Kinda an off-topic question. If I was to put in a bee hive next to my garden, tilling and mowing around the hive, what would be considered reasonable distances or just how close is reasonable? Any other considerations/issues?
Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.
histopicker
Swamptalker Extrordinaire Swamp Talker of the Month - 02/2015
Kinda an off-topic question. If I was to put in a bee hive next to my garden, tilling and mowing around the hive, what would be considered reasonable distances or just how close is reasonable? Any other considerations/issues?
Tilling and mowing I think will aggravate the bees alot. I think I would give them 15-20 feet at the minimum. I don't till or mow by my hives so they are literally 5 feet from the garden. The hot exhaust blowing on them will really piss them off. Another consideration is keeping a barrier between people and the bees. You can see in my videos there is a chain link fence by my hives. I have 30 grandbabies and don't want them bothering the girls. The bees fly a straight line away from the hive entrance. To avoid collisions with them in their flight path place a barrier they have to fly over. If they have a 6 foot obstacle between you and them they will not be crashing into you. I get hit all the time but I just leave them alone and they regain their bearings and fly off. No harm, no foul.
Last Edit: Feb 26, 2015 10:05:44 GMT -5 by histopicker
I'm not willing to give up 15-20' of lawn or having an overgrown area. I was hoping a couple of feet of pavers around the hive would have suffice.
Always wanted bees, my wife was allergic. When we had the big satellite dish we would get a show on beekeeping, it was real interesting...
I don't know these distances for sure. I just know they do not like vibration or carbon monoxide. I have never ran power equipment very close to them. There might not be a problem, I am just not sure and tend to err on the side of caution.
Post by nytrapper23 on Feb 26, 2015 13:15:25 GMT -5
Histo, been reading up on the bees, getting even more interested. Did not know they keep the hive at 95 degrees? How the heck do they do that in our area? We just had the coldest feb ever , 11.1 degrees.
Also they don't deficate in the hive , so they have to wait until a day into the 40's so they can come out and make a poop flight? What do they do in between ?
Western,Ny
histopicker
Swamptalker Extrordinaire Swamp Talker of the Month - 02/2015
Histo, been reading up on the bees, getting even more interested. Did not know they keep the hive at 95 degrees? How the heck do they do that in our area? We just had the coldest feb ever , 11.1 degrees.
Also they don't deficate in the hive , so they have to wait until a day into the 40's so they can come out and make a poop flight? What do they do in between ?
They cross their legs and squeeze real tight. I don't know how they hold it for so long but they do. Bees can and do survive extremely cold weather. Many of the species we use originated in the mountainous regions of Europe. Some variety's are better suited for it than others. Russian bees seem to be one of the hardiest and African's are the least of these. Africanized honey bees have basically stopped migrating north because they do not cluster tight enough to retain their heat and they use to many honey stores to keep warm. Other species cluster tighter and use less honey to retain their heat thus allowing them to survive. If you are learning about honey bees consider looking at them this way. Don't look at the individual bee as the organism. Look at the entire colony as being the living organism. If you do this you will understand how it all works. The colony is the being and each bee is just one part of the whole. Everything is done with the survival of the colony in mind. I hope this makes sense.
Yes it does, when they are keeping the colony warm do the bees move from inside to outside and back? Kinda changing places with one another?
Yes they do to a point, anyway that is what I learned along the way. Maybe not so much like the Penguins. Remember they are clustered around honey comb so it is not just a ball of bees. In extreme cold areas like you are in, some beekeepers will stack hay bales around their hives for added insulation. This is a good practice but it has a down fall. Mice will gain entrance into the hive and eat comb. The girls will eventually find it and kill it but single mouse can destroy an entire hives stores for the winter.
I'm not willing to give up 15-20' of lawn or having an overgrown area. I was hoping a couple of feet of pavers around the hive would have suffice.
Always wanted bees, my wife was allergic. When we had the big satellite dish we would get a show on beekeeping, it was real interesting...
I don't know these distances for sure. I just know they do not like vibration or carbon monoxide. I have never ran power equipment very close to them. There might not be a problem, I am just not sure and tend to err on the side of caution.
. When I had bees mowing around them wasn't much of a problem. I'd mow right up around em and wee wack what the mower couldnt get. Mostly depends on the overall attitude of the hive, in my experience.
