bees stinging family

[beekim]

My 2 hives are on a meadow for some reason they have started stinging the family in a house next to meadow.can i move my bees further down the meadow or will this not solve the problem.

 

[Tabby15]

Are they stinging them in the house? Or in their garden? Are they frequently stinging them or is this a one off event? How close are the hives to the house/garden?

 

[beekim]

Thanks tabby,not in the house, the hives are about 5 yards from there garden this started on saturday and there dog has been stung several times over the last 3 days.

 

[REDWOOD]

Your neighbours were probably using the lawn mower or strimmers creating unwelcome vibrations for your bees. You could move them but that's another story

 

[Swarm]

Five yards is very close, is there a hedge or fence between? When did you last inspect them and what did you find? It's a possibility that you've lost a swarm and the remainder have become grouchy.

 

[Little John]

I have one hive which will sting without warning or provocation if anyone approaches within 20 feet or so. They are just defending their nest. Moving it to the top of a field away from any human traffic solved the problem.

So - I'd try and get at least 50 feet between hive and boundary with their garden - 100 feet or more would be even better.

A jar of honey for their discomfort would be good politik ...

 

[TOBY-3652]

I would move A S A P. had email one of our members has had 8 chickens killed by bees and 3 badly injured. one had 100 stings in its head.. god forbid if it was his neighbour

 

[beekim]

Thanks everyone taken tobys advice have moved aggressive hive so fingers crossed, books out to night on how to re queen!

 

[VEG]

How far did you move it?

 

[REDWOOD]

move it back quick

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thanks everyone taken tobys advice have moved aggressive hive so fingers crossed, books out to night on how to re queen!

Bees can cope with a move of two or three feet.
They will fly out tomorrow without looking round, forage and fly back to where the hive was. If it has been moved any distance you will find your entire foraging force milling around an empty space five feet from your neighbours' garden.
Move it back if you have indeed moved it any distance.

Then while you are looking up re-queening look up three feet three mile rule

 

[beekim]

I have taken advice from a beekeeping friend the hive could not stay where it was so it has been moved 500 yards further away,it will stay closed till thursday early evening. in front of the hive is a few sticks with leaves on. you some times have to do the best you can,not able to move any distance as no car for 2 weeks(this is known as sods law).I am then going to try to replace the queen,books out as have never done this before, may require new glasses as i have not seen either queen this year.If all else fails i will bribe hubby to buying me a nuc and starting again.Thanks again everyone .

 

[REDWOOD]

Phew, glad you asked for advice

 

[Little John]

I find that putting a good-sized Leylandii branch against the hive entrance enables the moving of a hive any distance you fancy. Leaving a box at the old position is still worth doing though, as it enables confirmation that it's worked ok. Never failed yet.


And if you want to see just how quickly bees can learn something new (proving that they're not always locked on auto-pilot), checkout:
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/milita...lop-bee-based-security-device/1008007.article

It's really amazing ...

 

[beekim]

Thanks little john will place a spare hive in old position used leylandi at friends recomandation

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

.If all else fails i will bribe hubby to buying me a nuc and starting again.

?
Simple as that? just ditch the old colony and start again, or am i missing something?

 

[Erichalfbee]

?
Simple as that? just ditch the old colony and start again, or am i missing something?

I spotted that too
No reply yet

 

[beekim]

i am going to re queen my hive as soon as possible i have no intention of ditching the old colony ,i meant if all else fails i will start again.as a inexperienced beekeeper i find this site helpful most of the time but everyone has a different opinion and decisions have to be made.the hive had to be moved last night so i have done the best i can and hope my bees will come back to the hive in its new position when i let them out on thursday.thanks for the helpful comments.

 

[MartinL]

move it back quick

If you don't, there's going to be a crowd of angry foragers with nowhere to go!


By the way, who is getting stung?
Was it ALL the family or the more inquisitive, (youthful) members?
In what direction is the garden, (from the hive)?
Is there a barrier between the hive and the garden, or is it open land/chain-link fence?

 

[zippy573]

Personally i am always amazed that there are not more problems between neighbours and bee keepers. I would never keep bees in my very large garden, a sting bloody well hurts, by definition many bee keepers will be stirring their bees up on warm days at weekends.