First Year in Surrey

[Mick Hoyle]

HI all, I've just joined the forum and am in my first year keeping my own bees in urban Surrey, I have 2 hives and a NUC, as I had to do a very late split. I've been studying a lot during lockdown, joined my local association and the BBKA Organisation. Two big things I've learned this year is, one: If you can burn a £20 note and still smile, beekeeping is for you. Two: Ask 2 beekeepers a question and you'll get 10 answers. Looking forward to joining in here. Tally Ho! Mick

 

[pargyle]

Welcome... hopefully you will find this is a place you will learn a lot of things you don't find in the books ... urban surrey is a good place to keep bees and you will find there are a few members in your neck of the woods.... help on here is always at hand and feel free to post your own experiences and ideas .. we enjoy hearing about the disasters we have all faced at some point in our beekeeping !

 

[enrico]

Hi, two hives in an urban environment. Well done. Hope you have somewhere to put them I am emergency! If not it might be worth making a few enquiries. Sorry that all sounds a bit negative. Welcome anyway!

 

[The Poot]

 

[Mick Hoyle]

Hi, two hives in an urban environment. Well done. Hope you have somewhere to put them I am emergency! If not it might be worth making a few enquiries. Sorry that all sounds a bit negative. Welcome anyway!

Hi, Why would I need to relocate them, what kind of emergency should I plan for?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Hi, Why would I need to relocate them, what kind of emergency should I plan for?

Aggressive bees affecting your neighbour's (or your) enjoyment of their property for one

 

[Mick Hoyle]

Aggressive bees affecting your neighbour's (or your) enjoyment of their property for one

My aggressive bee plan is to quickly re-queen and not to relocate. I know local queen bee breeding guru

 

[Erichalfbee]

My aggressive bee plan is to quickly re-queen and not to relocate. I know local queen bee breeding guru

That doesn’t work quickly enough.
I love bees in the garden but I have no neighbours at all
A war with your neighbours is the stuff of nightmares and they are far more entitled to enjoy peace and quiet and safety in their back yard than you are to keep bees

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

My aggressive bee plan is to quickly re-queen and not to relocate. I know local queen bee breeding guru

And what if said 'guru' doesn't have a queen available when your colony has a meltdown? and even if they do it may take a month for them to cool down after requeening.

 

[StephenT]

It’s a risk not having an out apiary Mick but one that we live with, with fingers crossed. Keep meaning to do it but it’s more tricky in urban areas. Managed to get through pretty much another whole season without them hassling the neighbours, apart from a swarm up one of their trees.

 

[pargyle]

My aggressive bee plan is to quickly re-queen and not to relocate. I know local queen bee breeding guru

A better plan, if it was to happen (and I keep bees in my garden in a semi-urban location ~ although the location of my apiary is well away from my immediate neighbout and not in a direct flight line) would be to find somewhere in the area that you could move an agressive colony, albeit for only a month until re-queening took effect. It may be that your local association has an apiary or you know someone with a big plot of land where you could put a hive for a while somewhere that they would not affect neighbour ... if not then go a bit further afield and knock on a few farmers doors ... it's always useful to have an out apiary and farmers are often appreciative of a couple of hives being sited on their land in return for a couple of jars of honey a year ... the going rate for centuries has been a 1lb jar of honey per hive per year.

Please don't be blinkered to the possibility of a colony turning to the hive from hell ... we've seen it so many times on here and I've had to deal with one hive that frankly even scared the living daylights out of me ... let alone the poor first year beekeeper whose bees they were ....

 

[enrico]

Bees have had hair days. I have an acre but my neighbours have felt the sting of a stroppy hive. It happens quickly and requesting is not quick however you do it. Finding the queen is a nightmare. Just worth thinking about!

 

[Mick Hoyle]

Right, I'm now sorted as I have an emergency out apiary (10 acres in Sussex) in my back pocket.

 

[Mark Scarlet]

Bees have had hair days. I have an acre but my neighbours have felt the sting of a stroppy hive. It happens quickly and requesting is not quick however you do it. Finding the queen is a nightmare. Just worth thinking about!

Really you dont have to find the queen. Take off the roof, super(s) etc and the QE. Lift the frames of bees, one by one and shake the lot out under the hive, remove the brood box and shake it out. You will now have a buzzing confused colony on the gound. Put the QE on the floor and re-assemble the brood box on top of it. Assemble the hive and leave it. Most will go home but your queen wont be able to. Might make her easier to find. You'll also know for sure she isnt in there. Re-queen (caged) and check after a few days.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Really you dont have to find the queen. Take off the roof, super(s) etc and the QE. Lift the frames of bees, one by one and shake the lot out under the hive, remove the brood box and shake it out. You will now have a buzzing confused colony on the gound. Put the QE on the floor and re-assemble the brood box on top of it. Assemble the hive and leave it. Most will go home but your queen wont be able to. Might make her easier to find. You'll also know for sure she isnt in there. Re-queen (caged) and check after a few days.

Great way to sort out an aggressive colony that - I'm sure the neighbours would be well chuffed having a garden full off peed off shook out bees, who were just a tad nasty, even before the event.

 

[Ian123]

Really you dont have to find the queen. Take off the roof, super(s) etc and the QE. Lift the frames of bees, one by one and shake the lot out under the hive, remove the brood box and shake it out. You will now have a buzzing confused colony on the gound. Put the QE on the floor and re-assemble the brood box on top of it. Assemble the hive and leave it. Most will go home but your queen wont be able to. Might make her easier to find. You'll also know for sure she isnt in there. Re-queen (caged) and check after a few days.

Just wanted to check are you the same guy that recommended rhubarb leaves to another beginner recently

 

[Erichalfbee]

Really you dont have to find the queen. Take off the roof, super(s) etc and the QE. Lift the frames of bees, one by one and shake the lot out under the hive, remove the brood box and shake it out. You will now have a buzzing confused colony on the gound. Put the QE on the floor and re-assemble the brood box on top of it. Assemble the hive and leave it. Most will go home but your queen wont be able to. Might make her easier to find. You'll also know for sure she isnt in there. Re-queen (caged) and check after a few days.

No. Bad idea.