# Upset neighbors. Must part with or move my hives.



## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

Wow sorry to hear that. Didn't think 2 TBH's would create enough bees to intimidate a whole street, you are likely surrounded by psychotics, probably one strong minded one who has bad mouthed you to everybody else. Comment though, keeping hot bees is a bad plan in suburbia as they can cause the end of your hobby, as may be happening to you.

Wyatt Magnum is a migratory TBH owner & has some useful moving tips in his book.


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## Metropropolis (Feb 15, 2012)

I'm afraid I can't offer any guidance on the move, but I am very curious how the situation came about.

Was there any warning about neighborly dissatisfaction? 

Were there any incidents preceeding this, or was this perception-based?

You mention the hives are "hot" - Did you queen-pinch or otherwise attempt to requeen?


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## RacerX (May 10, 2013)

No warning at all. Evidently one neighbor was supposed to say something weeks ago and never did. My other neighbor just walked up this evening while I was building hive number 3 (to split the hot hive) and wondered if I had bees and if anyone had spoken to me. I said no, is there a problem? Long story short...kid was stung, wife was stung, police may have been called, cookout with sodas was a bee fest, etc...don't know the time frame. Funny because I wave at these people weekly and nothing was ever said or a concern raised. 

I thought about requeening, but this hive is such a great hive, and I had no known issues other than getting after me. I blamed myself for that since I checked them at night, but that was early summer. I have even mowed within 30 ft of both hives recently and had not even a warning buzz. My guess is its a sting or too then the fear sets in and is overblown. My problem is, it more than a few families, so making amends and keeping the hives is out.


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## Metropropolis (Feb 15, 2012)

RacerX said:


> I have even mowed within 30 ft of both hives recently and had not even a warning buzz. My guess is its a sting or too then the fear sets in and is overblown. My problem is, it more than a few families, so making amends and keeping the hives is out.


Really, the stinging could just as easily have been from a wasp.... But without that initial foundation of trust and communication with neighbors, one is at the mercy of their perceptions....


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

Move the bees...keep the empty hive number 3 setup and every week light your smoker and put on the suit. If there are complaints about your bees (that you done have) encourage the complainers to call law enforcement...and show the police the offending empty space in the box.


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## jonathan (Nov 3, 2009)

RacerX said:


> I thought about requeening, but this hive is such a great hive,


It's not really fair to keep a 'hot' hive in an area where people are likely to get stung.
In what sense is a hive like this a great hive. It would be better requeened for the sake of your neighbours.
I have zero tolerance of aggression in any of my colonies and always requeen at the first signs of poor behaviour.


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## fruitveggirl (Mar 8, 2013)

Who knows if the neighbors were really stung by bees, but I agree that it's also not fair to keep a hot hive in a suburban neighborhood. I'm so sorry that you have to move or give up your bees, but you're doing the right thing by trying to keep the peace in your community.

As far as what they're worth goes, I can tell you that I purchased packages from Sam Comfort this year for $165 a pop, I think. He told me that he also sells nucs, but they're about double that. Full-blown hives are worth a lot more, I'm sure. On the other hand, the top price you can get will be whatever folks are willing to pay.

In his book, Wyatt Mangum gives some tips for moving hives: 
- transport at night or load just before dawn. Move them in the cool of the morning.
- try to have vehicle access to hive stands. His hives are on stands that are just the right height for him to slide them into his truck.
- Pack hives so nothing can fly off truck. Don't trust propolis to hold the bars down.
- if the travel extends into the day, screen entrances or net the entire load. shade entrances, cool top bars with water
- It's better to move on a cool morning than a hot night.
- If possible, time transport so that the hives are relatively light (early spring or after summer harvest)
- perhaps his most valuable advice -- DON'T DROP THE HIVES

BTW -- he doesn't mention this, but I think it'd be a good idea if you secured the hives so that they don't shift around a lot.


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

When I moved into a new house in the suburbs 3 years ago I set up a few hives in the yard they were my breeders for egg production I work them often so the yard is a good place.

After a few months I get a visit from local Council to say the hives have to go. Turns out without anyone saying anything to me, someone went around everybody and had a petition signed to have the bees removed then called the Council. They told the Council a child had been stung.

Over time I got to know most of the neighbours and someone confided in me about who had organised the petition, and that nobody had actually been stung, they just decided to say that to help their case. The family who complained had no issues with the bees other than they could see bees flying and didn't like that. They were a dysfunctional family who had loud fights they have now moved & I'm glad. Just the type who on seeing bees would go running to the Council for no other reason than they could see bees flying.


