keeping bees and allergies

[WoodlandWoman]

If you have a problem with too many of those, you could think about putting up one of the disposable traps. They work pretty well and are easy to toss out, when you're done with them. Plus, you aren't spraying anything toxic in the yard. I also hang a wren house any place I have trouble with their nests. They don't have a problem eating them.

 

[bagendhens]

i didnt know that about wrens, thank you, i will definatly put up wren houses even if i dont have too many wasps, im definatly planning on encoraging beneficial wildlife (like bats) and avoiding pesticieds like the plauge.

 

[protodon]

If your main goal is pollination, you could look into Mason Bees. I don't remember if they sting but they are tiny and non-aggressive. However, they don't produce wax and honey like honeybees.

 

[SamG347]

I don't wear a suit but can tell you those I know who do wear the suits that supposedly prevent stings seem to get stung a lot more than me. I think wearing gloves especially just make things way more difficult. If you were to keep a few honey bee hives it is the sad truth that you will get stung probably more than once.

 

[bagendhens]

im actually thinking mabe i can find someone who wants to keep bees but for whatever reason cant keep them on their own property that might like to "rent" a spot somewhere neer the back of whatever land i get for a couple of hives...they would get to raise the bees and id get a little bit of honey and wax for "rent"
mabe that would work?
i dont need much honey for personal use...
and i dont know how many honey bee keepers actually use the wax themselves...
id be able to help a local bee keeper that wouldnt normally be able to keep bees
id have the benefit of bees close by for polination
i wouldnt have to mess with the hive reducing the risk of stings
and id be offering some of my land to help increase the number of beneficial bees!

we actually have a guy down the street who has 4 hives on about 1/8th of an acre, his bees LOVE our garden, i have alot of flowers and have seasonal planted so i generally have something blooming year round...
we get to see LOTS of honey bees everyday when thigns are in bloom and theyve never bothered me...
so im hoping that not having to handle the hive itself will reduce the risk of me getting stung since once there out working honey bees seem rather uninterested in humans.

 

[classicsredone]

If you need them for pollination, mason bees are more friendly than the honey variety. They don't have anything to protect, so they only sting if you step on them or squeeze them. (Getting a bee sting on your foot hurts like CRAZY, btw.) I'd still be leery, though.

 

[gmendoza]

Quote:
How on earth can some dude have 4 hives on an 1/8th of an acre? Id like to know.I have 1/3rd acres and would have no room for bees. I want bees but the viable space is none. My wife and girls arent allergic,just scared. I am immune to bee/wasp/hornet venom.I can and will get stung,but thats all.It only goes as far as the initial stinger pain..no bumps,no wooziness,nuttin but the darn stinger.

 

[gmendoza]

Here is an article from York County,SC.The county where I live in:


York Co. Council hears debate over hives in backyard

A thriving culture of backyard beekeeping in York County has flown under the radar of county officials - until recently, when one resident's honey bees became another neighbor's pool pests.

Now, the hive-dwelling pollinator is the subject of a controversy over who in York County should be allowed to keep beehives in their backyards.

Beekeeping is allowed on rural and agricultural properties, but not in residential areas.

Leah Clewley learned recently that her residential property isn't zoned for beekeeping after her neighbor, Brenda Lasche, lodged a complaint with county staff.

The bees are too close to Lasche's new in-ground swimming pool and have become a nuisance in her yard, she told the York County Council at its meeting Monday night.

They also create a liability if someone gets stung on her property, she said, although she agrees that bees have an important role to play.

"The world needs them, but they don't need them right off my fence," she said. "It's too much to ask of a neighbor."

Since Lasche complained, Clewley, who got her bees last summer, has moved her beehives from her acre lot to a farm about three miles from her home.

But the neighbors' conflict has brought to light a substantial beekeeping culture in York County and in residential areas. In fact, backyard beekeeping is nothing new to York County.

For 15 years, the York County Beekeepers Association - now with 110 members - has been teaching the community about the benefits of bees, member Eck Miller told the York County Council at its Monday night meeting.

They're also a part of a growing number of beekeepers across the country, even in metropolitan areas, they said.

Now, worried some are operating illegally, beekeepers are asking county leaders to change the zoning code to allow for backyard beekeeping operations.

The benefits of bees

Honeybees are "the most important, beneficial insect that we have," Miller said.

