30,000 bees

[Victoriousmom]

I hate bees

Cool. Glad you aren’t a beekeeper, then!

Do you follow any homesteaders on YouTube?

[Victoriousmom]

Cool! Such a neat learning experience for the kids too. I wish my dh wasn't allergic, I'm jealous.

I would love to have bee's as well. My partner keeps shooting the idea down.

I wonder how much property you need to have for hives..I cant imagine that they're allowed in subdivisions. Hmmm

[Deleted User 1039]

Ugh! I don't like bees. They bother us when we are trying to enjoy our pool. They do us a favor when they end up drowning themselves. Otherwise if they're too pesty my DH will swat them down into the water and kill them. They've stung both my husband and my son before in the pool. I don't want to be next.

You could try setting out a bowl with marbles and water in it. If they find a better water source, they might leave the pool around. But honeybees have no interest in people, so unless their hive is very close, they wouldn’t bother you. They might try getting a drink from the pool, but they would be stinging unprovoked. I’ve stood in the middle of an orientation flight- thousands of bees buzzing around right outside their hives (unsmoked, no veil). They had zero interest in me.

Different varieties can have different levels of aggression, but that’s unusual behavior for a honeybee.

I don't know what kind they are but the stings have been, I guess, bad coincidence. One time my son was standing at the pool edge and reached down to pick up a toy boat floating on the pool water. There just happened to be a bee on the underside where he placed his hand and it stung him. Another time my DH was floating on a pool mattress and I playfully jumped onto his thighs. Just as I jumped up, a bee came in to land on his thigh and I landed on him right after. The bee stung my husband in the thigh.

But we jump and play and move a lot in the pool and I'm not going to have the whole family afraid of moving or grabbing something because there could be a bee. And there is a river not even half a mile away where they can get all the water they want. So no, I'm not going to feel sorry for the bees who end up dying because they are at our pool.

You misunderstood. My suggestion was to provide a preferable water source so they aren’t trying to drink out of your pool and stinging you. They aren’t like other insects (wasps, for one) that can land on the waters surface and drink, so putting marbles in the water as a place to stand and not drown would be preferable to them.

Bees communicate surprisingly well and dance to tell each other locations of pollen, nectar, water, and (when they are swarming), good hive locations. So once they find a good watering hole, they’ll go back and tell all their sisters about it very specifically. Still water is preferable, so they’d be choosing your pool over a river most likely. Giving them a better third option might keep them out, or at least some of them.

Workers only live a couple of weeks during warm months anyway, youdon’t have to feel sorry for individuals. Whenever I check the hive, a few end up dying in the process because they get crushed between the boxes, stepped on, or lost in the grass. I don’t feel that bad, really. Just part of life.

[Deleted User 1039]

Cool! Such a neat learning experience for the kids too. I wish my dh wasn't allergic, I'm jealous.

I would love to have bee's as well. My partner keeps shooting the idea down.

I wonder how much property you need to have for hives..I cant imagine that they're allowed in subdivisions. Hmmm

I had them at my last house, which was a small lot in a big subdivision. You don’t need much room, really. It’s mostly a matter of checking the local ordinances and home owners’ association (if there is one). I had to pay $15 to get a license from the county and be able to situate the hive a certain distance from property lines and walking paths. I checked with my immediate neighbors as a courtesy, too, to make sure they wouldn’t mind.

One thing to consider is that there is a fair amount of air traffic around the hive entrance in the summer, and they’ll fly straight out for like 10 feet before flying vertically, so you need either a long stretch where no one will walk, or a barrier to make them fly up instead of straight out. And there will be more bees in your yard, of course, though we never had a problem with anyone getting stung when we were just spending time out there.

The other issue is that they will defend their hive against things like dogs and lawnmowers. Usually if you are a yard or two away or aren’t near it for long they don’t mind, but if you have a dog that would go sniffing around they would see it as a threat. My son got stung a couple of times mowing, so he started avoiding it by a couple of yards and I’d just go quickly weed whack the next day so they had time to calm down if the noise bothered then. I never got stung doing that.

[Victoriousmom]

I would love to have bee's as well. My partner keeps shooting the idea down.

I wonder how much property you need to have for hives..I cant imagine that they're allowed in subdivisions. Hmmm

I had them at my last house, which was a small lot in a big subdivision. You don’t need much room, really. It’s mostly a matter of checking the local ordinances and home owners’ association (if there is one). I had to pay $15 to get a license from the county and be able to situate the hive a certain distance from property lines and walking paths. I checked with my immediate neighbors as a courtesy, too, to make sure they wouldn’t mind.

One thing to consider is that there is a fair amount of air traffic around the hive entrance in the summer, and they’ll fly straight out for like 10 feet before flying vertically, so you need either a long stretch where no one will walk, or a barrier to make them fly up instead of straight out. And there will be more bees in your yard, of course, though we never had a problem with anyone getting stung when we were just spending time out there.

