Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Enclosed gardens
In urban areas, bee gardens need to be as enclosed as possible, with high walls in front
of and behind the hive to encourage the bees to fly high enough so as not to annoy
neighbours. Then, if you are using gentle bees, you should get away with being an urban
beekeeper.
I have seen, however, just such a beekeeper whose bees had swarmed five times in five
days (he had five hives), and all had occupied tree branches, overhangs and other useful
bee-type perches in neighbours' property. Very nervous neighbours were doing their
best to help the beekeeper collect the swarms by holding ladders and so on, but clearly
didn't like the situation. Perhaps not surprisingly, though, because bees are prone not
to sting during swarming, none of the neighbours was stung, even though bees were
swirling around in all directions. After the worried beekeeper had sorted it all out, his
neighbours were much happier about having bees around - and with pots of honey to
give to their friends, they even referred to the bees as 'our bees' as they bragged about it
all in the pub.
The importance of water sources
All bees need a water source, whether in the countryside or in urban areas, but the
location of the water source is more critical in urban areas. All bees kept in urban areas
must have a water source on the property or provided by a nearby public water supply,
such as a river, pond or lake. If there is no such water supply, they will head for other
supplies and, inevitably, they will head for the garden pond or swimming pool of the
one neighbour with whom you don't get on and who is implacably opposed to bees in
urban areas. This will cause a genuine nuisance, and you will have trouble.
It is very difficult to persuade the bees to change their habits once they have found a
source of water, so you need to be on the ball about this before you obtain your bees.
Your water supply need be nothing more than a trickle of water, a leak from an outside
tap or hose, or a small pond. Bees prefer water with an odour rather than fresh water,
and so a little mud and weed won't harm the situation.
