Budding hobbiest

em3r1c · June 20, 2007, 03:00:13 PM

I have been researching beekeeping for about a month and want to start a hive but i am not sure if my location will be appropriate. i live in a very urban setting and i am not sure if it will work out here. will my bees be a hazard to my nieghbors? will my bees have enough pollin to work with in a big city? please help

tillie · June 20, 2007, 03:11:51 PM

Hi there, there are many urban city beekeepers. I have done it for two years but many people have for much longer than that. I belong to the Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association which is one of the oldest beekeeper clubs in the country and has been in existence for about 25 years, I think,

I keep my bees on my deck ( http://beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com ) and they've managed to find lots of pollen, etc. On my blog are some other blogs of urban beekeepers (look to the right of the page).

I have never talked to my neighbors about the fact that I have bees, although boxes of stuff from places like Dadant and Brushy Mountain often sit in front of my door all day until I get home from work and I have empty supers sitting in full view in my garage. I'm not eager to advertise, but should anyone ask me about them, I will happily provide them with a delicious jar of honey. I am on top of a hill so my bees when they make a beeline :-D are above my neighbors decks and yards so we haven't had a problem. And I provide them with a water source they like, so they are not getting water anywhere else (that I know about) - there's also a creek down the hill about the length of a football field.

You'll do fine - go for it!

Linda T inside the perimeter highway in Atlanta

tillie · June 20, 2007, 04:54:46 PM

BTW, where are you? What urban location?

LT in Atlanta

trapperbob · June 20, 2007, 06:12:45 PM

Check your local laws to see if you can then you might talk to your neighbors to see if they might object since they could cause alot of trouble if suprised.That being said many beeks have bumper crops of honey in citys since people grow flowers by the thousands. Also the city bee is not affected by drought as much since everyone waters. So I would say yes you could raise them. But before you do search out a bee keeping association and meet a few beeks and check out there bee yards you will learn alot and also you will find out for sure if bees are for you without all the money being spent and then wishing you had'nt.

Michael Bush · June 20, 2007, 09:01:10 PM

I've had hives in my backyard and in other people's backyards in the city for 33 years. They have always done well.

Moonshae · June 20, 2007, 09:36:44 PM

If people can have them in Manhattan, I can't imagine any other urban location being less able to support a hive.

Kirk-o · June 20, 2007, 10:00:54 PM

I'm in Los Angeles in China Town I love urban Beekeeping
kirko

rdy-b · June 20, 2007, 11:20:23 PM

they keep bees in Sanfrancisco that is meatropoless more than enough urban for anybody hook up with a bee club,loades of fun for kids of all ages :) RDY-B

LET-CA · June 21, 2007, 12:45:43 AM

I keep several hives in my small back yard in Sacramento, CA without any problems. I told each of my neighbors in advance (and gave them each a jar of honey) telling them that if there were ever any problems, just let me know. Not a peep from any of them. I figure a few jars of honey a year is pretty cheap in the scheme of things.

Bees sometimes do better in a city because people water all summer long and there's not quite the dearth that exists further out in the country (escpecially here in California where Summers are hot and dry).

Place your hive(s) so that the bees have to fly upward shortly after exiting the front. Your neighbors probably will never know unless you tell them like I did.

Good luck and all the best - Lenny

KONASDAD · June 21, 2007, 12:39:15 PM

I live in amunicipality that has 3300people/sq.mile. My naighbors dont even know. The other advantages, including those already pointed out, no competition from bees in many instances. I appear to be in a bee void, and my bees have the run of the neighborhood to themselves.

ndvan · June 21, 2007, 03:05:11 PM

I am in the middle of Tulsa, OK, and I have a 1/4 acre lot. I have two young kids. I have two new hives. Before I got the hives, I was somewhat anxious that there would be problems. My wife was really worried that there would be hordes of bees. Also, the hives are right near my driveway, so we get near the hives. So far, no problems at all. My hives are about 25 feet from the property line. They do not bother us, and I see no way that they are bothering the neighbors. I see no way that they pose any danger to anybody who is not actually doing something to the hives.

I would consider these ideas:

1. Is it legal to keep bees where you are?

2. If so, are there specific requirements about how many hives or where they must be placed? Can you meet those requirements?

3. Can you position your hives where they will not be right next to a property line?

4. Can you position your hives where there will not be traffic in an area that everybody has to walk through all of the time?

5. Do you have any nutty neighbors who will make you miserable because they gripe about everything?

If you do not have any of those problems, I think you will have no troubles. Bees really could not care less about people who are not bothering their hives. Also, if you get and keep gentle bees, they do not get very upset when you are in the hive (I have had a few stings in my gloves, but no stings in me).

Good luck,

ndvan

beekeeperookie · June 21, 2007, 03:35:39 PM

I live in the inner city of Newark, I dont really get along with my neighbors but I prevent my bees from causing any problems. One I have a six foot fence between me and the neighbor, two they are registered and three i provide them water. So far no one has complain of course they might not know what the boxes are for since they are in my garden.

On another note my husband who was anxious that I was getting the hives thought they be all over the yard and the kids would get stung. Not once, the only person in my family to be stung at all is me when i have worked the hives. I have a four foot privacy fence between my yard and the garden, so the bees if using the flight line is already above my kids heads. I also dont have clover in my yard to keep from my kids stepping on them. :-D