How tricky is it to give up beekeeping ?

[Dadnlad]

I have about a dozen hives, plus a few nucs over winter

Yesterday I got a phone call at work that my elderly (80's) neighbour had been badly stung by a swarm and was off to hospital
Turns out he had walked face first into a head height swarm hanging from a tree in his garden, stung 20+ times, kept in overnight and prescribed an epipen

I have visited with flowers and honey and an apology, but can't help but feel really sad that my hobby has led to my neighbour being so shaken up

I realise I must have missed a QC somewhere, and that if he walked around the swarm and phoned me the accident wouldn't have happened, but I still feel guilty that my keeping bees has indirectly caused this

My wife has told me not to make a knee-jerk reaction, but would you consider giving up and how would you go about it ?

 

[Repwoc]

Wouldn't it be better to find an alternative location away from any neighbours?

 

[Erichalfbee]

I have about a dozen hives, plus a few nucs over winter

Yesterday I got a phone call at work that my elderly (80's) neighbour had been badly stung by a swarm and was off to hospital
Turns out he had walked face first into a head height swarm hanging from a tree in his garden, stung 20+ times, kept in overnight and prescribed an epipen

I have visited with flowers and honey and an apology, but can't help but feel really sad that my hobby has led to my neighbour being so shaken up

I realise I must have missed a QC somewhere, and that if he walked around the swarm and phoned me the accident wouldn't have happened, but I still feel guilty that my keeping bees has indirectly caused this

My wife has told me not to make a knee-jerk reaction, but would you consider giving up and how would you go about it ?

Of course you shouldn’t give up but you absolutely must move them

 

[gmonag]

Nightmare scenario.

I understand your feelings of guilt but I would not give it all up. However I think you must find another site with no near neighbours or else you will never sleep at night.

 

[pargyle]

Pretty dreadful thing to happen but - whether you should beat yourself up about it - I'm not sure.

It's not as though your bees went out of their way to be a nuisance .. it was a swarm and he walked into it. I have sympathy with what happened to him. If your bees had been simply attacking your neighbours for no reason I would be suggesting that you should be taking responsibility but .. a swarm and one that you haven't even confirmed came from your colonies. Your wife is right - bit of a knee jerk reaction although I do understand how you feel.

Depends how much you enjoy your beekeeping I suppose ?

 

[ShinySideUp]

Swarms are everywhere at this time of year, how do you know if it was your bees that caused the problem? You can't feel guilty about this fellow's misfortune just because you keep bees. People get stung by wasps, bitten by horseflies and ticks, they trip on loose stones, they have car crashes, they get ill and die but this is life, it's the way of things. This man could have seen the bees, stepped into the road to avoid them and got hit by a car. No one can foresee accidents or there wouldn't be any. Don't feel guilty, he's alright and that's what matters.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Pretty dreadful thing to happen but - whether you should beat yourself up about it - I'm not sure.

It's not as though your bees went out of their way to be a nuisance .. it was a swarm and he walked into it. I have sympathy with what happened to him. If your bees had been simply attacking your neighbours for no reason I would be suggesting that you should be taking responsibility but .. a swarm and one that you haven't even confirmed came from your colonies. Your wife is right - bit of a knee jerk reaction although I do understand how you feel.

Depends how much you enjoy your beekeeping I suppose ?

I had a swarm land in my garden last year, twenty yards from the nearest hive - and it definitely wasn't one of mine.

 

[viridens]

How tricky is it to give up beekeeping ? In my case it was a difficult decision, then fairly easy to sell up, but I missed it all so much that I only lasted a few years before starting up again. So quite tricky.

Is this the only reason you are considering giving up? This swarm incident was an unfortunate accident, and maybe not your fault at all (see above) and I think extremely unlikely to be repeated. Other than this small risk, would giving up beekeeping benefit your neighbour or yourself in any other way? Take a while to consider.

 

[thorn]

See what your neighbour feels. He quite possibly enjoys having the bees around, and despite the accident is happy for you to continue to house them in your garden.
But if it's going to make him scared of going into his garden, see if you can find them a new home.

 

[pargyle]

See what your neighbour feels. He quite possibly enjoys having the bees around, and despite the accident is happy for you to continue to house them in your garden.
But if it's going to make him scared of going into his garden, see if you can find them a new home.

Good advice ... see how the land lies and in the meantime .. have a check through your colonies to make sure there are no more swarm cells !! Might check to see if you can find any uncapped QC's as well whilst you are at it ...

