Beehives in neighbours garden

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Moved into a new house. I am unable to see the neighbours garden due to the layout. I discovered a few weeks after moving in they have two beehives. Already I have seen two massive swarms of bees. Thousands of them for two days. Had to close all the windows and doors. If you've never seen a swarm before it can be terrifying when it's right by your house.

The small pond has around fifty around it at any given time. Already I'm thinking having a medium sized padding pool up for the kids is going to be a no-no as I'd rather not have dozens of bees hovering about using it as a water source.

Also, the woman told my DH that they get irritated by noise and that on one occasion when their son shouted something, her husband was stung a dozen noise. Where the beehives are is metres away from a children's play area to was insitu when we moved in. Already although my child is a baby I'd be terrified of letting her play down that area where the swings are as all young children can make loud unpredictable noises from time to time. Oh she also told me that we would need to get rid of a tree as it attracts bees.

My mum lives in a street where the street behind her they keep bees, they've not escaped once - but she did help them capture and rescue an escaped swarm and they rehomed the bees (no idea where they came from).

I honestly think your kids wouldn't be harmed by the bees and you're being a bit overdramatic. Maybe take your child to see the bees one day to show them how honey is made and they might even give you a jar of honey too.

@ninnynonny they are probably tree bumblebees they love make a nest in a bird box!

Ask the neighbour to provide a water source for the bees. They can use bait hive lemongrass to teach the bees where it is.but your pond sounds good if they can safely drink from it without drowning.

Are they a member of the local association and maybe need some help learning swarm control.

Bees are unlikely to sting during swarming as they fill up on honey before they leave and they can't bend to get the sting in you.

They shouldn't attack randomly. Your local beekeeping association might offer to come and assess your situation.

It's also world bee day and we should be celebrating the beauty of bees and their importance in our eco system.

Leave your tree and plant another.

Oh no! Cannibal Killer Bees! Quick, concrete your gardens over, chop down all trees, clear all vegetation, lay fake grass, fumigate the entire house!

Ffs

I had a wasps nest at the rear of the shed. They used to come and go quite happily. I kept them out of the kitchen by putting caster sugar and jam out on a saucer in the garden. They ate the windfall apples towards the end of the season.

I read that if you plant tall trees like conifers, the bees tend to avoid going over then straight down. It interrupts the flight path. Not sure if that’s correct but might be worth a try - I am sure your neighbour wouldn’t be pleased though!

I can sort of see both sides. I can understand your worries - of course people worry about their children being stung or in danger, but obviously bees are pollinators and good for the environment, though better to encourage wild bumblebees than keep honeybees. But mainly they leave people alone. I agree with the pp who suggested that maybe the beekeeper has other reasons for what she said to you - doesn't like the tree or noise of children perhaps. I can't imagine why any beekeeper would advise anyone to cut down a tree that attracted bees, and I don't think bees are much bothered by shouting, otherwise children (and adults) would be stung a lot more often.

It's disappointing if you've planned a paddling pool, and I mean this kindly, but I think maybe try to change your expectations of what the garden will be. Perhaps a pool won't be a good idea, at least not with small children, as bees do need to drink, so they are likely to be attracted by droplets on the sides or ground around the pool. I don't think they can land on water though. But maybe you could learn about bees, use it as an opportunity to raise your child to be keen on nature, watch the bees, plant bee-friendly flowers together. About 10 years ago I was at a National Trust garden and saw a beekeeper collecting a swarm. My dcs still talk about it as an amazing experience, so maybe try and work with what you've got and this could be something really positive.

Also remember that you will likely have all sorts of insects visiting your garden, whether or not there's a hive or colony nearby. I think they travel miles to feed, not just next door, so better to learn to live with them, and help your children to do the same.

Rotting fruit=drunk bees and wasps=more likely to sting

DH used to keep bees and I believe there are rules about how near they can be to other residents. I don't think residential gardens are allowed. I think it's defra rules. Not home to ask him at the moment

Ah we have a lot of tall trees around our house and immediate area, maybe that's why I don't see my friend's bees!

I think residential gardens must be fine as my neighbour has some. It could depend on the area and local bylaws.

I thought this was quite funny: nadcaa.org.uk/beekeeping-agreement/ angry queens produce angry bees so you need to replace with a placid queen! Maybe this is the OP's problem - her neighbour has an angry queen!

Without sounding hysterical (!) are they 'ok'. Honestly, I sound a bit twitchy - Ilove bees but do stil feel a bit wary!

Interesting article about honey bees. I still think they are very important.

But not mowing the lawn every few days is definitely a good way to help pollinators. And helps reduce noise pollution, too.

