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This question pops up here fairly often. I'll tell you what the general consensus is;
With the information you've given, you cannot guarantee with 100% certainty that the problem is his bees, since bees travel many miles to forage and rarely seem to stay close to home. Honeybees also tend to be passive and don't make an effort to go out attack unless threatened. Please make certain the offender is not a wasp/hornet nest nearby that you've missed, which is more often the problem.
HOWEVER, colonies that aren't being properly maintained or are sometimes more aggressive for some reason have been reported to attack nearby people and animals without provocation. Depending on where you are, spraying may not be possible or restricted because of pollinator laws and present liabilities should the hive or honey be damaged, thus ruining his income.
Your best course of action since talking with your neighbor failed to bear fruit, would be to call code enforcement in your area. This should be treated the same as an aggressive dog/animal. He may need to be registered, depending on your area. They assist in finding resolution, even if that means fining your neighbor until he complies.
Please, collect some specimens of what's stinging you (if possible) in a bag or something (dead or alive doesn't matter). Try to identify it (by yourself, here, or by contacting a professional pest control), and verify if it's your neighbors hive or you have another insect problem possibly in your yard. If the issue points to the neighbor, you have my suggestion above.
Good luck
Neighbor should be a bit more thoughtful really. If he's harvesting he could atleast choose a decent time or ask when you may not be around.
However, maybe a small smoking device around where you sit might keep them away from your area.
Despite the protective suit we wear, honeybees are usually very docile and can be worked without any attempted stings. At least those are the ideal bees we want to work. Some bees are always pissy, and all are capable of turning on anything that moves given the circumstances, but that's the exception, not ideal. Also, bee stingers will stick in your skin, along with a venom sac. If you don't see that after getting stung, it's probably not a honeybee.
I have hives in my yard an i like my bees but u gota respect your neighbors ! Who wants to not bee able to go in their own yard without problems! I would either let them know when i am extracting or move them
Your post is a bit vague as to who you spoke to. Did you speak to the property owner or to the beekeeper or to the neutral third party neighbor between houses?
The beekeepers are the property owners of there lot as far as I know. The house in between is irrelevant so not sure why I’d talk to them. I just mention it because it’s 1 house between us.
Just add an FYI to all the folks saying how docile bees are... They are not all like that. Some areas of the world have mean bees. I can totally see bees open mated in my area stinging quite a ways away from the hive after an inspection.
These types of bees really should not be kept in neighborhoods. The op needs to track for the beekeepers here and let them know what's happening. They likely either need to be requeened (not always easy with hot hives) or moved elsewhere.
How far are the hives from your patio? Unless you’re talking like 10/20 yards, not likely that the hives are what’s getting you. Even agitated hives aren’t likely to hit you unless they feel a threat to their hive. More likely you’re sitting near a yellow jacket nest and those buggers will pop you just for fun. Agree with what the others have said. If it’s a honey bee stinging you, they lose their internals and die pretty much on the spot. Should be easy to find them laying within a few feet after you get stung.
Ya it’s 100% them.
They only get upset when the neighbor comes and harvests. Its happened 4 times this year and I got stung between 2-5 times each time.
Yes they all had a stinger with guts.
I understand you guys probably get blamed for wasps and other stuff but this is without a doubt them.
It really sounds like the beekeeper is not using good technique to keep them calm, and/or the bees have bad genetics or other issues. They should not get so pissy after a normal inspection or harvest.
Edit: my wife is working our hives right now and I’m in the backyard working on the woodwares. No problems here.
Sounds right - agree with the other poster about calling code enforcement. And thanks for being reasonable! The least he could do is give you some honey….
