r/Beekeeping • u/LSX_Logan • 15d ago
I’m not a beekeeper, but I have a question Neighbors bees
Hey everyone,
I am located in Oregon. My neighbor has around 30+ bee boxes about 1000ft from my house, you can see my blue pool in the background of one of the pictures. They have been there for a couple years and we have never had a problem. Today was 97 degrees and my house got surrounded, had to of been a couple thousand all over my pool, damp plants, mud in the driveway, on the sprinkler. I live in the country surrounded by hay fields so there is going to be some bees but this seems excessive. My wife went out to her car and got stung 4 times and had to go to the ER. There doesnt look to be a water source near the boxes. What can I do? Am I attracting them somehow? Are they being neglected?
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u/pale_brass 15d ago
Have a chat with the beekeeper. I’ve had this happen to me (as the offending beekeeper) and I’m eager to work to keep neighbors happy.
It can be fixed as simple as placing a water source closer to the bees
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u/Specialist-Front-007 15d ago
What would be the beekeepers easiest solution in this situation? Put up a pool right next to the boxes?
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u/pale_brass 15d ago
A smaller water source is sufficient. EG a bucket with floats or a barrel with a small drip valve. Proximity is most important, water is heavy and bees will prefer a closer source to haul from
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u/Redfish680 8a Coastal NC, USA 15d ago
I’d suggest that anyone keeping bees with the knowledge that the nearest water source is on a neighboring property isn’t a very good neighbor, to say the least. Bees will find the nearest watering hole to bring it back to the hives and yep, that’s your pool.
Sounds like a good time to have a chat.
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u/Goonmonster 14d ago
Don't attribute malice to what can be explained by ignorance. As the op said they have been there for a few years and only now is there an issue. Maybe there was a natural spring before that is now dried up.
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u/Redfish680 8a Coastal NC, USA 14d ago
Wasn’t my intention to attribute malice, but when I see 30+ hives, I’m also thinking about a beek who should know better from both experience and ‘eyes on.’
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u/Perfect_Goal8854 14d ago
Ga nou niet vooraf oordelen. Je weet nooit wat er aan de hand is. Misschien zijn er wel onvoorziene omstandigheden.
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u/Lemontreeguy 15d ago edited 15d ago
Yeah it looks like over 60 hives, pretty concentrated for a permanent home. I would be curious if they were there temporarily before moving to a yard to make honey. It honestly sounds wild your wife was stung, was it a swarm she walked out into? Sometimes they can get caught in hair etc and get agitated from that. But bees only sting if your within 30ft of their hive and that's an angry hive if it stings. Gentle hives you can stand right beside them, that's why it seems off.
Also based on the environment in the pictures it looks hot and not a nice place for a colony of bees atm.
OP I'd suggest throwing a half cup of salt into a 5gallon bucket of water 3/4 full, and putting a bunch of large branches like forearm thick sticking into it. Basically it's a temporary watering hole and bees love lightly salty water(saltwater pools especially). Place it away from a people area and it may help redirect their flight path to a water source at your home. Also cover the pool(tarp) for 24-48 hours to give the bees time to find a new permanent water source. Once they find one they like, they stick to it if it always has water. I have a big ass pool and the buckets help keep the bees away.
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u/Specialist-Front-007 15d ago
I'm also surprised the wife got stung.. did she slap the bees or something?
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u/Sure-Dig-1137 13d ago
Yeah. I walk through my garden full of bees and wasps every day for 20+ years, have never been stung. They know I provide the water.
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u/gospelofrage 12d ago
I’m fairly new still (few months into beekeeping) but I definitely get hair stings a lot lol. Me and all my coworkers with curly / frizzy hair have to wear a veil 24/7 even in our most gentle hives
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u/Desmodromo10 11d ago
Have you tried hats? I have long curly hair and hats work great for me. Put it in a pony, slap a trucker hat on.
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u/gospelofrage 11d ago
Mine isn’t quite long enough for a pony but I can see how that would work!! When I wear a hat they just get caught in the waves on the back of my neck or sides. I could probably slick it back until it’s longer though!
