Bloody neighbours

[louiseww]

Careful that you don't start a proper 'war' but suggest you talk to her sensibly and tell her that she risks been attacked on mass because the bees are not stupid and will know where the attack is coming from.
L

 

[Dishmop]

A sign that she can see which says...... Bees get angry when they ae wet

 

[pipewrench36]

She has a propensity to sit in the sun in a bikini drinking beer and smoking ****. I have erected a temporary screen which is so obvious she will know I know until I can turn the entrance a bit. Thanks for all suggestions but I still like the idea of roundup writing!

You could try installing one of those artificial CCTV cameras, possibly on a nearby tree or post, pointed in her direction. This might make her think that her transgressions are being recorded for reporting purposes. If you can prove she sprayed your hive deliberately I would have thought she is guilty of criminal damage. But, like many others, I would try the neighbourly chat first. If that fails then she has definately 'Thrown down the gauntlet' and it's weedkiller time. Good luck

 

[greatbritishhoney]

Much as I love the idea of some of the "revenge" tactics I think it would be really unwise to do anything that will inflame the situation. Try to imagine how it would play out to an impartial audience - woman sprays some water on bees, man reacts by destroying lawn. You would end up as the losing party if it escalates.
I'd say avoid a war at all costs - the last thing you want is her recruiting other neighbours to the "I hate bees brigade".

 

[fox403]

not sure if the CCTV cameras good idea if shes sunbathing in garden and catchs u sticking that up!

 

[merylvingien]

powerfull high pressure hose lined up in her basic direction which is activated by a water sensor, when she sprays the bees, she instantly gets hit back.

That would sort her antics out. lol

 

[Ceph]

I loved the Redrum suggestion!! I'll remember that for future.

It may be best to take a step back and see it from her point of view, since you have bees and you could be seen as the antagonist here. Let's face facts she has only jetted them twice in two years (that you know of). She has hardly planted her flag on your beach and threatened invasion so it hardly warrants a war, yet.

The question is why? Is it because there is a lot of bees at the mo? Is it because your flight path is across her garden? Or something else?

She has a right to enjoy her garden and water it. If the water spray is annoying your bees a screen could resolve it.

If the issue is the two above you should screen with scaffold netting or similar, try fence posts or estate agent signs. I believed this to be one of the most important things when setting up an apiary. My set up is 6foot high on 3 sides and 8foot on one to make sure they fly a way not a head height and I can water around the enclosure without issue.

It may be that she has just been watering in their flight path and they had a go at her so she retaliated, who would blame her for that? I wouldn't.

My suggestions;

Build a screen/enclosure.

Once built have a chat with her very politely since you recognise there is an issue and are working to address it.

Use the opportunity to explain their behaviour and about them.

Give her honey, you should do this anyway with neighbours immediately next to hives in my opinion.

Do not stop being polite, overly if necessary, you are the one creating an issue and it can usually be overcome with a bit of kindness, polite conversations and understanding. As long as any flight path issues are overcome.

I hope that helps.

 

[Heather]

Ceph- you speak better than you look , lot of good sense there.

 

[roymichaeldean]

Cephs My Man

Hi

Cephs got the right approach

roy

 

[milkermel]

Definately try talking with your neighbour.
They may not even be aware of whet they have done.
In fact they may have thought they were doing you a favour.
What could have looked like a Wasp Nest invading your Toolbench
(sorry but those beehaus hives do look like a toolbox on legs).

Ask them if the Bees have been bothering them, and if so try moving them.
A jar of Honey cures a lot of wounds too

Steve, I was thinking the same, try a bit of PR first, they may not realise, or maybe she has children who are playing with hose in this weather.

always works best to try and solve problem first, but if she has the hump then wouldnt recomend retaliation, it isnt worth the stress factor!

 

[jezd]

just move em, its not hard to sort - never understand all this stomping of feet.

you took up a hobby with livestock that can cause injury to others and one that others could/would fear, you should always have an alternative site regardless of neighbour issues on day one - neighbours change their mind as much as bees can go grumpy too

beehaus is hard to move? you bought it knowing that relocation was always a risk, its a two man job without bees in them

its not that I am being blunt for the sake of it, these are the basic day to day issues of beekeeping

just my opinion as always

 

[gavin]

And if Jezd hasn't convinced you yet, compare this thread (bloody neighbours etc) with this one:

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=10160

... where there is war being waged between the bees from hell and the inexperienced beekeeper .... folk hiding amongst their hens to get away from their bees, body armour, bees following folk, folk becoming anxious to open their bee hives even when fully protected.

The irony is plain for all to see. Bees are not for gardens within hosing distance of sun-worshipers, no matter what the impression you might have had from the Beehaus literature.

 

[hedgerow pete]

someone up set me at the allotments once so i added 5 kg of sodium cholorite to his water butts, great stuff that his allotment was weed free for a year almost lol

 

[Stiffy]

Sorry not much help
As much as I love my bees there are many times when they dont love me and I can see why 'other' people would find them a threat.

There are creatures that shouldnt be kept close to people and bees IMHO are one. Bees in a garden with close neighbours .....no thanks will always end causing problems.
S

 

[mandabow]

I'm afraid i disagree. tho i think it's best to try diploacy at all tmes and wouldnt actually retaliate

I think people have to learn to me more accpting of neighbours choices, as gardens and houses/flats get smaller and smaller and we are pratically living on top of one another. reducing the choices we have to nothing is not the answer.

provided you've done all you can to appease neighbours, redirecting flight paths, providing water nearby, etc

bees being narky a few weeks or so of the year should be accepted, in just the same way (ie begrudgingly) as:

1) neigbours deciding to have kids that cry all frikking night in the room next to yours while you have work the next day.

