To think our neighbours should have spoken to us before deciding to keep a bee hive?

[slatternlymother]

Our neighbours 2 doors down have recently decided to take up beekeeping. The first we knew of it was when the bees were disturbed, creating a large angry swarm.

My DH is allergic to bee stings (and so naturally has quite a debilitating fear) and DS is only 18mo; I just would have thought they would have at least knocked on our door and said 'by the way, we're starting a hive and the bees will be disturbed by us at X time so you might want to shut your doors and windows'. They seem like nice people, but there seems to be a lack of consideration for others.

The bees are swarming right now, so even though the sun is shining, we can't get outside in the garden to play with DS like we wanted to

AIBU to think they have been a bit unfair on the rest of the neighbourhood? It's quite a populated area.

Ah I see - so if you can't muzzle them, put them on a lead and train them, they therefore can't be capable of injuring anyone?

of course they are able to sting - but - just as you can muzzle a dog and put it on a leash you can minimise the risks as posted above.

Because dogs are domesticated and bees are not.
Similar situation: legally, you can't let your dog foul someone elses garden but can if its a cat: not becuase cats don't poo.

I know someone whose new neighbours asked him to move his bees when they saw the hives. He did so. a couple weeks later they came round, livid becuase they'd been stung. He no longer kept bees nearby-he'd moved them 5 miles, though he did have spare (EMPTY) hives on view. It's very normal and completely understandable for people to blame all stings on the beekeeper-nearby, even when they're wasp stings.

Peoples phobia of bees and lack of knowledge can be staggering, but nonethless real. Badly kept bees can be a nuisance. But not all bees are.

They are protected and it IS encouraged...I think you can even get grants towards the costs....BUT they really ought to have let neighbours know.

I read that if you want to keep bees you NEED to join your local beekeepers society and I am sure that they would advise telling neighbours!

OP go round there...and tell them about DS and ask for advance warning....AND if they're not helpful you should call your local Beekeepers Society and tell them and ask their advice...they will be helpful and concerned.

It is very difficult to establish a succesfull colony as they are vulnerable to all kinds of mites etc and the whole hive will die anyway if the couple have no proper support.

we had a colony of miner bees settle in the lock space of our French windows...I called pest control who told me they were harmless and so we lived with them all summer...they used to wait to be let in in the evening!

I would open the door and a little gathering of them would be hovering ouside and swarm back into "their" lock!

Bees are nice when they're not bothered....BUT if this couple are not seeking proper advice then they're dangerous as hell.

Similar situation: legally, you can't let your dog foul someone elses garden but can if its a cat: not becuase cats don't poo

Cat's can't injure people - unless they are of the genus panthera I suppose - whereas bees can, and as the owner, the onus will fall on you....the BBKA seems very keen that you join them, partly for the legal protection I see

They are protected and it IS encouraged...I think you can even get grants towards the costs

Btw bees are not protected in the UK....and i saw no evidence of direct grants, certainly not in suburbia.

A quick read of the BBKA literature implied that you will come off 2nd best if a neighbour can justify a complaint of them being a nuisance, and that sharing honey with your affected neighbours is a nice touch to turneth away wrath :)

Anyway OP, after your talk, if no action honey is forthcoming, I think waiting till the wind is blowing the right way then giving the tops of your trees a vigorous spray of bug killer should do it...

I think some of the later posters have hit the right note. Yes, bees are an important part of the natural environment. The problem is that a hive of honey bees cannot be viewed as natural. Bees can be disturbed by normal activity in the garden such as lawn mowing or even being out in the garden with hairspray or perfume on.

TheHouseOnTheCorner's advice is very good I think. If the neighbours have had good advice and are following it then all well and good. OP's DH should ensure that his epi-pen is always to hand but then he should anyway.

Cat's can't injure people
hahahahahahahahhahaha

Check the council bye laws, we are prohibited from keeping bees on our allotment site as they count as livestock, which is not allowed, there are often clauses designed to prevent people keeping chickens etc. on new developments. My Dad took on my grandfathers bee hives when he became infirm but he had to give them up in the end as they chased my mum every time she tried to hang washing out!
Your neighbour could site his bees elsewhere, eg. In a less inhabited area, it's common practice.

"Cat's can't injure people - unless they are of the genus panthera I suppose - whereas bees can, "

Don't be ridiculous. Of course cats can injure people, what with them having claws and sharp teeth, not forgetting that they are a potential allergen. They are probably more likely to injure you than a bee as bees tend not to sting you as it means that they die.

Of course cats can injure people, what with them having claws and sharp teeth, not forgetting that they are a potential allergen. They are probably more likely to injure you than a bee as bees tend not to sting you as it means that they die.

Dogs and bees kill a few people in the UK every year, cats...none.

So that means they don't injure people. Right. Of course.

There's Bartonella (cat scratch disease) oh, and toxioplasmosis is potentially fatal for certain groups of people.

cats can't injure people? cat poo is particularly dangerous!
bees are not just important in natural environments, they are vital in agriculture and urban environments too

There's Bartonella (cat scratch disease) oh, and toxioplasmosis is potentially fatal for certain groups of people.

