Hi

[stumorph]

Hello evryone I am new to this forum and to bees, I am just assemabaling a new flatpack national with a hope to stocking it in the spring, I intending on placing it in my garden between the fence abd the back of the flower border. My wife keeps geting worried about stings will this be a problem

 

[Luminos]

Welcome to the forum, stumorph
I think it's fair to say, you're likely to get a few stings..

 

[E1M]

Hi stumorph,
Welcome to Beekeeping.
Tell your wife the Bees are not fussy who they sting..........no problem to them at all.
Seriously, our hives are in our front garden and, yes we have been stung, but only due to our poor handling or their bad temper due to weather etc.
As long as you both have good Bee-suits and use them at all times, not indoors or eating dinner, you should be ok.
If she is worried about other people being stung, then really you cannot control that.
Ours have a large hedge between garden and road, but we have no pavement here in the country, so not many people pass on foot.
Good luck and please, do join your local association.

 

[stumorph]

it would only be me working on the hive so she was worrid about just walking down the garden

 

[Essexgary]

Hello evryone I am new to this forum and to bees, I am just assemabaling a new flatpack national with a hope to stocking it in the spring, I intending on placing it in my garden between the fence abd the back of the flower border. My wife keeps geting worried about stings will this be a problem

Stumorph, pls see my comment in the 'Grumpy Bees' thread - re keeping bees in the garden. Welcome to your new hobby, you'll love it.

Gary

 

[E1M]

To bee honest, as long as she does not have to walk right next to the hive, she should bee ok.
Just in case it may bee a good idea to purchase an armored suit, just in case!!!!

 

[MandF]

I walk up to and around our hives in the garden, I also occasionally do some gardening/work there. Most of the time they ignore me, sometimes one of them will start buzzing me so I take the hint and walk off.

Obviously, after an inspection they are more likely to be on guard for a while.

So, unless you have particularly grumpy bees who follow (which you shouldnt put up with anyway), then your wife should be as safe as if you didnt have any hives.

The only caveats are following an inspection - you may get followed a little and drag one within range of your wife who it will then start buzzing, and very occasionally there may be times in the year where your bees are a little more fiesty - due to the weather and/or flow or whatever, and may follow you away, and once you are out of range they may patrol that area for a while after.

If you arent followed after an inspection, she will be ok.

 

[Mr greenwood]

Depends on how big your garden is even if you put up a screen round to send them up. Majority of the time mine are fine but sometimes even the gentlest colony can be aggressive/ defensive and they can follow or chase you quite a way. It is an idilic image to be in the garden and be able to see and hear them working away but it could result in making your garden a no go area at times and then have to face the prospect of relocating a hive and it's bees to a new home at short notice. Shropshire is good and rural and I'm sure with enough asking around it would be possible to find a quiet spot to locate them without making their maintenance a chore.

 

[ratcatcher]

it would only be me working on the hive so she was worrid about just walking down the garden

ok, no one can guarantee you or the wife wont ever get stung, but I'll try and explain our set up, and the fact that neither I or the wife,kids,kids next door,their parents or other neighbours have yet been stung.

garden approx 30ft wide x 130ft long, the bottom 45ft is an area of sheds,polytunnel,veg patch, my workshop (loud tools) both hives, 1 top bar hive and 1 national are situated in middle of veg patch, at first when they do an orientation flight/mass amount of bee's outside, it can be a little offputting to walk along the pathway some 6ft away, on going to the polytunnel

but

you do get used to it within a few days, our bee mentor remarked on how nice our bee's were, Im constantly sitting on a bench 6ft away (or kneeling 2ft from hive) watching and or videoing my bee's, the wife carries on with her veg/polytunnel etc,

here's a short clip to show you, since filming the small nuc has been changed to a national, and a 6ft screen erected on the grass to veg patch line, so one can sit on the bench without getting "pinged" the top bar faces the fence, the national faces the screen/south east
http://youtu.be/qf5Xl4fXkRo

 

[MandF]

Nice video, shows just what is achievable in a small space.

When you mention "pinging", it might be worth pointing out that there is a difference between inadvertent collision, where a bee is off out (but mostly back in) and it hits you en route to the hive, then just carries on merrily, and pinging where a guard bee doesnt want you there and starts warning you off.

I suspect your fence is there to stop the inadvertant collisions?

 

[stumorph]

Eased my mind a bit, how long have you kept them in your garden

 

[garlicpickle]

At the moment my hive is in the garden approximately 50ft from the house and the entrance faces away from the house. I can walk past the side of the hive to the shed without problems (so far). My husband has cut the grass round the hive twice. The first time he was OK but the 2nd time he got chased off. I'm going to move them to an out apiary this weekend. There's a lot of bees coming and going over the fence and flying over my neighbour's garden and although he hasn't complained yet I think it's only a matter of time.

A little nuc is one thing but now it's expanded into a larger colony, there are so many more flying bees that I thought it wise to move them even though so far they have been very docile.