 

[Dadnlad]

Cheers for your replies folks

My bees aren't aggressive, even the swarm he walked into was placid when I plopped them into a swarm box when I got there - the first he knew of them being there was a slimy feeling on his face !

I'm aware that the swarm may not have come from my colonies, as I've had 2-3 swarms arrive over the 8 years I've had them - but it's my apiary that's attracted them

Trying not to be a snowflake but I feel I have some duty of care to my neighbours

I think I'll let the dust settle and have a chat with him in a week or so and see how he feels about them then

Finding an apiary for a dozen hives and 2 sheds worth of kit is going to take some scouting !

 

[enrico]

I know how you feel. In 40 years or so I have never had near neighbours. But when I moved here I have a neighbour on one side. Our gardens are an acre so not small but my neighbour got stung by one bee which followed me back after an inspection. That is the first time in four years here. I felt really guilty. Gave them honey and have been trying to find ways of screening the bees. I now always tell them when I am going into the bees. Over reaction I know but then I also know how being stung in your own garden can make you jumpy about everything that flies! I can understand that they might feel peeved as they are not even their bees. They have not complained and fully understand that I keep bees and the risks of stings but it still puts me on edge.
Stupid!
E

 

[user 6228]

Two things:

1) Neighbours can be surprisingly understanding... One of our colonies refused to swarm got very very big and aggressive then started harrassing and stinging the neighbours. They politely informed us was going on and asked can we do some thing. They liked the bees being there, just not these bees. Their attitude was the bees are "wild animals" and therefore will be difficult at times. We dealt with the colony unfortunately the extreme size meant extreme prejudice as they had become too large to safely transport.

2) Another neighbour but about 200m a way has had this year 4 swarms land in his front garden none of which were ours. Doesnt not like getting stung but bought books on bees and beekeeping which he has donated to our club after reading them.

I think I'll let the dust settle and have a chat with him in a week or so and see how he feels about them then

Talk to your neighbour before doing anything... You never know they might be the ones needing reassurance that they havent hurt the bees...

 

[Dadnlad]

Amidst the crap of covid19 bereavements, cancelled holidays, and idiot neighbours, today was a beekeeping first for us

A colony that we had AS'd had had it's single QC emerge and we were leaving it alone to do it's thing

This morning we were sat having a quick swig of juice between inspections when they set off like a swarm, running up the front of the hive and big cloud of swirling bees set off. Immediate panic and self doubt that I'd missed a QC - quick check but no just the one emerged QC

20 mins or so later, the same cloud of bees but this time incoming !
Piling onto the landing board and running in. We stood either side of the hive watching the landing board and both saw her land and run back in - dirty stopout

Any way, just thought I'd post that I've seen what I have only ever seen written about, and that things do go right sometimes

Pretty much made our day

 

[beeno]

My version of that event would be that the queen was still in the hive and that you have one sealed QC somewhere or another virgin. QCs get torn down quickly sometimes. Let us know if they go again.

 

[Dadnlad]

Nope the queen is safe in a nuc - this was an AS

 

[maddydog]

Sounds like a virgin going off on a mating flight and the bees got excited. Seen it a few times and the bees sheepishly fly back to the hive 20 mins after they left.

 

[Popparand]

But coming back to the original post.....if you have bees in your back garden and a neighbour get stung there is a possibility that it was your bees what did it. Time for a chat with the neighbour and suggest you will move the bees far away. Maybe he says ok thanks for that, or maybe he says my fault and we like to have bees around. If the former move them. If the latter don't. Surely in deepest Hertfordshire there must be somewhere to squirrel away a few bees!

 

[Erichalfbee]

My version of that event would be that the queen was still in the hive and that you have one sealed QC somewhere or another virgin. QCs get torn down quickly sometimes. Let us know if they go again.

They probably will but don’t you recognise mating swarms?

 

[steve1958]

An out apiary is the obvious solution.
Though that's a lot of hives to rehome.

Maybe a compromise would be to reduce the number of colonies.
Sometimes we end up trying to be farmers instead of enjoying the hobby.

Less colonies are less threatening to your neighbours.
Less work more enjoyment.

Make sure there is a fence by the hives on your neighbours side to force the bees up above head height

At some future date see if you can get your neighbours to put on a bee suit and get close up with the bees.

You could let your neighbours know that the swarm was not from your hives, but admit that your hives probably attracted the swarm to your garden initially looking for a home.

Expressing sorrow puts things right for a lot of folk.
(This is something some of our Members of Parliament have yet to learn).


Sorry if these ideas don't help, just some initial thoughts.
All the best