Stats 101 for you - for every fatality, there are a lot more serious injuries, for every serious injury, ethere are many minor ones.

So, no deaths from cats = far more benign.

cat poo is particularly dangerous!

It causes a few deaths on MN by frothing to death every year I suppose.

cant find actual figures for the UK, but found this: "About 3,500 to 4,000 children are born in the United States each year with congenital toxoplasmosis. Outside the United States, fetal infection rates tend to be higher"

Read more: www.answers.com/topic/toxoplasmosis#ixzz1wvMKmA5D

I'd like bees but we are surrounded by high flats so they'd fligh up and into windows. Mind you, it might stop pervy man standing in his living room in the flat facing the back of my house and peering into all my windows. A few bees up his boxers

Stats 101 for you - you can make them say whatever you want them to.

My dad has three hives and he's allergic to bee stings gives my mum heart failure frequently but he's never been stung.

If they are good & responsible keepers they will understand your worries and will allay your fears by explaining how they minimise distress to the bees & not getting them agitated.

A note is far too passive aggressive, far best to speak to them in person. You may even learn something!! And get some honey

I have to say I love cats, but the worst Christmas Eve of my life was spent stuck in a holiday cottage in the middle of nowhere, having been bitten by a stray cat a couple of days earlier. The bite got horribly infected and my whole arm got swollen up from fingers to shoulder like a purple sausage. it was agony - easily comparable to being in labour. Eventually at 2am I had to get the out of ours GP involved. Two courses of antibiotics and six weeks later, I was finally able to use that hand. I guess in previous centuries that might well have killed me.

What really struck me was how seriously the local NHS took it, whereas I and my urban family took a long time to move beyond thinking, "Oh, it's only a cat bite". As the OOH GP said, that cat may well have been chewing on a dead rat just before it bit me...

Still love cats but will definitely take earlier action next time I get savaged by a wild one

There are huge misunderstandings ON BOTH SIDES. Some of what is said about bees and bee hives makes as much sense as saying "that dolphin tried to eat me". Saying "a swarm of angry bees" is about that level. But must be incredibly annoying to be sitting out in own garden in paddling-pool gear with next-door striding out in full-on bee suits!!!!

It isn't right that someone has to move their hives becuase a neighbour was bothered by a wasp. But neither is it right that someone should put up with aggressive bees nearby.

Current common-sense, SBA advice to beekeepers is to site hives considerately, to make sure to keep non-aggressive strains, to have water supply in own garden, to take good swarm-prevention measures, and to be prepared to move hives if they become a nuisance (sometimes temporary, eg if they loose the queen), and to try to educate neighbours to alay fears.

Allotments are subject to there own regulations. However...householders can get neighbours to remove hives if they can show they are a "nuisance".

Sometimes someone gets stung and local beekeeper is blamed, even if the sting is a wasp; this does not constitute a nuisance caused by beekeepers hives, obviously.

Often people won't speak to neighbours first becuase the assumptions about bees as being scary etc are unfounded -and the beekeeper will feel that neighbours WILL NOT EVEN KNOW THE HIVES ARE THERE. And often they are right; a lot of beek assoc don't advise you to tell neighbours.

Bees are not protected in the UK. Honey bees are no longer in decline in the UK (hurrah!) due to the number of new beekeepers & last year being a mild winter.

IF you are being bothered by a neighbours bees then go have a polite word. But be realistic: not every buzz is a honey bee, not every sting is a honey bee.

My DH keeps.bees but they are in the middle of nowhere. Too late to ask him as he,s asleep, but our neighbours would not tolerate it and he has moved his hives after a complaint before. The bastard things stung me the first time I went there, and they regularly sting him.

I would ask the local council if there are bylaws, or the Parrish council, and I would contact environmental health. I have a feeling you can't have hives in a garden though but the expert is zzzzzzz

You need to plant Rhododendrons. Bees dont like them.

I have the same problem. I can't use my garden because of my neighbours bees. They are so aggressive. Sting without warning. I am at my wit's end what to do. The beekeeper couldn't care less. The council don't want to know even though my wife is allergic to bee stings. Environmental health don't want to know. His beekeeping Association don't want to know.

Beekeeping has to be the worlds most selfish, inconsiderate hobby.

In America it's mostly illegal or strictly controlled. In Britain it's a free for all.

I have the same problem with by neighbour's bees. Most times I cannot use the garden without being attacked. I have spoken to the beekeeper but he couldn't care less.

It's hard to describe to someone who has never lived next to a beekeeper how awful it is being constantly attacked and stung. Most people think honey bees are no worse than wasps but they are FAR worse than wasps.

We have tried everything including an inspection by another beekeeper but inevitably got the same BS response. After ten years we have had enough and are forced to move. The previous owner got taken to hospital with stings. In the end he moved because of thee aggressive bees. The law should do more to protect victims of beekeepers.