Making the bees go up

[ShinySideUp]

Due to fencing changes in my large garden I need to be sure that the bees go up quickly after leaving the hives so they don't bother my neighbours some 25 metres away. Previously there was a six foot fence dividing the gardens but that has blown down and we have replaced it with a lower, open mesh fence for economy.

I am presently putting a dense mesh screen at the front of my apiary some six feet high but only six feet from the hive entrances -- is this enough room for the bees to do their thing and go upwards in such a short 'runway'?

I can't move the screen any further away but I can lower it by about a foot if it is really necessary. The other sides of the apiary are just a mesh fence about three feet high and will not hinder the bees if they want to go sideways out of the apiary.

 

[Newbeeneil]

I have a 6' fence of debris netting within 3 ' of the hive entrance in my garden. My bees spiral over this and up over the 10' hedge that is 6' away. I would say the bees will have no problem with your situation.

 

[Millet]

Due to fencing changes in my large garden I need to be sure that the bees go up quickly after leaving the hives so they don't bother my neighbours some 25 metres away. Previously there was a six foot fence dividing the gardens but that has blown down and we have replaced it with a lower, open mesh fence for economy.

I am presently putting a dense mesh screen at the front of my apiary some six feet high but only six feet from the hive entrances -- is this enough room for the bees to do their thing and go upwards in such a short 'runway'?

I can't move the screen any further away but I can lower it by about a foot if it is really necessary. The other sides of the apiary are just a mesh fence about three feet high and will not hinder the bees if they want to go sideways out of the apiary.

 

[ShinySideUp]

I have a 6' fence of debris netting within 3 ' of the hive entrance in my garden. My bees spiral over this and up over the 10' hedge that is 6' away. I would say the bees will have no problem with your situation.

Good to know, ta.

 

[gmonag]

I'm pretty sure they will cope very well. Someone told me that they won't fly through any mesh smaller than 1", so it does not need to be dense.

 

[ShinySideUp]

I'm pretty sure they will cope very well. Someone told me that they won't fly through any mesh smaller than 1", so it does not need to be dense.

Just the stuff I had to hand. PLus, my bees hate me and will come and get me anywhere they see me in the garden so perhaps it might help. It's only me, they don't go after my wife or the dogs...or anyone else really, I must smell bad to bees

 

[enrico]

They won't even fly through trellis holes which are 6 inches. I used 6 foot trellis and grew climbers up it. it looked good did the job and won't blow over because of the holes.
E

 

[Curley]

They won't even fly through trellis holes which are 6 inches. I used 6 foot trellis and grew climbers up it. it looked good did the job and won't blow over because of the holes.
E

Yeah that - they will on occasion go through - during an inspection for example but mostly fly up and over

 

[ShinySideUp]

The mesh is left over from the other fence repair. It does have an advantage in that it is hanging from fencing wire and in the winter (like now) it can be drawn back like a set of curtains to allow the early morning winter sun to hit the hive entrances and drawn across when the bees get active in the spring.

 

[enrico]

That is exactly what I did some twenty years ago in apiary in a garden. You will find you confuse the bees by drawing the curtain. Leave it closed! On a windy day I found a couple of hundred bees the wrong side of the curtain having drawn it to keep the wind off!!!! It wasn't there when they left!
E

 

[Millet]

I have a couple of hives 4ft away from a tall hedge roughly 8ft high..the bees come out and spiral up into the air very quickly with no problems and the same when they are going back in..three sides of the hives are covered by this hedge and even though i have a 4ft mesh gate beside the hives the bees still prefare to go up and over.

 

[ShinySideUp]

That is exactly what I did some twenty years ago in apiary in a garden. You will find you confuse the bees by drawing the curtain. Leave it closed! On a windy day I found a couple of hundred bees the wrong side of the curtain having drawn it to keep the wind off!!!! It wasn't there when they left!
E

It will only be closed when the bees become active in the spring and it will remain closed until winter inaction (so that the low winter sun can warm the hives a little) but I will keep an eye on them to avoid the problem you describe.

 

[Mandeville]

In one apiary I visit there is an 8ft high mesh fence behind and to one side of a row of hives. The bees don't have any problem leaving the hives, but some do try to return through the side fence. It can be a nuisance because the purpose of the side fence is to shield a path. This fence is about 4ft from the nearest hive and extends about 10ft past the front of the row.