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## Dave Warren (May 14, 2012)

Ground bees are very aggressive at this time of the year, my flow has started, my honey bees are focused on honey production and not bothering people, I think part of their anxiety is ignorance of honey bees vs. ground bees!


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## winevines (Apr 7, 2007)

the "bee fest' at the sodas make me think feeding bees more might allieviate some of that


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## Tim KS (May 9, 2014)

deknow said:


> Move the bees...keep the empty hive number 3 setup and every week light your smoker and put on the suit. If there are complaints about your bees (that you *don't* have) encourage the complainers to call law enforcement...and show the police the offending empty space in the box.


I love this idea. Make them prove they are YOUR bees causing the perceived problem.


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## AL from Georgia (Jul 14, 2014)

I also love the idea of keeping the empty hive to see if the complaining continues. Have you considered placing an ad in your local agricultural bulletin to see if there is a nearby farm or rural property owner that might let you keep hives on their property. You get to keep working your bees, and in exchange you could pay a little rent in the form of honey. This is a very common thing, just a thought.


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## ginkgo (Apr 26, 2013)

I see this as a great excuse to drop by and get to know all the neighbors on your street and create some goodwill. Be concerned and a good listener: get their comments first-hand rather than taking one or tow neighbor's word for it. 

Do some honey bee PR - explain honey bees are not aggressive, how to identify bees vs. wasps / hornets, how not to attract the latter this time of year, etc. 

First check your city / county zoning laws and make sure you are in conformance.

Keeping a "great" hot hive is a sore point with me, as I have a neighbor doing same.


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## RacerX (May 10, 2013)

Thanks for all the comments. I consider it hot only because they are more agressive than the others when I am inspecting. I can go out and lower the large window in my shorts and tshirt, as well as mow fairly close with no problems. They only get upset when I get close to the brood nest, and who can blame them.
I did "spread the good will" when I first got them in the spring on '13. If there were concerns they were not voiced. That is probably why no one has menioned it now and would rather go through the authorities. I talked to one family this morning who is concerned about swarms occupying their house. I think people have watched too many movies or believe the CNN stories are an everyday occurance! They don't understand when I tell them I split hives to help prevent swarming, etc, etc, etc. People fear what they dont understand, and its easier to not understand. So...I have posted them for sale for two reasons. 1: I dont want to make enemies, and 2: no sense in giving us beekeepers a black eye out of stubborness. Plus, if a child is stung that is allergic within 20 miles of my house, you know who's bee it had to be. I'll regroup when I can find some land to use. If anyone knows anyone who is interested, please send them my way. Many thanks! Oh, and I may just have to do the empty hive experiement just for grins. Maybe when there is a big group out on the street, throw on my suit and run down the street screaming "RUN FOR COVER!!!" At least then I'll get the last laugh...most would even think it was funny.


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

RacerX said:


> Thanks for all the comments. I consider it hot only because they are more agressive than the others when I am inspecting. I can go out and lower the large window in my shorts and tshirt, as well as mow fairly close with no problems. They only get upset when I get close to the brood nest, and who can blame them.
> I did "spread the good will" when I first got them in the spring on '13. If there were concerns they were not voiced. That is probably why no one has menioned it now and would rather go through the authorities. I talked to one family this morning who is concerned about swarms occupying their house. I think people have watched too many movies or believe the CNN stories are an everyday occurance! They don't understand when I tell them I split hives to help prevent swarming, etc, etc, etc. People fear what they dont understand, and its easier to not understand. So...I have posted them for sale for two reasons. 1: I dont want to make enemies, and 2: no sense in giving us beekeepers a black eye out of stubborness. Plus, if a child is stung that is allergic within 20 miles of my house, you know who's bee it had to be. I'll regroup when I can find some land to use. If anyone knows anyone who is interested, please send them my way. Many thanks! Oh, and I may just have to do the empty hive experiement just for grins. Maybe when there is a big group out on the street, throw on my suit and run down the street screaming "RUN FOR COVER!!!" At least then I'll get the last laugh...most would even think it was funny.


A couple of points...
1) I have't talked to a SINGLE person who doesn't claim they are "allergic". Yet it's something like 1% in the general population that are.
2) If you didn't have bees, their party may not have gone any differently.
3) I bet if you took a dead honey bee, ground hornet, yellow jacket, bumblebee, and a couple different wasps it would be able 10% success in picking the honey bee out of the line up. People are simply ignorant. They see something that looks capable of stinging and they group them all into the same category. That's what we do with things we don't understand.

