(please note - Zee didn't  leave her e-mail address so please excuse the
length of this reply to Bee-L)

With similar problems experienced here, I sympathize with your dilemma
Zee.  We had five hives here at the house (1/3 acre) and fifteen down at
my commercial property(1/2 acre) in the middle of town.  The fifteen had
to moved last year after the leaves dropped and exposed the hives -
causing a neighbor to go into a panic because "a bee might get into his
trash and sting somebody".  He called the police, fire & humane society
all in the same night.  No-one would help him as I occasionally work for
these departments in removing their bee troubles.  However, the humane
society gave me 8 or 9 months to move them, which I finally did this
spring (we have 35 acres south).  (I'll be protesting the ordinance
later this year)

The five here at the house were a 'blessing' to everyone last year with
abundant fruit & veggies.  This year I've been approached by both
neighbors on either side.  .  One neighbor has a first grade daughter
which developed such a fear of bees, she won't go outside - though never
stung.  The other just says there are "too many bees" and they're
visiting her hot-tub.  Thankfully, both are also gardeners and realize
the benefits of bees.  I have some 20-25 fruit trees planted and both
neighbors have a few apples & cherries. All but one of the hives were
removed.

The biggest problem you face is fear.  We both know there's no much
danger of stings unless a bee is crushed or it's hive is threatened.
However  the chance of children getting stung from crushed bees might be
great if you have your four hives in close proximity to ground flowers
in your neighbor's lawn (weeds?).

If your neighbors can see your hives this will keep your bees on their
mind.  If they see thousands of bees on their flowers, this will keep
the 'scare' alive as well.

Here's what I'd do:
(out-of-sight out-of-mind)

1) Build up a 8'-10' tall fenced area around the four hives (enclosed)
with enough room  to work and for the bees to gain altitude easily.
Place your water source inside the 'pen'.  Your neighbors will also see
you're 'doing' something about their concerns.

2) Around the bee 'pen' I'd plant some fast growing trees - say poplar
(ugh!) or ?   The higher the bees have to fly up, the farther they seem
to travel for forage (my experience with my 15 hives on the downtown
property, as they had to climb 15-20' to get out and were never seen by
neighbors).

-or- plant a row of bushes such as lilacs, in-between the bees & your
neighbors along the sides of the property.  They might take a couple
seasons to be effective but your fence for the bee-pen will hopefully
create some immediate effect (or the illusion of).

3) Talk to your neighbors and tell them your plans.  If they're
gardeners, take the time to talk to them about the pollination benefits
(with the drought of bees currently upon us, since the advent of the
mite).  If they grow tomatoes or fruit trees, they're realizing the
benefits without the trouble of maintaining hives.  Also explain to them
that you plan on lifting the bee flight-paths higher to keep them flying
out for forage - and that they should see better effect as the
bushes/trees grow as a fence-line.
(the idea here is that they have something to look forward and may just
forget all about your bees next year - especially if the fence keeps the
bees flying up)

4) Ask for their help:  Explain (nicely) that weeds are an excellent
draw for yours, & other, bees.  If they have plants that are heavy
nectar producers, remind them that these will bring in bees (when
flowering) whether you have any hives there or not.  They should remove
or move these plants if they don't want the stream of bees visiting.
Perhaps they'll help you plant your bushes/trees in a cohesive effort
for improvement?

Also talk to them about bees that aren't yours along with pests such as
yellow-jackets.  Bring them a dead bee & yellow-jacket so they can see
the difference (descriptions never seem to work as I get calls all the
time for honeybees only to find some are not).  After I removed my 15
hives from the downtown property, there's more bees than ever on my
'downtown' fruit trees and I'm not sure where they're coming from.

Find and give them something to read  - perhaps an article on the plight
of honeybees or another on the benefit they do for ALL of us.

If this doesn't work or you can't find a reasonable alternative, even
though you have the right to hold your bees there, you may have an
uphill battle in keeping them.  Neighbors have a right to quiet
enjoyment and may see "your" bees "everywhere" as a hindrance.  If the
neighbors turn nasty or try court action, you may wish you had taken a
few 'extra' steps just to keep the peace and avoid trouble.  If you see
something brewing, I'd go looking for a farmer or land-owner and move
all but one of your hives, or at least leave the option open.

Hope this helps,
Good luck with your troubles & please e-mail me with your solution!

Matthew Westall- Castle Rock, CO


Zee Byrd wrote:

> Today my neighbors came over and talked to my husband
> about my bees.  (Nice guy that he was (my husband) -
> he told them to come back and talk to me when I got
> home!)  They say that my bees are bothering them while
> they are in their veggie garden, visiting their pond,
> etc., etc., etc.
>
> I have 4 hives, which I've had for 6 years.  The first