Garden

[louise.mcte]

Hi, I have always been interested in bees. I have recently spoken to my partner who would be on board with me keeping bees. I have purchased books and intend to study long and hard before embarking. I have 2 questions which are bothering me. I have 4 children (from age 9yrs down to 6monthhs) and wondered on thoughts on keeping bees in a garden where children play. We plan on segregating a section off. My biggest question, however, is that our garden is on a new build estate and we are very overlooked. I am on the edge of a country park where there will be plenty of plants etc but I wondered whether the houses backing onto my garden will cause problems for the bees (but also the neighbours!) .... I have been unable to attach a photo of my garden for reference but we have 2 neighbours either side and are overlooked by 3 gardens behind. .... as I say it's always been something I've been interested in but would want to make sure everything is done correctly before starting out.

Thank you
Louise.

 

[Teemore]

In a new build estate I would anticipate that your garden space is relatively limited. I would personally be reluctant to place hives in a site with limited space and overlooking gardens/neighbours. As part of your learning process, join a local beekeeping association and find out what it is like to work with bees - you might find that you and bees are not a good mix.... find out before you invest too heavily in the craft. I would then suggest that you find an out-apiary where you can tend your bees with greater leeway.

If you subscribe to some of the beekeeping periodicals, you will often see pictures of "junior" beekeepers: my mentor was introduced to beekeeping at the age of 6 (wearing shorts). Once you beome accustomed to bees and beekeeping, you can make the decision as to whether your kids and bees are likely to gel. Some associations offer family membership.

PS Once you have made a few more posts you will be able to add your garden photograph and on that basis we can make more informed comment to help your decision making process.

 

[louise.mcte]

Brilliant, thank you! Yes space is limited and like I say we are very overlooked by neighbours. I have looked at my local beekeepers association, will have another look and see about joining, also about a beginners course. ... I, obviously, don't want to spend too much if I'm not actually going to go ahead but also, on the other hand, don't want to go into it blind, so to speak!

 

[thenovice]

you will get a standard reply here: go and talk to your neighbors before embarking! most will be bribed with a few jars of honey.

secondly: if you put screens around your hive to make the bees fly up, your neighbors should not notice them except the odd **** stain on their laundry. the houses are not an issue.

third: your kids will learn the hard way to stay away from the hives. make sure they are not allergic and keep good tempered bees. an option of an out apiary in case you need to deal with aggressive bees is in my opinion a must.

As you are in a neighborhood environment, my advice would be to follow a course with a local bee club. they can advise you on set up and more importantly, help you out if things go tits up...

 

[Teemore]

On occasion, a beginner can find a "mature" or time poor beekeeper who needs an extra pair of hands. If you can be the extra pair of hands, it is a good way to learn about beekeeping (and pick up good and bad habits....) Through a beginners course you might also find a beekeeping buddy with whom you might be able to share an apiary site, somewhere removed from your homes. You could also share some of the costs.

A country park could be a good site to locate an apiary if it could allocate you a spot away from walkers, vandals and gardeners.....

 

[enrico]

Please remember that bees have bad hair days, are your family and neighbours prepared for those days however infrequent. My advice would be to find somewhere more suitable.
E

 

[Wingy]

Also check with the council that it's ok for you to keep them in your garden, not usually an issue but better than finding out the hard way when that neighbour (and there is always one) starts to complain.
As said chat with the neighbours. I only mentioned that I intended to get some bees, didn't even mention they were going on an allotment site, one neighbour suddenly started being chased everywhere and stung by "my" bees which didn't even exist at this stage. Didn't stop her speaking to all the neighbours trying to get a petition going to stop me.

As for children my 7 year old daughter loves them and is always keen to be on hand when the hive is opened. Calm bees are a must
Best of luck
Wingy

 

[madasafish]

IF you are going to keep bees in your garden, the last thing you will want to do is advertise you are doing so. White/pink/yellow/other bright coloured beesuits do that..You can get khaki or camo ones which do not.

 

[Swarm]

Easy to list the things that make keeping bees in a new build site sound easy. Maybe an experienced beek would manage to keep 'gentle' bees and know if there were signs otherwise. A beginner won't.

"your children will learn the hard way" What a cavalier remark!
"make sure they are not allergic" Would that be while making them learn the hard way?

A beginner will hit problems, hit those problems in a quiet site where no harm will come of it.

 

[alfazer]

People's attitudes to bees change when they swarm. I'm sure you know that they are less inclined to sting when swarming but for the average person it's a very scary sight.
You could be out, your neighbour are in, thousands of bees flying around and then settle on your neighbours' eaves/garden tree/car/etc. Then the video is on facebook and "the whole street is terrorised with millions of bees in a deadly killer swarm."
Try as you might, a swarm cell is easily missed and this is one of the potential outcomes.

 

[drex]

I am afraid all of the above comments sound very disheartening to you, but I agree that your garden does not sound like a good site. You are doing the right thing by intending to read up about bees before getting any though. I also agree with joining your local association, so you can handle bees, before spending your cash. It is not uncommon that people who are keen, suddenly go off the idea, when standing in a cloud of possibly angry bees.