The other issue is that they will defend their hive against things like dogs and lawnmowers. Usually if you are a yard or two away or aren’t near it for long they don’t mind, but if you have a dog that would go sniffing around they would see it as a threat. My son got stung a couple of times mowing, so he started avoiding it by a couple of yards and I’d just go quickly weed whack the next day so they had time to calm down if the noise bothered then. I never got stung doing that.

So they wouldn't be a danger to my husband! We have 3.2 acres here ffs! So give me some links on everything I need! If you have time..

[Deleted User 1039]

I wonder how much property you need to have for hives..I cant imagine that they're allowed in subdivisions. Hmmm

I had them at my last house, which was a small lot in a big subdivision. You don’t need much room, really. It’s mostly a matter of checking the local ordinances and home owners’ association (if there is one). I had to pay $15 to get a license from the county and be able to situate the hive a certain distance from property lines and walking paths. I checked with my immediate neighbors as a courtesy, too, to make sure they wouldn’t mind.

One thing to consider is that there is a fair amount of air traffic around the hive entrance in the summer, and they’ll fly straight out for like 10 feet before flying vertically, so you need either a long stretch where no one will walk, or a barrier to make them fly up instead of straight out. And there will be more bees in your yard, of course, though we never had a problem with anyone getting stung when we were just spending time out there.

The other issue is that they will defend their hive against things like dogs and lawnmowers. Usually if you are a yard or two away or aren’t near it for long they don’t mind, but if you have a dog that would go sniffing around they would see it as a threat. My son got stung a couple of times mowing, so he started avoiding it by a couple of yards and I’d just go quickly weed whack the next day so they had time to calm down if the noise bothered then. I never got stung doing that.

So they wouldn't be a danger to my husband! We have 3.2 acres here ffs! So give me some links on everything I need! If you have time..

There’s not really any one website I know of. There are often a lot of local resources now that beekeeping has gotten so popular. I took class one weekend that covered the basics, got a couple of books (Beekeeping for Dummies was pretty good and thorough), and found a local equipment retailer to get my hives and bees.

There are often local beekeeping clubs/groups that are good resources for general information and specifics about where to get equipment and order bees, too. One of the community colleges in our area offers no-credit course open to the public and they do a class, too. That might be something to look into in your area?

The class was helpful and had a lot of good information, but honestly it’s not really that complicated. There’s so much information online that it was more of a convenience by consolidating information into one place than a necessity. And frankly, the bees don’t NEED a beekeeper. Once you dump them in the hive, they’ll do their thing no matter if you know what you (and they) are doing or not. Most of checking in them is to prevent swarming in order to maximize honey production, only rarely do they need intervention to keep the hive going. Mite treatment in the fall is usually the only help they need.

I’m sure you can find online retailers for hives and equipment and probably even bees. I’d advise investing in the set up- get a good smoker, well made hive, plastic frames, and a nice veil (you don’t need anything other than a veil and tight fitting clothes).

[agander2017]

Bees! I hate honey, but I love bees. Please share pictures if you can!

[bmw29]

Ugh! I don't like bees. They bother us when we are trying to enjoy our pool. They do us a favor when they end up drowning themselves. Otherwise if they're too pesty my DH will swat them down into the water and kill them. They've stung both my husband and my son before in the pool. I don't want to be next.

I really hope y'all aren't killing honey bees. Wasps and shit are whatever but we kind of need honey bees for survival and they aren't doing so well at the moment.

[Anonymous 1]

Ugh! I don't like bees. They bother us when we are trying to enjoy our pool. They do us a favor when they end up drowning themselves. Otherwise if they're too pesty my DH will swat them down into the water and kill them. They've stung both my husband and my son before in the pool. I don't want to be next.

I really hope y'all aren't killing honey bees. Wasps and sh*t are whatever but we kind of need honey bees for survival and they aren't doing so well at the moment.

She's probably dealing with yellow jackets and doesn't know the difference.

[Lotus]

Cool! Such a neat learning experience for the kids too. I wish my dh wasn't allergic, I'm jealous.

I would love to have bee's as well. My partner keeps shooting the idea down.

I wonder how much property you need to have for hives..I cant imagine that they're allowed in subdivisions. Hmmm

Im in a sub out in a rural area. Most lots are about an acre some are less. My neighbor has 3 hives. I never see them unless they are pollinating. Once their hive split. now that was amazing. I was out in the yard when it happened. They took up residence in a pine tree in my yard for about 48hrs then they went off to their new location. I stood in the yard in the middle of it while they were swarming. It was very loud. So yes, to the sub-hive. Want to be my bee-keeping partner? lol.