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honey bees

Keeping Bees on an Urban Lot

Posts: 36

Location: Tampa, FL + Warner, NH

posted 12 years ago

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We aren't in a neighborhood, per say, there is no HOA for sure, but we do have neighbors and it's just a large corner lot. We just brought our hive home Saturday.

Wondering if anyone has experience with hives in more urban areas besides rooftops and the best ways to screen them off. They are blocked by a shed on one side, and a tall wooden fence on another, but we want to keep it so that they aren't flying directly into the garden from the hive so as to avoid the accidental sting from someone walking by to turn on the water spigot or something of that nature.

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tel jetson

steward

Posts: 3706

Location: woodland, washington

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posted 12 years ago

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if you orient the entrance away from areas that you're trying to avoid human/bee interactions, you should be in pretty good shape. placing the hive above human height would work, too. if neither of those appeal, planting a hedge or placing a fence to divert the flight path helps. you just don't want to restrict the bee traffic so much that they suffer for it.

my own experience is that beyond three or four feet from a hive, the bees are hardly noticeable. I routinely observe hives from inches away unprotected and I've only been stung when there was robbing going on.

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Rick Larson

Posts: 210

Location: Manitowoc WI USA Zone 5

posted 12 years ago

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One major complaint from the neighbors would be bees visiting their bird baths. If you can keep accessible water on site the bees would use it instead.

Soaking up information.

tel jetson

steward

Posts: 3706

Location: woodland, washington

211

posted 12 years ago

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Rick Larson wrote:One major complaint from the neighbors would be bees visiting their bird baths. If you can keep accessible water on site the bees would use it instead.

pools, too.

add some kelp or seaweed to the water you keep for the bees, and they'll get some vital minerals out of the deal, too.

find religion! church
kiva! hyvä! iloinen! pikkumaatila
get stung! beehives
be hospitable! host-a-hive
be antisocial! facespace

Charlei Scott

Posts: 36

Location: Tampa, FL + Warner, NH

posted 12 years ago

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Thanks! We have a small pond and aquaponics system nearby and parts of it have rocks in running water so the bees wouldn't drown, so hopefully they'll prefer that always available and close-by water to that of neighbors bee baths. I'm also hoping that the wild hive we suspected lived in a tree has already gotten our neighbors used to seeing bees around, but only time will tell.

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