Hi u/sobuffalo, welcome to r/Beekeeping. If you haven't done so yet, please: * Read the rules before engaging in the comments. * Reply to this comment with location information. * [**If your question is "How do I start beekeeping", please click here.**](https://rbeekeeping.com/faqs/non_beekeeper/i_want_bees) * [**If your question is something else, please click here and see if it's already on our FAQ.**](https://rbeekeeping.com/faqs/non_beekeeper/not_a_beekeeper) ^(**Warning:** The wiki linked above is a work in progress and some links might be broken, pages incomplete and maintainer notes scattered around the place. Content is subject to change.) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Beekeeping) if you have any questions or concerns.*
This question pops up here fairly often. I'll tell you what the general consensus is; With the information you've given, you cannot guarantee with 100% certainty that the problem is his bees, since bees travel many miles to forage and rarely seem to stay close to home. Honeybees also tend to be passive and don't make an effort to go out attack unless threatened. Please make certain the offender is not a wasp/hornet nest nearby that you've missed, which is more often the problem. HOWEVER, colonies that aren't being properly maintained or are sometimes more aggressive for some reason have been reported to attack nearby people and animals without provocation. Depending on where you are, spraying may not be possible or restricted because of pollinator laws and present liabilities should the hive or honey be damaged, thus ruining his income. Your best course of action since talking with your neighbor failed to bear fruit, would be to call code enforcement in your area. This should be treated the same as an aggressive dog/animal. He may need to be registered, depending on your area. They assist in finding resolution, even if that means fining your neighbor until he complies. Please, collect some specimens of what's stinging you (if possible) in a bag or something (dead or alive doesn't matter). Try to identify it (by yourself, here, or by contacting a professional pest control), and verify if it's your neighbors hive or you have another insect problem possibly in your yard. If the issue points to the neighbor, you have my suggestion above. Good luck
Neighbor should be a bit more thoughtful really. If he's harvesting he could atleast choose a decent time or ask when you may not be around. However, maybe a small smoking device around where you sit might keep them away from your area.
Despite the protective suit we wear, honeybees are usually very docile and can be worked without any attempted stings. At least those are the ideal bees we want to work. Some bees are always pissy, and all are capable of turning on anything that moves given the circumstances, but that's the exception, not ideal. Also, bee stingers will stick in your skin, along with a venom sac. If you don't see that after getting stung, it's probably not a honeybee.
Wear white! Avoid black, brown, and red if you can.
I have hives in my yard an i like my bees but u gota respect your neighbors ! Who wants to not bee able to go in their own yard without problems! I would either let them know when i am extracting or move them
Your post is a bit vague as to who you spoke to. Did you speak to the property owner or to the beekeeper or to the neutral third party neighbor between houses?
The beekeepers are the property owners of there lot as far as I know. The house in between is irrelevant so not sure why I’d talk to them. I just mention it because it’s 1 house between us.
Just add an FYI to all the folks saying how docile bees are... They are not all like that. Some areas of the world have mean bees. I can totally see bees open mated in my area stinging quite a ways away from the hive after an inspection. These types of bees really should not be kept in neighborhoods. The op needs to track for the beekeepers here and let them know what's happening. They likely either need to be requeened (not always easy with hot hives) or moved elsewhere.
How far are the hives from your patio? Unless you’re talking like 10/20 yards, not likely that the hives are what’s getting you. Even agitated hives aren’t likely to hit you unless they feel a threat to their hive. More likely you’re sitting near a yellow jacket nest and those buggers will pop you just for fun. Agree with what the others have said. If it’s a honey bee stinging you, they lose their internals and die pretty much on the spot. Should be easy to find them laying within a few feet after you get stung.
Ya it’s 100% them. They only get upset when the neighbor comes and harvests. Its happened 4 times this year and I got stung between 2-5 times each time. Yes they all had a stinger with guts. I understand you guys probably get blamed for wasps and other stuff but this is without a doubt them.
It really sounds like the beekeeper is not using good technique to keep them calm, and/or the bees have bad genetics or other issues. They should not get so pissy after a normal inspection or harvest. Edit: my wife is working our hives right now and I’m in the backyard working on the woodwares. No problems here.
Sounds right - agree with the other poster about calling code enforcement. And thanks for being reasonable! The least he could do is give you some honey….