2) neigbours getting a crazy barking dog that barks all day and night, diggs a hole into your garden and starts digging up the patio while bearing teeth at your if you try and stop it.

3) neigbours having raucus outdoor partys all summer long into the early hours of the morning

4) neighbours having crazy all year long arguements.

5) neighbours (well actually people living in various flats about when we had ground floor with garden area) having no personal hygene and throwing food and sanitary (tampons/pads/nappies) etc out of their windows rather than filling up and bringing a bin down to the conviniently places wheeliebins by the front door.

6) neighbours actively encouraging foxes into their garden so they could watch them eat (and we could all listen to them f$ck and bicker all night long, yay)

7)neigbours kids harvesting all the flowers in your garden for mothersday, bless how sweet.



some of these insidences i sought advice/complained etc and was told there was very little if anything i could do.. the council even cleared our garden monthly due to the health hazards of blood products, but the police just wern't interested (nb didnt bother reporting most of the benign ones after serious ones amounted to nothing)


as i've said on other posts, we really have it lucky in the UK that we have already killed off our seriously dangerous fauna. the few almost scary ones that are left like adders are not doing too well either tbh. if we are going to dictate to the rest of the world that they must preserve their bear/tiger/lion/leopard/cheetah/rhino/elephant/tarantula/snake/croc/shark etc population while reducing the viable space for bees to inhabit to a trailor moved from one crop to another so the general populus doent need to see them. while garden annual plants will have to be reseeded by hand yearly as they won't get fertilised, etc. then we deserve the bees to get CCD and die and our crops to fail..

'cos apart from a few isolated insidents (which i'm sure are dwarfed by nos of dog attacks, etc) bees for the most part are not antagonistic creatures. and the sooner people come into contact with them and learn this the better off we will all bee. pandering to peoples fears teaches them nothing, if you take the time to educate neighbours they will in turn educated their freinds who visit etc etc.

if you try all you can to get them to accept the bees and they still can't by all means move them on. but i wouldnt just give up, i'd try every avenue of acceptance first. moving them away just reinforces peoples fears "they were dangerous so they had to take them away"


the people on the other thread are scared of their bees when they are queenless and when they are opening the hive. neighbours should not be opening your hive. as a responcible beek you should help them requeen in this instance, not doing so is wrong, but as long as you are i think neighbours should be encouraged to be a bit more understanding/accepting of urban bees.

every now and then a hive does go mental and need to be culled off. how is that any different from a tiger turning maneater.. we kill the tiger we don't move the nature reserve somewhere else, it's on someones doorstep, they live with it. like i live with the mainroad buzzing past the fron door. i repect that cars travelling at speed are dangerous and the threat is constant, much more so than a bee route to a flowering field that will soon be turning to seed.

 

[Dishmop]

Personally I think that if somebody is stupid or ignorant or bloody minded enough to spray a hose over bees and beehive, then they have no common sense and are probably completely incapable of understanding compromise and reasonable agreement.... the same type of people who turn their music up and open the windows,,, who dont have the intellect to even think that they might be annoying other people.....and when you complain... its you that are the whinging trouble maker.......

You complain that thier kids are kicking a football outside your house and hitting your car......their answer..... "well they've not got anywhere else to do it"... Oh yes they have..... outside your bloody house.....

Woman in garden in bikini doesnt like bees. Tell her to repair her fence because you dont want to see her when you go and see your bees......

 

[pipewrench36]

Personally I think that if somebody is stupid or ignorant or bloody minded enough to spray a hose over bees and beehive, then they have no common sense and are probably completely incapable of understanding compromise and reasonable agreement.... the same type of people who turn their music up and open the windows,,, who dont have the intellect to even think that they might be annoying other people.....and when you complain... its you that are the whinging trouble maker.......

You complain that thier kids are kicking a football outside your house and hitting your car......their answer..... "well they've not got anywhere else to do it"... Oh yes they have..... outside your bloody house.....

Woman in garden in bikini doesnt like bees. Tell her to repair her fence because you dont want to see her when you go and see your bees......

I wholeheartedly agree. My neighbour was banging on my door at 02-30 this morning, can you believe it ??. Good job I was still up playing my drums.

 

[greatbritishhoney]

I agree that bad neighbours are the pits! We lived next door to a heroin addict in Lancaster - great fun hearing all her mates turning up throughout the night for a fix. Also great when I caught her stealing the washing off our line.
But, the long and short of it is that these things are very rarely resolved unless someone either compromises or moves house. Making a stand is all very well but often results in a great deal of stress and a general feeling of hating where you live. If it was me I'd move my bees. But, you have to make your own decision on what is going to give you the least hassle.

 

[Nellie]

I wholeheartedly agree. My neighbour was banging on my door at 02-30 this morning, can you believe it ??. Good job I was still up playing my drums.

 

[Mrs Soup]

We have been pleasantly surprised by our neighbours. The lady of the house will hide indoors if the hens get in their garden, so we didn't tell them we had bees. By the end of last summer we were fairly sure he had worked it out, but nothing was said.

A couple of weeks ago said lady asked if we had any honey left, and how wonderful that we had bees and how they loved seeing them foraging in the garden. She was fascinated by the whole thing and once we've got the AS sorted and settled, is going to don a spare suit and come and have a look when we check the hives.