I'd try to find somewhere else to keep the bees. We have a few hives in my brother's yard, there are big yards in his area and we keep the bees away from where any foot traffic would reasonably come in contact with them. If we had a hive suddenly become aggressive I'd close them up and move them that night if possible. And if they become an issue, we have a few "outyards" where we can come and go as we please adding/subtracting bees as we see fit without issue. We caught four swarms this year and started them in Nucs at my brother's house and then moved them as they outgrew their nucs. At one point we had seven hives at his house. And you'd never know as far as bee traffic.


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## Santa Caras (Aug 14, 2013)

Good fences make for good neighbors. Sorry to hear that you are being forced to get rid of your bees. If you'd like you can move to Florida as I did from Texas. (not for bees tho) Here in Florida the STATE has regulated that anyone can keep bees, superceding all county and city laws. If on a 1/4 acre-3 hives up to 6 during during swarm season and from there it goes to 1 acre-10 hives... and up and up. The only exculsion to this law is Home Owners Association can supercede the State law. I would never live in an HOA area to begin with. If a complaint is made all we have to do is call the State Bee Hotline and they'll handle the complaining parties and make it go away. 
Now with that said...your hive doesnt sound all that hot. Could have been a summertime dearth and they were going for the sugar in sodapop if it even WAS a bee. Could be a wasp or even feral bees. I do like the idea of keeping the empty hive and seeing what happens.
You obviouslly have more patience than I, because I would have fought tooth-n-nail to prevent my freedoms from being taken from me. If a neighbor is doing that than they're not friendly nor a good neighbor so I could careless what they thought. As I've grown older, my wife says I've turned "grumpier" but I say its because the time I have left in this world, I dont want to have to waste it on stupid people. Good luck with the sale of your bees. I really dont think you'll get quite as much as you think...maybe around $250 a hive if your lucky.


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## Steve zone 5 WI (Jan 2, 2013)

Sorry to hear your neighbors are upset. That really sucks. I also tend to believe that _most_ people just need an education of the differences between honey bees and all the other stinging "bees". Hopefully you can resolve the issues with the neighbors. Unfortunately what may happen is ALL bees in the 'hood for a time to come will be there because you once kept bees. IMHO You need to go to neighborhood events and kinda push conversations that revolve around honey bees. It may not help you resume keeping hive in your back yard, but at minimum you will have taught them the differences between the "good" bees and the always angry ones. 

Good luck
Steve


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## estreya (Apr 20, 2014)

"And you'd never know as far as bee traffic."

In my view, this is the salient issue. I've always noticed honeybees, yellowjackets, bumbles, all kinds of things on my five acre parcel of land. Now that there are two hives here, i DO notice them more, but it doesn't really feel as if the concentration of bees has changed overall because i go about my business and they go about theirs. Just as it's always been. I suppose if there was some divine abacus that could count all the honeybees nearby, there would indeed be more now than in past years. Possibly, a LOT more. But practically speaking, it's just not noticeable.


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## Joe Nelson (Apr 24, 2014)

The power of suggestion is very strong. Your neighbors believe your bees are the culprit. Going to be hard to convince them otherwise. Maybe you can appeal to their environmental side? Bees good for the Eco system.


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

I live in the country, and my house is the closest one to my bees - 500 feet or so. Most of the time there is not an unusually large amount of activity around our home. But every once in a while there is - during a dearth when I have left equipment in the open in the back of my truck usually. Not being near the hives they are never aggressive at the house (even though i have a few fairly "warm" hives) and stings are almost always the result of stepping on a bee with bare feet. A normal part of my childhood before feral bees became so rare BTW.

I wouldn't recommend that you do anything sneaky, but if they were out of sight / out of mind I bet there would no longer be a perceived problem.

Too late for you, but the moral of the story really is that good fences make for good neighbors.


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## Metropropolis (Feb 15, 2012)

Steve zone 5 WI said:


> I also tend to believe that _most_ people just need an education of the differences between honey bees and all the other stinging "bees".


Perhaps. 

Until such time arrives, it falls to the beekeeper to head off such understandings through proper management and neighbor relations.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.


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## RacerX (May 10, 2013)

Update: I moved them last weekend out to west Texas. I closed them up friday night, caught as many of the "bearders" out front, and headed west about 6:00am. No comb collapses! Many thanks to the responders...


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## marshmasterpat (Jun 26, 2013)

In the future duct/duck tape works to close openings. 

Also a pint or half pint jar of that honey for each house shared through the neighborhood will build good will.


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## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

I moved a hive last year with a whole bunch on the outside. Just picked it up and put it in the back of the truck (with cap) 45 minutes later only a few of the bees were flying in the back of the truck. The rest just stayed on the outside of the hive.


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