seanwnz 0 Posted October 11 Hi everyone, This is my first post. Am about to take an introductory bee keeping course starting next week and looking forward to it. I'm thinking about best location on my property for a couple of beehives, and understand that they should be north facing and in the sun as early as possible. The concern is that we are on a street corner and all the good north facing locations are near the street. We are fenced off so I can put the hives behind the fence line, but not sure how close to the street they should be. Also not sure if the bees will get bothered by car noise? We often get petrolheads spinning their wheels and the occasional motorbike blasting by... What do people suggest? Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yesbut 5534 Posted October 11 One way of deciding where to put a hive is where the cat would park up. My preference re sun is afternoon/evening better than early morning if all day is unobtainable. If your roadside fence is a 1.8m timber you could put them hard against it. If not, I wouldn't put them anywhere near the road. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CHCHPaul 329 Posted October 12 Sun sun and more sun is my preference down here in the garden city. But particularly morning sun for my bees. They like to get going early and use the evening to chat about what a great day they had. Don’t know about noise. Some bees get upset with lawn mowers. Mine are pretty relaxed about life. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisM 780 Posted October 12 This will probably be covered in your course Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaihoka 2513 Posted October 12 11 hours ago, seanwnz said: Hi everyone, This is my first post. Am about to take an introductory bee keeping course starting next week and looking forward to it. I'm thinking about best location on my property for a couple of beehives, and understand that they should be north facing and in the sun as early as possible. The concern is that we are on a street corner and all the good north facing locations are near the street. We are fenced off so I can put the hives behind the fence line, but not sure how close to the street they should be. Also not sure if the bees will get bothered by car noise? We often get petrolheads spinning their wheels and the occasional motorbike blasting by... What do people suggest? Thanks! I prefer the morning sun because there is often no wind in the morning but a breeze comes up in the afternoon . Bees hate wind . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WebKiwiNZ 17 Posted October 13 (edited) On 12/10/2019 at 9:35 AM, seanwnz said: Hi everyone, This is my first post. Am about to take an introductory bee keeping course starting next week and looking forward to it. I'm thinking about best location on my property for a couple of beehives, and understand that they should be north facing and in the sun as early as possible. The concern is that we are on a street corner and all the good north facing locations are near the street. We are fenced off so I can put the hives behind the fence line, but not sure how close to the street they should be. Also not sure if the bees will get bothered by car noise? We often get petrolheads spinning their wheels and the occasional motorbike blasting by... What do people suggest? Thanks! Is that the Papanui course? I just finished it in Autumn and have my first hive going - so am only just ahead of you there. We have a concrete wall that catches morning and evening sun. ?It is 1.8 high. No bees go over it to the neighbours - until today when they did a swarm like thing - then there were a few for 20 mins or so - but a few dozen, not thousands. The bees go up to about roof height and stay there. Around the corner is a bee hive next to the front gate. We didn't know it was there until the gate was open. Friends have one in their front yard - but you do get a few zipping across the side walk. Other than the swarming behaviour our neighbours wouldn't know we had them. Warmth - the advice about the cat seems right and high walls make a good barrier. However after today if I had a wall next to my garage that was sunny - and a bit more middle of my property I'd use that. also walking lines - the bees zip across the path to the washing line. As long as folks are comfortable with flight lines that's okay. Lastly - the washing line - DO NOT PUT THEM NEAR THE WIFE'S WASHING!!!!!! Bees poo in flight - its yellow and sticky and smelly and stains. I kept my hive away from herself's lines. However herself's lines are also in the perfect sunny spot. Negotiate moving the lines if you have to Edited October 13 by WebKiwiNZ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
john berry 4613 Posted October 13 Afternoon sun means any late bees can get home. I have always thought that urban hives should be placed as close to the owner's house as possible and as far away from neighbours as possible. I have seen a lot of hives over the years that are the other way round. It's you that wants bees and you that thinks they are adorable friendly little creatures . Your neighbours may not be so understanding. Fences and hedges are good for getting bees to go high but even with them you wouldn't want to be across the fence on the footpath when someone was actually working them. I have no objection to people having hives in town but I think they should be as considerate of their neighbours and the public in general as they possibly can be. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daley 4282 Posted October 13 When I had hives in town I put them as far as I could away from my neighbors houses facing in to my 6ft fence so that the bees flew up above head height and weren’t causing a nuisance to anyone. You really do need to consider you neighbors and make sure you keep on top of some of the more antisocial aspects of beekeeping. Its actually more important then a good sunny spot, you don’t know who may be anaphylacticly allergic and you don’t want to be responsible for that. When I worked my hive at home I tended to do it without a suit or gloves, reason being, if they are stinging me then they could be stinging other people too. Try to prevent swarming as much as you can it tends to make you unpopular and be ready with half a dozen jars of honey if you stuff up and they end up hanging in your neighbors tree. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WebKiwiNZ 17 Posted October 13 (edited) Ive added another box to give more space so hopefully that helps. I'd held off on opening the hive as a decca inspector was meant to come but didnt arrive. I didnt want to crack it twice in a week. Im going to check for queen cells tomorrow all going well. Finding a mentor has been hard and so am learning by experience about a burgeoning hive. Swarming not covered in the course Edited October 13 by WebKiwiNZ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daley 4282 Posted October 13 7 hours ago, WebKiwiNZ said: Swarming not covered in the course Really??? Geez that’s not very good. How long was the course? I would recommend you give them some feedback that they should definitely be covering swarming. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yesbut 5534 Posted October 13 yea, how long does it take to explain how to lever the brood apart and pop in a few empty frames...? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kevin moore 625 Posted October 14 If your keeping hives in town or built up areas swarming is the number one thing you need to be on top off at this time of year, a course that doesn't cover swarming i would very much dout the value of it. we have hives on peoples home sites right next to fences beside pathways etc never had a problem, noise not a problem, as some one said you do need to bear in mind where cloths lines are and the bees flight paths are not in direct line to where people are walking, also bear in mind the person mowing the lawns, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paul Beer 50 Posted October 14 (edited) This topic caught my interest. We suddenly shifted house, having had 2 hives on a roomy quarter acre for our first year of beekeeping and I was barely able to plan the hive move to the new place. Anyway it has been touch and go, as to whether I would keep the bees or not, this new place has far less room. I've got them inside the road boundary fence, facing East. Busy road /footpath (Middleton Rd). A pedestrian would not notice them normally but I'm a bit concerned someone could get stung if the bees become aggravated when I work them so I'm being more careful now. I put a shade cloth barrier to help us and any visitors feel more comfortable. I am keeping a step ahead of them swarming this spring as i well remember the sudden increase last season. Quite apart from all that I have been wondering what is the point of keeping them anyway... I feel disillusioned . One really good thing though..our closest new neighbours noticed the hives of course... and it turned out they were delighted as they had been discussing getting their own but now they don't have to..... Edited October 14 by Paul Beer Added Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yesbut 5534 Posted October 14 8 minutes ago, Paul Beer said: I feel disillusioned . Why ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paul Beer 50 Posted October 14 Oh i just knew you would come along yesbut, and wouldn't be able to resist making a short provocative reaction. Which I will react to. But not now, later. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paul Beer 50 Posted October 18 On 14/10/2019 at 6:08 PM, yesbut said: Why ? It was supposed to be mainly my son's interest, he clearly wanted bees over a period of 2 years, me being very slow to get used to the idea and no spare money to start off, so by the time I bought nucs he was reaching the end of his curiosity of course and I just wanted to follow through and show him a lesson about choosing and sticking to something. The only aspect that interests him about it now is making lip balm. Once I learnt about it I had thought maybe we could sell the honey/nucs/propolis/comb honey but those are all dead ends now. In fact the surplus honey just becomes a bit of a nuisance. I have a free small bag of propolis scrapings if anyone wants it. The only good aspect I can think of now is that it is an activity to get my mind off my job. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M4tt 4796 Posted October 18 10 minutes ago, Paul Beer said: activity to get my mind off my job There is nothing wrong with that . Many people keep bees to de-stress 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yesbut 5534 Posted October 18 4 minutes ago, Paul Beer said: In fact the surplus honey just becomes a bit of a nuisance. I know what you mean. The legal requirements to enable gate sale of honey really stomp on my tail. 7 minutes ago, Paul Beer said: The only good aspect I can think of now is that it is an activity to get my mind off my job. There are probably less onerous ways of forgetting work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisM 780 Posted October 21 On 18/10/2019 at 3:19 PM, yesbut said: There are probably less onerous ways of forgetting work. sex and booze are a couple of the most widely known ones, but there are pitfalls Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