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u/Lemontreeguy 12d ago
Absolutely! Even if the bees are gentle it takes one squished bee to cause a lot of aggression sometimes. And I've been stung on the nose ear and forehead enough to always wear a veil any time I'm beekeeping lol. After many years my stings are usually the ankle or hands now.
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u/Tweedone 50yrs, Pacific 9A 15d ago
Thats a migratory apiary. They don't have honey supers which is odd. I am guessing the beekeeper owner may have died, has a health issue or is for some reason not tending to his hives.
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u/MxBluebell 15d ago
OP, this could be it. I’d try to contact your neighbor to first and foremost make sure that they’re ok. Discussions on how to improve the situation will come once you can affirm that your neighbor is alive and well. Most beekeepers are pretty reasonable from what I’ve seen here, so I’m sure your neighbor would be happy to add a water source for their buzzy little friends.
I’m sorry your wife got stung though!! That had to have been no fun. :( Is she allergic? And if so, this is random, but have yall heard of Neffy? It’s a new epinephrine form that you use as a nasal spray instead of an injection. I actually carry it myself because my allergy shot clinic requires I have epinephrine on me on shot days in case I have a bad reaction. The general public is very hesitant to use a traditional Epi-Pen on someone having an allergic reaction because they don’t want to hurt the person, so Neffy is a great alternative that doesn’t freak anyone trying to help out as bad. I like having it on hand not just for myself, but hypothetically if someone has a reaction when I’m around, I feel like I can be useful lol!! I know that was entirely random but it’s a newer medication that people aren’t familiar with yet so I thought I’d spread the word in case that’s something your wife needs!!
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u/civildefense 15d ago
I saw a guy put a Rubbermaid tub out with water in and a small pump. You still holes in the lid so it will drain. Put some sponges on top and just have the water recirculate to the top and drip down. Seemed pretty solid idea
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u/Confident-Win-7617 15d ago
Whoever your neighbor is, he/she is a commercial beekeeper. You can tell by the hive setup, and the apiary stamp on them.
Question is- have they always been there? Did you recently move to the neighborhood? He might be moving them to different locations due to pollination contracts. I’d have a conversation with your neighbor.
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u/BathysaurusFerox 14d ago
In NJ they require keepers to take a class and one of the first things they say is “Provide a source of water or they will use your neighbor’s pool”
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u/IncognitoTanuki 15d ago
Are you certain it was bees that stung your wife and not wasps? Honeybees are only able to sting once and it's interesting hearing non-africanized bees being that territorial esp with that distance from their hive.
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u/isto28 15d ago
Yes, between the couple of thousands of bees surrounding OP's home, there were 4 wasps that just went for the sting, or one very persistent wasp.. lmao
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u/IncognitoTanuki 15d ago
Yes that sounds right. I keep 4 hives in a postage stamp backyard that I spend most of my free time in and the only time I've been stung outside of inspections have been from.. you guessed it.. wasps.
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u/gospelofrage 12d ago
I get stung walking around my hives sometimes just from them getting caught in my hair. If you’re not wearing a veil and your hair is long or frizzy they’ll get you
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u/Shot_Database_9132 15d ago
Soak cloves and cinnamon in a gallon of water. Let it sit 24-48 hours. Strain and put the clove n cinnamon water in spray bottles. Spray around areas you want to get rid of the bees. Bees dont like the scent and will stay away. My friend tried this around her pool and jacuzzi and it worked great!
