# I failed before I started!



## RenoHuskerDu (May 26, 2011)

Hoping to help save the world, I tried to find a beekeeper who wanted to use a remote corner of my land. The biggest family beekeepers around here where I live in France said they'd come have a look ... for 2 years. :stars:

Now I see that a neighbor has installed 6 hives only 50 yards away. Does that mean that I can't raise any bees myself now? If I located the hives on the other corner of my land, they still be only about 100 yards away. :grumble:


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## marytx (Dec 4, 2002)

I'm confused by some things in your post. Do you mean it would be two years _before_e the beekeepers would come out?
If you only want bees to be around, does it matter if the hives are on your property or your neighbors?
Also, I'm not sure it matters, if you are in fact wanting bees for honey, and not to "save the world" whether or not your neighbor also has bees. Did you mean that you wanted your own hive, and not just to have a hive sitting on your property?
I'm perhaps dense.


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

i am new to bees but i believe that whether your neighbor has bees or not you could still but hives where you want on your property--i have seen pics of bee yards with quite a few hives in them. maybe instead of waiting for the local beekeepers to bring hives to you--maybe you should try beekeeping yourself. i know i am enjoying it.


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## suzyhomemaker09 (Sep 24, 2004)

Absolutely install your own hives if you so desire....
Proximity to other hives means very little to upkeep.


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

The distance would not interfere with your hives.

If you're on good terms with you neighbor, it may even make it easy to help each other out.


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## ace admirer (Oct 5, 2005)

wonder what the swarm catch laws are in your area....


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## kirkmcquest (Oct 21, 2010)

You can set your hives right next to his and it won't make any difference. All the Apiaries I have visited had 20 or 30 hives within feet of each other.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I like to keep my hives at least an outer cover a part thats about 18-19 inches.

 Al


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## RenoHuskerDu (May 26, 2011)

mary said:


> I'm confused by some things in your post. Do you mean it would be two years _before_e the beekeepers would come out?
> If you only want bees to be around, does it matter if the hives are on your property or your neighbors?
> Also, I'm not sure it matters, if you are in fact wanting bees for honey, and not to "save the world" whether or not your neighbor also has bees. Did you mean that you wanted your own hive, and not just to have a hive sitting on your property?
> I'm perhaps dense.


No, if anyone's dense here, it's me! :gaptooth: I want bees on my property to help save the world. The more bees, the better! We don't eat much honey, and surely we'd eat more if we had our own bees. Ideally a beekeeper would do it because my time is so scarce already. The big family beekeepers said they'd come look but it's been two years now and they have not come, but I doubt they are interested. :kiss:


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## OkieDavid (Jan 15, 2007)

Around here it's not uncommon to see outyards containing 100-200 hives. Granted they are migratory beekeepers so they aren't here all year but I see no problem keeping 24 hives or so. Your neighbor's bees won't interfere with any hives you have although you may see a decrease in overall production. Since making honey isn't your objective, I see no conflict.


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

since you dont want honey maybe you should try some mason bees


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

If you're neighbor is short on space, you could always offer them your corner to keep hives on in exchange for a bit of that honey.

I don't know of many people that have their "own" hives but has someone else work them and they get honey from "their" bees. Here orchard owners pay to "rent" beehives, they pay the beekeeper money and the only thing they get in return is improved pollination. That is the only arrangement I am personally familiar with, it may be different elsewhere.

It sounds as if you just want some beehives on the property and a bit of free honey. If that's the case I would offer your corner of land to your neighbor or revisit the large beekeeper and resubmit the idea of them using your land. Be sure to let them know you would like a small portion of the honey if they wouldn't mind.


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## RenoHuskerDu (May 26, 2011)

wolffeathers said:


> ... Here orchard owners pay to "rent" beehives, they pay the beekeeper money and the only thing they get in return is improved pollination. That is the only arrangement I am personally familiar with, it may be different elsewhere.
> 
> It sounds as if you just want some beehives on the property and a bit of free honey. ....


What part of the world is that arrangement found in? I'm in France and don't really know much about the financial side of bees. I just have enough spare land that I can help the bees. If I have to pay to have bees there, I hope they don't want much for it. But then, if you're in the US, land is much cheaper than in France. Beekeepers here usually have to scrounge to find land for their hives.

We have a few beekeepers in our circle of friends, so honey is not in short supply. It's rather that I should get the jar down off the shelf more often! 

I went to our beekeeper friends at first with my idea about housing hives here, but they said that they have other hives too close to our land, and if the bees meet in between they all might decide to swarm to one area and abandon the other. There seems to be some unwritten rule that spawned hives must be at least 6 miles from the parent hive, to avoid that.
:lonergr:


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

"I went to our beekeeper friends at first with my idea about housing hives here, but they said that they have other hives too close to our land, and if the bees meet in between they all might decide to swarm to one area and abandon the other. *There seems to be some unwritten rule that spawned hives must be at least 6 miles from the parent hive, to avoid that."*

The latter statement is a *MYTH.* I have hives of mother and daughter sitting side by side and some ony several meters apart too. Normally once a hive has a good queen the foragers return to that hive although there is some times some drift do to wind and such.


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

If the beekeepers in France are in need of land, it probably wouldn't be the same arrangement.

In the US, I have seen beekeepers advertise their hives for "rent" for $50 to move their hives to your orchard. The land owners really want nothing to do with the bees personally, they just want improved production of their crops. Not sure how many people take the beekeepers up on this deal. But you can drive down the road and see orchards with 1-5 hives from local beekeepers. It does sound like an odd arrangement, I must personally admit, for the landowner to "rent" hives. You would think a mutual agreement would be more likely, you keep your bees here and get improved forage for them and I get improved production of the crops.


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## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

In our area the only time a Beekeeper will put his bees on someone elses property for free is during the 'off season', the rest of the time the bees are working for their keep.
Commercial beekeeping isn't cheap, there's lots of expenses and lots of man hours involved.


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