 

[sandysman]

Eased my mind a bit, how long have you kept them in your garden

Welcome.
I had mine in the garden for the first year. Then, with the first swarm of the season it dawned on me that my neighbors might just get a little alarmed at the sight of thousands of bees flying about their garden. As much as it is nice and indeed convenient to have the bees in your garden my advice would be to think about an out apiary where they are safe and so are other people AND if you have not done so already, join your local BKA for the insurance cover alone. Ask yourself how you would feel if one of your family, friends or neighbors were allergic to bee stings and got sstung? They can be deadly! Having said that plenty of folk do it and have no problems. Good luck but think about it before next years swarming season starts.

Andy

 

[MandF]

We have had ours at the end of the garden for 3 years.

As I said, my local association has a shorter "garden" than mine, and has people on all 3 sides (house gardens backing on the end, flats/garages on the right and a youth club social house thing with garden on the left), and has 12+ hives, and the association has been around since 1919.

I'd be happy if a neighbour saw a swarm arriving in my garden, it would mean a bait hive has worked, plus its a very good way to demonstrate how bees arent scary killing machines. If they saw thousands of bees safely doing their own thing and not bothering anyone, are they likely to be more or less paranoid about a few hives with a few hundred flying in and out at any one time?

 

[jackbee]

might be worth her wearing a hat if she is really concerned, bees in the hair can get stuck buzzy, can panic people who brush at them and then they sting - a quick slap seems to be the best method of dealing - the bee not the wife btw , although seeing as it would be on her head she would feel something

we've had 2 hives in our garden all summer, about 20-25m from house, only got stung when we've been silly - too close following inspections or peeking under roof without suit, they tend to ignore away from hive

 

[Poly Hive]

Ok so bucket of cold water time.

Yes there is a risk of not only you but her and the neighbours being stung, and to ignore this is to be in denial.

A lot depends on the strain of bee.

I havr had a back garden colony go literally berserk and I have handled thousands in my time and never seen anything like it. But......... it did happen and I am pretty reasonable handler of stocks. So it can happen and happen with no warning.

Just a heads up that you have to be realistic about these things, and also be aware that at worst bees can and do kill. I am well aware that the garden brigade will jump on this as they do but it is only right to point out the realistic situation as evidenced by the threads this year of garden beekeepers having to move their stocks out to an out apiary.

PH

 

[Elaine]

we've had 2 hives in our garden all summer, about 20-25m from house, only got stung when we've been silly - too close following inspections or peeking under roof without suit, they tend to ignore away from hive[/QUOTE]

Same here - I mow around them, and spend most of my weekends working in the garden - with no problems - even had BBQ party with no notice taken of us at all. Having said that, I am not complacent about them being there - and if we did get a hive that was consistantly bad tempered (rather than slight annoyance induced by interfering beekeeper!) then I would take action. We have had very few stings this year (from 5 hives at one point!) and 2 swarm collections, despite the fact we do not wear gloves.

I believe this is partly to do with the fact that they _are_ in the garden, and I can watch their moods, and as a 'hobby' beek, have the luxury of changing my inspection schedule depending on weather and what the bees are doing. If I open up a hive and sense they are not going to be tolerant of me - I can go away. I am constantly amazed at how calm they are when I am messing them about eg pinching a frame of brood for my q- hive, having only done a full inspection of the doner hive a few hours before!

 

[ratcatcher]

Nice video, shows just what is achievable in a small space.

When you mention "pinging", it might be worth pointing out that there is a difference between inadvertent collision, where a bee is off out (but mostly back in) and it hits you en route to the hive, then just carries on merrily, and pinging where a guard bee doesnt want you there and starts warning you off.

I suspect your fence is there to stop the inadvertant collisions?

yes, pinging due to bumping into us, as they were flying out at around 4ft, now with the screen they are flying at 8ft, we have had bbq's and a fire pit lit not more than 30ft away, and we cut the grass after dusk when the bee's are asleep,lol

at the moment of course, theres probably only around 6000 bee's in the hive, that could possibly raise to 50/60,000 by next year, if we run into any probs, I do have an out apairy 11 miles away

 

[stumorph]

Now I am really confused I was thinking right at the bottom of the garden and facing out to a field but that means the bad weather would be in the entrance plus my other half has her chicken there but begining to think the garden is not a good idea. still I have time to think it out wasent going to get bees until spring maybe sell the hive

 

[ratcatcher]

Now I am really confused I was thinking right at the bottom of the garden and facing out to a field but that means the bad weather would be in the entrance plus my other half has her chicken there but begining to think the garden is not a good idea. still I have time to think it out wasent going to get bees until spring maybe sell the hive

sounds like you have a good garden there, place a hive facing whatever way you want, as a screen 18" away from entrance will get them up, once up its down to the bee's what way they go

try it, get a cast swarm, either now or next year, start small and see how you go, jump in the deep end with both eye's open, Ive been keeping bee's now for 47 days, and loving it