Hi I have heard that there is some legislation forbidding having bees/beehives in urban areas
I live in a city
May someone tell me about this issue?
what shall I do?
Different cities, different countries, different requirements, where do you live?
I live in Israel
My sister lives in Paris
We are both interested in being part of this interesting project and having our own beehive.
We have no intention to sell our own honey, but just have one beehive home for our own use
It depends on how draconian enforcement is and what the laws are where you are. Personally, I would have a plan where to move the bees if someone complains, and I would get the bees anyway. But it’s always good to know what the law is if you can find out without raising people’s concerns… If you are discrete, odds are you’ll have the bees a year before anyone notices.
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thanks for your kind advises !
Hi All,
Yes… Our urban to rural region has limits depending on arcerage… I am limited to 6 hives which is okay. If I had a larger parcel I could have up to 50 hives. There are some setback regulations or barrier/fence/hedge requirements on property lines.
Now that being said. The city that is expanding outward toward us is almost anti bee with their land use limits. Most if not all new lots it would be impossible to have even one hive legally. Actually that city knowingly/unknowingly is promoting a bee-desert as they expand but encourages gardens/nice landscaped … Most have bee friendly plants n trees but at the rate of city limits the bees will not want to fly that far. Sad but true …, I am trying to slowly see if these drastic limitations can be modified so I can encourage n help establish new beekeeper locations within the cities boundaries ! Gerald.
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This is the article I initially read, when trying to decide exactly how to set up my hive so it would not be a nuisance to my neighbors or my community. I made comment earlier about laws in the United States concerning honeybees. I don’t know that at is factual or not I remember hearing it at a lecture I attended by a so-called expert at least I thought.
What cowgirl has stated above is very important that we all should understand and do as relates to our neighbors and community.
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The problem with notifying neighbors that you are getting bees is that they have no frame of reference. The idea that thousands of stinging insects (hundreds of thousands actually) are going to be living next door fills their minds with a lot of ideas that will never come to pass. They have no idea how little they will see bees. If you get bees and they don’t figure it out until a year or so later all of those fears have already not come to pass. There are stinging insects everywhere. The world is full of them and hopefully always will be. I got stung more as a child running around barefoot in a yard with no beehives than my kids ever did with 20 or more beehives in the backyard. Honeybees are a fact of life whether you do or don’t have hives in your backyard or your neighbors back yard. Of course you want to set up your hives to be as little of a nuisance as you can for both your neighbors and yourself. You don’t want bees flight paths to intersect human paths. Get the bees in the air. You want to provide a source of water that is enticing enough to keep them out of swimming pools and the neighbor’s dog’s water dish. etc. But telling them you are about to get bees usually doesn’t end well.
http://www.bushfarms.com/beestencommandments.htm#originaltwo
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With me, I did not notify my neighbors at all. Not until I harvested honey. I did ask them throughout the year in the year prior when I knew I started studying, do they see bee’s around and what are their thoughts. None of them we’re afraid of bees and realize the benefits to nature and society. I continued to ask them after placing my NUC in place if they saw any more or less be around and they had not. I did ask if anybody had been stung as well and they laughed and said know what you ask, I just said I had seen I thought a few extra bees around and wanted to find out if anybody else.
After harvesting honey and giving them each a bottle, I told him about it and they laughed again and then said my earlier questions throughout the year now makes sense but there answer did not change so I felt lucky.
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I took a pint jar of honey to each of my neighbors. Gave an apiary tour to one set and their 3 children. Even opened up a hive and let them sample honey from the comb. That worked wonders.
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