# Trouble with irritated bees...



## Gailann Schrader (May 10, 2002)

My hive is outside the house near the bedroom and bathroom windows. The way it's situated, the bee-line is through where the garden is... Well. The bees don't like me in the garden. Period. I can go to the BACK of the hive (out of the bee-line) and they don't even pay attention.

40 ft away in the garden? They try to kill me. I have to wear a bee veil and coveralls to keep them from stinging me...

Do I just move the hive? The only other place I have is along the busy road outside of the horse dry lot. I really don't want the horses bothered either... Or is there another way to make them more chill?

They are very insistent that I shoudn't be there... 

Any ideas?


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

Interesting. Sorry I don't have an answer for you....my bees don't get aggressive even when I'm pulling frames to examine brood. They do object when I weedwhack in front of their hives, but not too strenuously. 

I'm sure Alleyyooper or one of the other longtime beekeepers will be able to help tho.


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## Mike in Ohio (Oct 29, 2002)

Gailann,

One thing you might try is putting some sort of fencing or plant shrubs about 10 feet or so in front of the hives. The bees will fly higher/over the garden with the new bee path and perhaps not bother you as much.

Just a thought.

Mike


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## Batt (Sep 8, 2006)

Occasionally you can get a queen that passes on her bad attitude to the kids..Come to think of it, pretty much applies to humans also. If nothing else works, you might try re-queening.


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## Iddee (Sep 25, 2005)

Both the above posts are correct. A quick fix would be the barrier. A new queen will be the best long term solution. Also, check yourself for the reason they are so aggressive. Do you wear cologne, perfume, hair spray, ETC. It attracts them in an unwanted way. Black, fuzzy clothing will also.


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## foxtrapper (Dec 23, 2003)

Like they say in real estate, location location location. 

It's not that the bees object to you being in the garden, they object to you being in position X, which happens to be the garden. Presumably, near to the entrance of their hive. So a simple relocation of the hive may well work.

Bees coming out of the hive tend to fly at the height of the entrance until they encounter something to force them up. A simple snow fence or such near the entrance forces them to fly up. And as long as they are going up, they tend to keep going up for a while. Right up and over you. 

A nice solid fence also prevents the bees from seeing you, which really helps keep them calm when you're out in the garden. They will probably still try to kill you should you get in between the hive and the fence though.

And colonies have personalities. Some are hotter than others. The personality comes from the queen (and the drones she mated with). Requeening will change the hives personality. Not necessarily for the better, though generally you don't accidently go from a hot hive to an even hotter hive.


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## Gailann Schrader (May 10, 2002)

Thank you all very much. I can physically SEE the bee-line as they are coming out of the hive and it's about 3 1/2 ft off the ground. And I'm 5 ft tall. Twice it seems that they've just "run into" me. And then stung me while they were buzzing around... I've got snow fence and will put that up! The entrance is facing the house and their bee-line is at the SIDE of the hive. I know I can walk up and pretty much place my hand on top of the hive AWAY from the bee-line with no interference. 

Thanks all! I was annoyed enough one day to consider Raid.  

I don't think I have anywhere else to move the hive to? Since I'm heavily wooded and all, so I think the snow fence will work wonderfully. Another question? I think the hive is healthy and all, but I have two deep broods and then only one honey super. As I did last year (this hive is four years old now). The honey super isn't full and isn't full of comb. They aren't pulling comb to fill it. Am I doing something wrong? Or is the hive still relatively weak? How fast does it take a good hive to pull comb and fill it?


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## foxtrapper (Dec 23, 2003)

The nectar the bees gather first tends to go down into the hive bodies where they live. If they came through the winter with no stores left, you're going to find lots of honey being put up down below first. So if the nectar flow ends before they get it up into the supers, you don't get honey to harvest.

If the nectar flow in your area wasn't good, you don't get much gathered. 

If your bees don't find nectar (some hives really don't seem good at finding it), they don't get much gathered.

I'd suggest after you the nectar flow stops and you've gathered what honey you can, that you start feeding the bees. With feed they will draw comb, as well as put stores up in their deeps for the winter. With an entire summer of feeding, you could draw out lots of super comb, and be ready for next spring.


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## Gailann Schrader (May 10, 2002)

The snow fence is working beautifully. Amazing that such a simple thing could make such a difference. When we went out there yesterday and several other days? Pleasant and didn't care we were there. When we worked the bees the other day? Even when we shook them off the lid? Pretty much a non-event. Agitated and animated but not irritated. And only ONE worker tried incessantly to get me. Next year I plan to plant TALL hollyhocks at that edge of the garden to make a plant barrier as well...

Thanks again!


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