I do not know a great deal about beekeeping yet, but am getting more and more involved and excited with this hobby. I have one bee house set up in my garden, which is just me hoping that some bees will come in and live in it (lol). I am beginning to construct a new bee house because I would like to have honeybees. I was wondering if my two bee houses could be near each other? can I have different types of bees in relatively close areas? also, is there a certain distance my bee house should be from my house? I do love bees but don't want to accidentally trap them in my house:)
When I lived in town, I put my bees close enough to my house so that I could see them from my bathroom window. I kept a light on the sink so that I see what they were doing at night and at different temperatures. I had my bees far enough apart so that I could get my hive tool between them. When they are on my bee trailer, they are just far enough that I can get the lids on.
The way to keep swarms from moving into your house is to keep traps set with lemongrass oil.
Jim Altmiller
Honey bees do best in full sun. Solitary bee houses will do better in a sheltered spot where they don't get too much sun or too much wind and weather.