Hello everyone, possible newbee here, a few days ago a random feed pops up on my YouTube about . I’ve since watched a number as well as looking for websites etc. I have a long garden but it’s narrow and need to firstly find out if there are any laws preventing me from flying in to the beekeepers world, a few questions first
. Do hive entrances have to face in any particular direction ?
. Will mowing, strimming, hedge cutting near a hive send them in to attack mode, the last thing I want is for neighbours to be bombarded or myself come to that, if bees are this way inclined. I was attacked by wasps as a child and hate the b####rds
I know I have a lot to learn so have no intention of rushing out to buy a hive and bees to end up killing them from lack of knowledge, so if everything is ok I hope to set up next April/May
Hello and a warm welcome to the Flow forum. We have had a few Welsh beekeepers on the forum, but most of us are in the US or Australia. Beekeeping is similar around the world, so that shouldn’t be a problem. However, I would suggest that you join a local beekeeping club. In addition, the Welsh Beekeeping Association (wbka.com) is a fantastic resource with some truly excellent beekeepers writing loads of useful leaflets.
If you mean human laws, I would defer to your local bee club. If you mean bee “laws”, we can help you.
General wisdom is that in the Northern hemisphere, they should face as close to south as possible. There are a few caveats though:
The entrance should not face into the prevailing wind. Cold winds are the enemy of bees.
The entrance should not face towards a foot path, drive etc. Bees leaving the entrance will fly straight into passing humans = bad idea. Also guard bees will more likely attack if they see somebody pass close to the front of the hive.
It can. I kept bees in the UK for many years, and sometimes had problems with them attacking me when mowing or strimming. Having said that, my bees in California have very rarely attacked me for random reasons (they got africanized surreptitiously), but never when gardening. My best advice is to put a hedge or fence around the hive if you are concerned. If you can force them to fly up to over head height, they usually won’t come back down just to attack. Usually. Unless they have become mean.
That is an excellent time to start. Your local bee club may know a good source of bees too. I hope that you decide to take up beekeeping. Please ask any more questions if we can help you.
A big welcome to the forum Paul where you will find lots of reading as well as folk happy to give you advice and tips.
For your location a hive is best facing south to south east.
If your bees get a bit angry at you mowing around the hive, and mine do, it just means wearing a bee suit when you mow, the bees will just go for you and not your neighbors.
Find a local bee group and get involved in it and if you decide to having bees a local group is a lot of help.
Cheers
Welcome @Paulchef I hope you give beekeeping a try! I’m in my fourth year and loving it, and owe so much to this forum for knowledge & enjoyment well beyond beekeeping matters
Though I haven’t seen her post in some time now, @Dee is an experienced beek somewhere in Wales, maybe someone you’d come across if you decide to join the WBKA as Dawn suggested.
Thanks everyone for your welcome and input, I think I may have to do some groundwork at the bottom of my garden so that I don’t need to use a strimmer/ mower around the hive/s possibly a concrete slab for them to sit on
A concrete slab sounds like an excellent option Paul, big enough for you to move about the hive still having a good footing on the slab for yourself. Make the slab big enough for two hives, there is a lot of advantages in a 2nd hive, but more later about that.
Peter
. I’ve since watched a number as well as looking for websites etc. I have a long garden but it’s narrow and need to firstly find out if there are any laws preventing me from flying in to the beekeepers world, a few questions first