They pollinate fruits, vegetables, flowers and other plants and are crucial in producing much of the food people consume, he said.

Clewley, an avid gardener, said her kiwis and cherries have never been so plentiful, and her husband, Don, said he's enjoyed having so many butterflies in the yard - a result, he says, of the healthy ecosystem the bees enable.

Consuming local honey also helps reduce allergies, beekeepers say.

Supporters of backyard beekeeping operations, such as the Clewleys', argue that bees are not aggressive creatures, especially the "managed" ones, which are more "docile" than feral bees, Don Clewley said.

But the Clewleys, who say they are new to beekeeping, realize the most important thing is to be good neighbors.

They believe that with a few changes in their backyard operation, they might have been able to reduce or eliminate the nuisance to their neighbors.

Putting up a fence to block the bees' view of the neighbor's pool is one thing they could do.

Now that they've moved their bees, they want the county council to consider allowing beekeeping with reasonable restrictions in some residential areas, even if they aren't allowed to return their bees to their property, Leah Clewley said.

Most of all, they want to inform others of the benefits of the often misunderstood honeybee, which is sometimes confused with more aggressive stinging insects, they said.

On the radar

County leaders pledged to see if something can be done to help backyard beekeepers while still protecting residents from unwanted visitors.

Because residential lots range from 7,500 square feet to many acres, allowing beekeeping in residential zones is problematic, said County Manager Jim Baker. However, there might be a way to allow it on larger lots, he said.

And beekeepers need not worry, county leaders said.

The complaint against the Clewleys was the first county planning and development director Dave Pettine could recall, although other neighbors of the Clewleys have come forward since. Some were present Monday night.

Because the county only responds to complaints, county staff won't begin patrolling for zoning violations, Baker said.

"If there aren't any complaints, why would we seek it out?"

 

[Orchid]

Quote:
Except insurance doesn't pay for honey. They pay 100% for an ER trip. I've used the ER to get medication for insomnia when I hadn't slept for 3 days because it takes a month to get in to see the only general practitioner who will prescribe the type of meds I need and insurance pays 100% for the ER. It's actually cheaper than going to the doctor where I have to pay $50 per appointment.

Now if you can convince the insurance company to buy me a gallon of raw honey monthly I will reconsider keeping bees. I would miss out on the fun though and it's not like my risk goes down that much. I garden right next to a flower patch that is literally coated in bees from late spring through fall. Probably more likely to get stung working in the garden than wearing full beekeeping clothes/hood around the hives. I'm not saying that's true for everyone. You have to evaluate your own risk.

I'm truly not trying to be argumentative here, I just wanted to bold what you said - it's not wise to minimize the risk of a bee sting for others with an allergy.

With all respect:

1. My insurance does not pay for ER visits until my deductible is satisfied.

2. The odds of being stung while working with a hive ARE considerably higher than they are of being stung while working in your garden; at the hive they are defending their home.

3. You must not be nearly as allergic to beestings as some people are to speak so flippantly of an ER visit. I could see how worried the ER doc was the last time I was in, and that was after the use of an Epipen and going directly to the ER, no waiting around.

The OP cannot even use an Epipen for other reasons, so that makes her risk all that much greater.


I like the idea of trading hive space for honey - best of all worlds, you don't have to mess with the hive but still get the rewards!

 

[Akane]

1. My insurance does not pay for ER visits until my deductible is satisfied.

That would be part of evaluating your own risk.

You must not be nearly as allergic to beestings as some people are to speak so flippantly of an ER visit. I could see how worried the ER doc was the last time I was in, and that was after the use of an Epipen and going directly to the ER, no waiting around.

The epipen use would be another part of evaluating your own risk. As for ER visits I'm relaxed about them because I spent the past 2 years in and out of the ER and hospital for various reasons after avoiding it for most of my life. I've even been in the ER to get sleeping medications for insomnia when I hadn't slept for 3 days. The ER doesn't = near death. It just means unable to wait until you can get a doctor appointment. That is how my doctor and the ER doctors treat the situation as well. Getting stung too close to my face/neck/chest probably would be death before I got to the ER though. My titanium wedding ring also slightly concerns me because if I got stung on that hand and didn't immediately remove the ring they have to send out for special tools to cut a ring made of titanium. Even with the right tools aerospace grade titanium still takes effort and may result in burns before the ring comes off.​