However it is a fascinating and enjoyable hobby, search out a more suitable site and go for it. I hope you decide to move forward with your decision to keep bees

 

[Amari]

Just don't go there! If you read many of the posts on this forum you will find that every so often bees get grumpy when handled. Beekeeping involves opening the hive several times a year and if the bees are grumpy your neighbours will get stung. Just think of the consequences of one of them getting anaphylactic shock!
As others have said, attend a beginners' course then maybe advertise in your parish magazine or equivalent asking if any local farmer etc has a suitable site.
I have three such sites and enjoy visiting. I keep my kit on site in a large plastic container.

 

[taurus]

Without wanting to contradict the very valid concerns about bees kept in a garden there are many who do so, like myself. Yes, you need to be careful in the bees you keep. Mine are generally very docile but I did take in a swarm to help a neighbour and they turned nasty so I had to deal with them quickly.

In general our neighbours love seeing them about, those with children have several jars of honey and tell me it helps with their allergies, so it can work.

We do however have a large garden and I have grown the hedges higher to make the bees fly upwards. The advice and support of a local experienced beekeeper would be recommended.

I also have an out apiary where any grumpy bees can be taken at the first sign of trouble.

 

[MartinL]

. My biggest question, however, is that our garden is on a new build estate . . . . I am on the edge of a country park where there will be plenty of plants etc . . . .
Thank you
Louise.

If you're on a new build estate it may still be growing! Other houses would have been on the edge of the country before the countryside had your houses built on it. This might put your older neighbours in the position where they are likely to be in opposition of your presence way ahead of you moving your bees in! + I doubt your garden is large enough to position a hive so it would not adversely affect others.

You should also consider that, (as a new build) you probably won't be on the edge of the country park for long!

 

[kevrhcfag]

Its a truly wonderful pastime.

Given new build, size of garden, number of Children and ages if you want to keep bees find somewhere else to keep them.

Everything might go OK.

But a gentle small hive can easily for no apparent reason become a tad to extremely defensive / aggressive overnight. That comes with attacking on approach, following, reacting to noise etc. It could easily result in your family and neighbours garden being out of bounds.

Obviously that is the worse side, the other side is the bees will remain gentle and nothing happens, doubtful.

 

[Matt77]

I kept bees in my garden some years ago(20). It became a huge issue with the next door neighbours. I spent more time managing neighbours than my bees. Every insect in their garden & every bite or sting were blamed on my bees. Eventually I had to give up keeping bees for quite some time.

I now keep bees in a field a couple of miles from home, most farmers are more than happy for you to keep bees on their land. I've even had farmers approach me.

If I were you I would find an out apiary from the start you'll probably enjoy it more. Nothing better than sitting in the countryside watching your bees come & go.

 

[SWEET]

Hi, I have always been interested in bees.

Morning Louise ,

If it helps , my hive is 10m from the back of the house and i only started keeping bees in July after a fair amount of reading , i also spent a few hours with a local bee farmer and his 15 odd open hives to see how i felt around them ( you'll soon know if it's something you want to pursue ) . Anyway , what i did was purchase very placid bees to start with and built a mesh 7ft screen on all sides of the hive to force the bees high in the air , this works very well and i can stand next to the hive without being bothered but the bees are heading off into open fields and not another persons garden , i'm unsure id feel comfortable if this were not the case as you have zero control over them ultimately , i've also sat back and watched the huge clouds of young bees on training flights , this alone seems to take up a large area and could very easily move into next doors garden while they enjoy a BBQ ! .

We have a feral hive in an old oak tree above the drive , i've been watching these years and never had an issue , they have swarmed in the past but always vanish over the fields , i assume they do this most years and we miss it , this was a deciding factor in me sticking the hive in the garden , we drive our cars under the feral hive each day for years and they've never bothered us. Then again i dont open the hive each week and poke them ...

One thing to note , if my garden bees become nasty i have a 5 acre field to stick them on well away from humans ha !

D

 

[louise.mcte]

Thank you so much for all of your replies, I didn't expect so many! ..... I'm continuing to read up and am thinking maybe the garden isn't the best idea! .... I do, however, have a friend that owns 2 fields in the country park I mentioned. Am definitely going to explore the idea of keeping bees in a corner somewhere on her land! Wish me luck......

 

[Swarm]

Thank you so much for all of your replies, I didn't expect so many! ..... I'm continuing to read up and am thinking maybe the garden isn't the best idea! .... I do, however, have a friend that owns 2 fields in the country park I mentioned. Am definitely going to explore the idea of keeping bees in a corner somewhere on her land! Wish me luck......

There you go, that's the ideal solution. Good luck.

 

[Vortex]

Do you have a Garage? does it have a flat roof?
If so put a deck on the garage roof and put them up there... it's where my home apiary is (currently 7 nucs + 5 full colonies) and that's 12' from my back door ... admittedly there are a couple of old sparsely branched leylandi in the way but if they get ansi (which they do on occasions) it doesn't help much.