Bees, so many bees!

[chickengeorgeto]

Bees are not considered DOMESTIC live stock under the law as you would consider a dog, cow, or chicken DOMESTIC livestock. In other words as a function of law your neighbor is under no obligation to keep his bees confined on his property. Perhaps it would help if your attorney wrote him a letter that would jog the neighborly lobes of his brain. It also may not help. Like my granny said, "Honey, you can't make some people happy if you hung them with a brand new rope!"

 

[centrarchid]

Bees are not considered DOMESTIC live stock under the law as you would consider a dog, cow, or chicken DOMESTIC livestock.  In other words as a function of law your neighbor is under no obligation to keep his bees confined on his property.  Perhaps it would help if your attorney wrote him a letter that would jog the neighborly lobes of his brain.  It also may not help.  Like my granny said, "Honey, you can't make some people happy if you hung them with a brand new rope!"

In some states a honey bee colony is regarded as the equivalent of a cow, but not all states. The higher value is likely be seen in New England states ans where agriculture industry is highly reliant upon pollinators. This particularly likely where beekeepers generate their livelihoods off of bees.

 

[KrazyPluckr]

Don't treat the buildings/bees with a pesticide.
Poor things got it pretty tough already. Talk to your neighbor. If that doesn't work call your co-op entomologist and the DNR. Maybe they can talk some sense into your neighbor.

 

[Kadjain]

most states have strict laws against the intentional killing of bees. if your hives die, you call someone in from the dept of agriculture and they will perform autopsies on the dead hives free of charge and then have absolute rights over any property to discern the source of the problem. this means no warrants needed to enter property and homes. states recognize that without bees you would have nothing to eat. I know in PA and in NYS you can even keep bees if you live in an apartment public spaces with no legal means of stopping you.

just curious what you could be using that bees are destroying? they dont eat plastics and only consume pollen and sugar, and oh yeah water.


my birds love the free meal from my bees.

I already stated that they are causing my custom made waterers to leak. You say they only eat pollen and sugar but come see my waterers when there are 50+- bees on each of the seals. They obviously don't eat silicone but they got through it some how and I have had to repair them when otherwise they would not be leaking.

Just a thought...
I have a neighbor less than 1/2 acre from my coop. He keeps bees. When he first started with the bees they would swarm my coop as well. Turns out they were just looking for water.
I put a birdbath with pebbles in a shady spot not far from the coop and they went to it readily. They quit with the coop within a day or two. I keep it full of clean water the same as I clean the chicken water, twice a day. No more bees in the coop and the neighbor brings me honey.

I will try that but I also have a question. You refill your waterers 2x a day? I made my waterers so I only have to refill them every other day. How many chickens do you have, I'm kinda guessing 21? I have 10 breeding runs, always a flock of juveniles free ranging, 2 duck yards and 2 goose yards + outdoor and indoor brooders. That would be so many waterers to refill

 

[21hens-incharge]

I am down to 20 hens right now.
I have 4 waterers that hold a gallon each. I dump the water in the afternoon and refill it since they kick so much dirt into them. I planted sumac and flowers next to the run and pour the water on the ground next to them.

I do understand what you are saying about them getting to your waterers. They can be determined when they need water. I am simply suggesting you could perhaps give them an easier source. One they would not have to chew through. They will take the easier route to water.

It is simple to place a tray or two from the bottom of unused or unneeded flower pots and fill with a bit of gravel and water. It drew them out of my chicken run and may be a way you could draw them out of yours.

If you do choose to try it remember even bees want the cooler water so stick it in the shade to help it stay cool.

I do hope for the best for you and your group.

 

[centrarchid]

Show a picture of everything. Waters, damage, bees at them. Silicon is too tough for bees to chew.

 

[LovedMyAlydar]

I don't understand how they are allowed to just congregate on your property and nothing can be done. To me it would seem if they are on you property causing damage then they can be dealt with like other nuisance animals. Around here if a dog comes on my property and kills my livestock I have every right to shoot and kill it. You can't shoot bees but you could have them removed.

It seems to me if these bees are causing damages, you should be able to sue for damages and be able to remove them bees since they are on your property. I would call another beekeeper and let him trap them and haul them away, beekeepers are always looking for more bees. Where we used to live, every spring there would be a swarm of bees in somebodies yard. We simply called the local beekeeper and he was always happy to come over and pick them up. Put out a box in the evening and picked them up the next day. Perhaps if he looses some bees he would perhaps relocate them on his 400 acres to where they would not be causing problems for neighbors.

This neighbor sounds like a rather rude person. Would he be so understanding if some animal of yours was making themselves at home on his property and causing damage? I doubt it.

 

[Michael Apple]

My neighbors raise bees and they just brought them back to their property. Now the bees have found my coops and come thousands strong everyday. They are all over the feeders completely covering them. They have chewed seals on my custom waterers and now I am repairing equipment that I normally would not have to. This morning I thought every bee from their hives must be in my yard. I have an outdoor brooder for young chicks and there were hundreds of bees inside it. I haven't had any chickens get stung yet but I am getting annoyed. They have 400 acres but I doubt there is a distance far enough that the bees could not find my coops.
Has anyone dealt w this problem before and if so what solution did you find if any?

I've never heard of bees chewing through waterers. What are they made of? They are swarming because of a hive with no queen. Get a cardboard box and mix up some sugar water in a sprayer. Spray the entire inside of the box and set where bees are congregating. When the box gets populated, spray them again, close the box, and take it over to your neighbors door step, and ask them to manage their hives more closely. Of course, they may just deny the bees are from their hives. We have steep decline in honey bee populations here, which is why I don't advocate using pesticides outside on vegetation.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

In some states a honey bee colony is regarded as the equivalent of a cow, but not all states. The higher value is likely be seen in New England states ans where agriculture industry is highly reliant upon pollinators. ....

If that was strictly true then beeks would be required by law to confine their bees to their own property like you or I are currently required by law to confine bovines or horses to our own property.

Depending on which "expert" you listen to, one bee hive will forage an area of 2,500 to over 35,000 acres and the bees' direct travel path may be 100s of feet in the air. That is going to take a lot of 1/8 inch hardware cloth because a worker bee can easily slip through 1/4 inch wire mesh cloth.

Generally as a function of ownership the bees themselves belong to whoevers' land that they currently occupy.

I don't advocate controlling honey bees but just because your neighbor keeps bees is no sign that his "you know what" doesn't stink

 

[centrarchid]

This will likely coming down to older laws on the books. Bees cannot be confined much like pollution coming from cars on road of cigarettes so laws tend to reflect this.