Bee keepers (Page 2)

From what I've read, urban beekeeping is pretty popular. The key is how comfortable you are with them being that close and more importantly, your neighbors. I'd definitely discuss it with anyone you share a fence with to make certain they are OK with it and nobody is allergic to stings. Are you and your neighbors xeriscaped or does anyone have to mow grass? Supposedly running a mower in close proximity to the hive might rile them up. Diesel motors are supposed to really tick them off, but I ran my tractor 10 feet from mine the other day with no problems.

Do you have rooftop access? That's where I would put them, if I had a rooftop patio and provided your neighbors are Ok with this arrangement. "Storey's Guide to Keeping Honey Bees" is one of the best books I've read on the subject. The "Complete Idiot's and For Dummies" series are also both pretty informative.

Exactly. Mine have established their own traffic pattern and glide slope.

My bees leave the hive straight out about ten feet and then straight up and away. Beyond that, I can't track which way they're headed. The bee yard I got them from, the guy had at least 30 hives. He was in the middle of town on maybe an acre. I didn't see a bee the whole time I was there. Granted I didn't go near his hives, but with so many hives, you'd think you would see them all over the place. Not the case.

My next door neighbor has a lot of established landscaping/flowers and he's telling me they're all over his flowers. My hive is roughly 400 yards away from his landscaping, so they get around. He's OK with it, as he plans to get a few hives going too. The important thing being that we need to let our neighbors know about the hives and explain the process to them to allay any fears. Mine have calmed down and no longer rile as easily as when I first got them. We're getting used to each other ( I like to think so, but they probably don't know me from Adam!) and I can open the top cover without protection to check on the feeder.

Guy next-door found the source of all the bees in his yard. Seems a lot of them might not be mine, but a wild hive in a tree hollow on his fence line. You can smell the honey in this thing from 5 feet away!





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It would be best to join a club and learn from someone (assist for free honey/bees) before jumping right into it if you live in a townhome. That way you can manage a swarm, a blown over hive, a lemonade stand gone wrong etc. Or, have a community hive to learn or friends house/land to keep them on. Many club members would love to co-hive with you.

Studies do show that if there is a barrier in front they will fly up and over and maintain that height. However, if the neighbor has leftover bbq sauce left out, then that 'sugar' is open for trouble. Also community swimming pools have became an issue with this. I've taken master beekeeper classes and we covered topics like this, however with the year 2018, they still do not know everything there is to know about bees unfortunately.