@ninnynonny
We had that last year. No problems at all with them, and it was great to watch them going in and out.
We've also had a leafcutter bee in our wall. You would see what looked like a leaf hovering over the garden then it would suddenly go to the wall and pull the leaf into a crack.

That paints a beautiful picture, @RockAndOrRoll, and speaks volumes about the hive mind, acting in unison and non aggressively.

Lemons1571
This would terrify me. Yes, bees are good for the ecosystem. But would all of you really be happy with your toddler playing in a padding pool with hundreds of bees hovering above the water around them. I mean, really? Wouldn’t the garden become unusable?

I think there’s a place for bee hives and a small suburban garden one metre from children's play equipment isnt.”

agree with this. I grow fruits and vegetables in our large garden and love/and very grateful to visiting bees. Most of my ornamental plants are chosen because of their attraction to bees and butterflies, too. Wouldn’t dream of keeping hives, though.

I would speak to your council and ask about rules governing bee keeping in domestic gardens.

No there aren't any such rules.

Keeping excessive numbers of bees badly might be considered a nuisance by environmental health.

I'm a learning beekeeper-to-be. I have learnt so much the last year or so! Please read up on them. You are safe.

I have read in my beekeeping groups that they're calling 2022 the year of the swarm because it's happening a lot at the moment.

People are allowed to keep bees in their garden. No beekeeping association is going to pop over and say your neighbours aren't allowed bees in their garden. Unless its a shared garden?

"I would speak to your council and ask about rules governing bee keeping in domestic gardens."

It's allowed.

It's tricky to weigh up the impact of honeybees - there is an overall shortage of insects (though not of honeybees), and the root causes seem to be around pesticide use and loss of habitat. There's heated debate but mixed evidence on whether honeybees are displacing other bees. Honeybees are short tongued so feed on different plants to long-tongued bees, e.g buddleia flowers are generally too deep for honeybees but butterflies and other insects love them. Beekeepers can help raise awareness of the importance of minimising pesticide use and making gardens insect friendly.

Honeybees are also important for agriculture - they tend to visit just one type of flower on any foraging flight and invite their fellow foragers to follow them so they are very good at spreading pollen from one apple tree to the next, rather than taking apple pollen to plum trees and vice versa.

OP I live in a hamlet with farmland behind and in front of my house. Across the lane which runs alongside my house is an orchard and there are beehives in there. We moved here when the DC were 7 and 5; they love being in the garden and have never been stung. We mow our back lawn regularly and DH is a big fan of power tools including a chainsaw and chipper. He has never been stung. We have quite a bee-friendly garden and the beekeeper has given us some tips such as not cutting our ivy back until the flowers have completely died.

There has been one swarm which ended up in our chimney. The beekeeper came to advise us but it was too hard for him to reach the queen and she cleared off PDQ. In the almost 16 years living here, only one of us has been stung. That was me and it was my own fault. I heard a buzzing in the bathroom which has no window. I was taking a shower so didn't have my glasses on and I'm really long-sighted. I thought it was a wasp so swatted it with my towel. Sadly, it was a bee which came back and stung me. DH and DD2 put the remains of the sting and bee under a microscope so it didn't die completely in vain but I still feel bad.

I think your alarmist neighbour is stirring things. Teach your DC to be calm and respectful around the bees and they will be fine. You could get a magnifying glass and show the DC how to look at insects with it. You never know, you might be encouraging the next generation of experts.

I'm calling bullsh!t on this one, sorry. Bees are gentle creatures and don't sting unless threatened. I hate when people try to make out they're just flying around looking for people to sting!

I would hate this as well OP, you’re not alone.

I’d be looking up any guidance on the council/beekeeping association websites as to how to reduce the impact on you as much as possible.

Contact your local council and ask if they have any regulations or guidelines for beekeeping. I only know about bees because I've called in friendly beekeepers when I have had swarms and they have removed them. There is a lot to consider (so I have been told) and swarms can be dangerous (mostly are not) and they can also find their way into masonry and wooden fixtures and be costly to extract if they set up shop there. My neighbours have also had swarms and they exterminate them and also take preventative measures (so they tell me) with different pest treatments. Wouldn't be my choice but I think there is a severe allergy in the family.

You are not being unreasonable.

My father in law keeps bees in the orchard. Dh and siblings spent their childhood climbing apple trees next to them screaming and yelling, no stings. My two and all their cousins do the same when we visit, no stings. In fact think the only person who has been stung is fil.

They also have a paddling pool in the garden for summer visits/spend hours outside and the bees haven't been a problem. In fact when lockdown was lifted in 2020, I spent plenty of time lying in said paddling pool with the kids and we were never swarmed.

We have hundreds of bees in our garden in summer, they love our lavender plants, they have never ever caused an issue, they just do their thing and ignore us completely.

i agree this neighbour is trying to scare you, which is horrible of her.