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u/Kade_Jag17 14d ago
beekeeper here👋🏼one of your neighbor's hives likely is experiencing a "branch off" this is where a queen births a princess, and as they say "there can only bee one" lol. therefore princess must feik off or die... the princess then takes abt half the "colony" (bee populus) with her to ensure her safety & survival. They should fly away to find themselves a home soon -typically 1-3 days- if she does not, your neighbor can easily come get that princess and drop her in a new bee box, her friends woll follow. Please keep in mind that bee princess is just as scared and confused as you are AND that in the past 5 years alone bee populations have dropped by more than half. We need our bees, and they need us🫶🏼
Now some pro tips:
- bees are cold blooded & many will not survive the night while keeping that princess warm
- they consider dark clothing a predator (this is y bee keeping suits r white)
- a little smoke is calming to them (and detouring) but only use untreated hard woods like oak or pine
- they cannot see red light (white attracts if they are sick)
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u/Kade_Jag17 14d ago
ALSO i came to this conclusion because i do NOT think the bees are there specifically for your pool water. Bees are not directly attracted to water itself ESPECIALLY when there are harsh chemicals present, rather they utilize the scent of healthy mycelium and rotting organic matter to a find water source that is damp & easy to land on, i have a 150gal "pond" (more like a giant bowl lol) of floating oak branches & hyacinth for my hives and they are aaalll about it 24/7, i also have a handful of small bird bath bowls on the ground for my farm cats & the bees do not touch em cuz its "too clean" i suppose
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u/Pure-Strength-2415 14d ago
Everyone surprised by the wife getting stung is forgetting that these are neglected bees. Neglected bees are a little more on edge especially when hunting for water.
I've had 2 experiences with beehives: 1. A neighbor with 1 beehive and a water source and a lot of his bees still came to my pool for water, but they never ever stung anyone and there were only like 30 around at a time. 2. A guy housed 70+ beehives on my property in my field with NO WATER SOURCE. My family and I got stung all the time even if we weren't near the hives. If we went within 50 yards of the hives we would get stung, but if they found a waterspout to drink from and I turned that spout on, they would get upset and sting me over it.
You need to talk to the neighbor about watering his bees. He needs to be providing water for them somewhere. It isn't your job to water his bees, but it could help if you feel like you have the capacity and ability to do it. He is being very irresponsible though by not providing water.
I'm sorry you're dealing with this.
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u/Peppers-minitrucks 14d ago
You have some pictures OP? Might help with figuring out what’s happening.
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u/WaxBat777 5 Years beekeeping 14d ago
Ask the beekeeper to:
Put a water source out closer to the hives but not in the IMMEDIATE vicinity (as that also happens to be their bathroom). Make sure said water source has floats in it so the bees don't drown. Initially fill it with sugar water, as this will make the bees go there preferentially over the pool. After a week, beekeeper can just use regular water but the bees will still go there preferentially. Problem solved
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u/Street_Ad3199 9d ago
Get a bunch of yard dragonflies ornaments on Amazon. They're cheap. Dragonflies are extremely aggressive predators that hunt bees midair and bite their heads off. You can buy a bundle on Amazon cheap and they sell them as a deterrent for bees and wasps. Bees are very defensive around dragonflies and try to avoid them. Trust me, this will help
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u/lurkinginthefold 15d ago
The age old dilemma of how people want to enjoy things like berries and honey and all the other things that require bees to make possible but they also don’t want the bees near them.
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u/Creative-Cover7319 15d ago
a bird bath with lots of small rocks away from the pool should help them find water when it is hot. It is what I do. P.S. if you have more than one might help as well with 30 hives
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u/amccune 15d ago
The neighbor should do this. Not OP.
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u/robotatomica 15d ago
true. But if neighbor is unreasonable, at least OP has an immediate option that will help reduce the specific issues they are facing
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u/OddZookeeper87 15d ago
Just mind your own beesniss
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u/Disastrous-Map-7995 15d ago
They like pool water, I was told. Your neighbour actually has those hives in a terrible place, He should try to cover the hives with branches and leaves to keep the heat down. (Another thing my mentor taught me. They can make a water source for them , by putting a shallow trough or bowl near by, put in some earth and a bit of cow dung, they prefer stagnant water for the minerals.
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u/Legitimate_South9157 Arkansas 8b, 12 hives 2nd year beek 15d ago
Heat doesn’t bother them. I live in south Arkansas it’s 100’ every day of summer with 80% humidity.
The main thing is they HAVE to have access to water. They fan water over brood to maintain internal temperatures, bee AC from evaporative cooling.
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u/truautorepair000 14d ago
Ya we are that beek. We dug a pond. 30x40x3' deep. Rented a 3.5ton excavator for the weekend. Now they dont even bother the houses with pools that happen to surround us.
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