After much debate, we’ve decided to move the bees. Don’t worry, we’re not moving them to someone else’s property. Instead, we’re moving them from our front yard into our backyard.
Why? Well, the main reason is because, as we learned last year, it turns out I am extremely allergic to bee stings. I have purchased an EpiPen and haven’t been stung again since, but the weather got cooler shortly after I got stung and so their activity slowed at the same time our gardening slowed. Win, win.
However, with the weather warming up and bees exploring their surroundings more and more often, I’ve begun having some anxiety about this growing season. We talked about moving them to a friends property, but after much research, we think that moving them to the backyard is the appropriate next step to take.
The picture below shows them in their current home in the front yard. You might notice that their hive is right next to one of our hoop houses. Their front doors are situated so they get morning sun (a good thing), which also allows them to cut their path directly through the front yard (a not-so-good thing). Poor planning on our part, no doubt. We were simply thinking they’d be fine tucked back in the corner, protected form the nasty winds that tend to whip through our backyard and around the side of the house. We were also thinking that it would be nice to have them flying around the front yard. Yeah…not so much.
Below is where we’ll move the bees to. We will clear out the area, build a barrier/fence in front of the hive so as to “train” the bees to go up and over the fence and then move the bees into their new space. (Apparently, you can train your bees…Who knew?!) We’ll also fix the fencing behind the hive in order to protect them from any winds. The good thing about this new configuration is that, even if the bees are flying across the back yard during the day, we shouldn’t be affected. Why? Well, the back of the house gets very hot in the summer (their new corner gets a little sun, but is mostly in dappled shade), so we generally only hang out back there after sunset, which is when the bees will be putting themselves to sleep 🙂
How did the bee relocation go? We were talking to a guy who’s kept bees for 50 years, he was saying because neighbors complained they moved a hive from the front to back yard and the bees couldn’t find their home! He told us unless you move the bees a mile or more, they will return to the original site. Just curious.
Hi Julie! The relocation went well! We definitely had a few bees (if i had to guess, I’d say 50 to 100) that got confused and came back beck to the front yard for a few days, so we probably lost them. However, the hive appears to be strong! The current bees have reoriented themselves and there are lots of new bees…lots of foraging and bringing home of pollen going on 🙂 Thanks for checking in!
Our first bees are arriving the middle of April. We’ve been told to hide our bees so we won’t be blamed if someone gets attacked by feral Africanized bees. So, the issue is wanting them close to observe them, while keeping them hidden and still in a perfect place to meet their needs. Any ideas? We built Warre’ Hives.
Are you allowed to have bees in your town/city? Just remember that bees travel miles and miles to gather their pollen, so even if someone gets stung in the general area of your hive, it doesn’t mean it’s one of your bees. Depending on how much space you have…stash them in a corner that will protect them from the elements and your neighbors, that will give them some sun and some shade and has a wind break of some kind (trees, shrubs, a wall or fence…)
You can also learn from our mistake and not place them in a way that encourage them to make their path through a space you use regularly 😉 Oh, and are you or anyone in your family allergic to bee stings? That would be good info to have ahead of time, too.
Most of all, be safe and have fun!
best of luck in this project!!! keep that epi-pen close by!! 🙂
Ha! Thanks! I plan to 🙂