So unexpectedly I am having to move. However I got an enthusiastic thumbs up from the new land lady to keep my hive there, which is awesome. The new back yard is set up in such a way that I feel I will need to set up a deflection screen to get the bees up and out of the yard to keep them away from my fiancees rather dimwitted hound dogs(She is already very worried about them being stung). How close is too close for one of these screens? How far is too far to be effective?
I don’t want to eat up too much of the yard with this, but want the hounds and the bees to be happy.
Head height and four/five feet away should be sufficient
I wouldn’t worry about the dogs. They will get stung once or twice then keep clear.
My dogs come to the apiary with me every visit but they stay well away, looking patiently on…they know about bees
I have often placed the hive a foot or two from the house facing the wall. That way the area that the guard bees can see is very small and the bees tend to go up right away since they have to turn up when they get to the wall.
Hi Adam, it’s been my experience that dogs learn quickly to keep away from bees after a couple of stings. It’s almost like the piece of string. How long will it take for the dog to stay away? It depends on how many stings he/she can endure.
Of the 6 family dogs, only one, a persistent hyper active Irish Setter, messes with the bees. And even he only gets stung a few times a year, with no long term ramifications. And we can’t blame the girls when he insists on trying to catch them mid flight and eat them!
All the rest reached détente quickly and permanently.
I am sure your hound is more level headed than our crazed red head ; -)