimmed everything up so I could put down some homegrown herbicide - problem solved.


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## Scott Gough (Dec 10, 2015)

BCB said:


> What are Orientation Flights?...


Orientation flights are young bees figuring out where their hive is for the first time. It is characterized by what appears to be increased flight activity near the hive entrance because many of the young bees do it at the same time. The bees will circle around near the hive so that they can return their home hive when they leave to forage.

Orientation flights also occur when a hive is moved and the bees are reorienting for the first time after the hive is moved.


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## Agis Apiaries (Jul 22, 2014)

For what it's worth, the weed wacker we use around the hives is one of the battery powered ones. No noisy gas motor. Never had any problems with it, and we run it right up to the stands and onder the hive door.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

BCB said:


> So it seems one can mow near a hive. I would try to mow very early in the morning around the hive--say 0630 hours. Maybe the bees would still be sleeping!!!...
> 
> What are Orientation Flights?...
> 
> Thanks...BCB


The best time to mow is when the forager bees are out in full force. They tend to be the more aggressive bees because they are older. I tend to mow later in the day when the foragers are worn out. lol


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## Hive5ive (Nov 21, 2015)

I was mowing and weed whacking around the hives last night, thought about this post. BTW, they completely ignored me, they were bearding too. I was wondering if they were thinking about how nice it was to have someone else do there yard work....


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## frustrateddrone (Jan 31, 2015)

Each bee hive has a different temperament and it's going to change through out the months or weeks. So, mowing near the hive 1 time might get zero attention, another time it could. If you trust your bees then go ahead and mow, but be sure to watch them is my advice. I could not mow 80ft in front of my Africanized bee hive. 20ft to the rear and sides. I had to suit up to do that sort of thing. Like I said every hive is different.


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## BCB (Aug 21, 2016)

*Africanized bee hive"*

What's the advantage of having those bees?...

I thought people tried to not get involved with them?...

Or, does it just happen?...

Sure hope none get to The Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania...

Good-luck...BCB


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