# Convincing my other half.



## alidansma (Jun 30, 2006)

I really want bees. 
I have a garden bordered by rosemary and I already have bees that love to come and visit all year round. 
Then I found out that my husband thinks bees would be a real, real bad idea.
He's worried about people and animals being stung and thinks it would be a waste of time and money to get a bee hive. 
We have five acres in the desert, half of our property is not being used.

I am trying to put together some information that might cause him to think twice about veto-ing the bee idea. We have about 16 fruit trees on our property and a veggie garden also. We also have dogs, cats, goats, horse and chickens. And a seven year old son.

Maybe he is right and bees are a bad idea - is there a chance that killer bees will come and take over our yard? would encouraging solitary bees be a good compromise? Eventually I would like honey bees, but just having bees for pollination is great too. I am willing to start small.

Thanks for any help! - ali


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Are you in a kiler bee state?

Beekeepers in those states often replace the queens with young ones once a year: this prevents killer bees from influencing your hives.

What happens is this: A hive has an old queen that needs to be replaced. They then raise a virgin queen. She goes out on her mating flight, and she MIGHT be bred by an Africanized drone. Then, his daughters will be in the hive within a few weeks.

This can be prevented by making certain that your queens are always young ones. If a queen is young and storong, the hive will not replace her. 

And, if a hive turns mean, open the hive and replace the queen with a new one. You CAN order queens through the mail if you need one!


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## alidansma (Jun 30, 2006)

I am in San Bernardino county, at 4,000' elevation. Killer bees are in the state.


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## Iddee (Sep 25, 2005)

PLEASE, use the term "Africanized bees". Yellow jackets have killed many more people in the US than Africanized bees have. So why don't people say Killer yellow jackets.
You can even use AHB, but killer bees is a misnomer used by the media only, for attention and profit only.

As for the other half, have him read this link. Linda keeps bees on her patio in downtown Atlanta, Ga. without any problems. 

http://beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com/

There are many other beeks keeping bees in large cities, on rooftops and other areas.


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## Michael Bush (Oct 26, 2008)

Africanized bees are no more likely to take over your yard if you have bees. In fact yours will tend to crowd out the AHB.

You will not see a lot more bees in your yard with one hive ten hives or a hundred hives. Unless there is a dearth it's all about the same. In a dearth you might notice more that are curious looking for something to do. But all in all not that many. I extract in my kitchen and there are always bees buzzing around my kitchen during that time. No one ever gets stung. I, the beekeeper, get stung now and then.

I got stung more when I was a kid running barefoot through the dandelions...


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Speaking of yellow jackets, most bee stings are really yellow jacket stings.

Honey bees really do not CARE about people, and they tend to ignore them unless they feel threatened. Honey bees care about nectar, pollen, and their hive, and not much else. 

The Africanized bees are a little different in that they protect the area AROUND their hive, instead of just the hive themselves. That means if you walk past their territory, they might see you as a threat and get you just for that. 

Most honey bees, in contrast, only get upset and protective if you rap on the hive with your knuckles or something. If they are more agressive than that, re-queening will usually fix it!


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## alidansma (Jun 30, 2006)

sorry about the killer bee comment, I was only trying to project the way my husband views bees...I realize they are Africanized bees bred in brazil that accidently escaped and all that. He is just worried about them "killing" things.

Are there any worries with homeowners insurance and all that? We live in a rural area (for california that is - 5 acre lots, dirt roads, that sort of thing)
I will visit that blog - thanks for the link!

More sources welcome!


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## the kid (Jul 9, 2006)

I have 8 grand kids living with me I have 4 + hives less then 40 feet from the back door ,, the kids love messi ng with the girls ,,, last year between 5 hives and 14 of us messing with the girls( ten kids ,, 3 to 13 ) the 5 and 7 year old and myself droping 5 frames ..by the way none of us stung when we dropped frames .we knoww not the smartest thing to do .. we collected less then one sting each ,,all summer....from honeybees ,,, the 5 year old collected 12 yellow jacket sting by moveing a dog house .... there were a lot of yellow jackets and wasp stingsthis year 
few honeybee stings... any way honeybee sting hurts less then wasp or yellow jacket stings


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I'm also one who rails about the killer bee term.

Never the less I know a fellow that keeps honey bees in LA. He places from 2 to 4 hives in those coummity garden plots. He has one garden plot with 4 hives in the shadow of Dodger stadium.

Hard to change the mind of some one who already has the mind set that Honey bees are bad news because they watched the news or read the news.

 Al


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## Beltane (Nov 27, 2005)

Honeybees certainly are not going to hurt your dog or your child or anyone else for that matter. They are only concerned about one thing....collecting nectar and pollen. Continue with your research. I'm sure you'll find lots of great information to present to your husband. Good luck.


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## godsgapeach (Jan 1, 2009)

I had to chuckle at your post. I had the same issue a couple of years ago. My husband was not at all enthusiastic about bees. But I've had them for almost two years now and I love it. We even put in a pool and the bees visit to drink, but no one has been stung there.

The hives are about 75 feet from the house and they're pretty satisfied to find flowers--not looking for people. The only stings I've had are from them defending their territory when I'm checking the hive. Otherwise we SEE and sometimes hear them around the yard, but they're no menace. 

Sometimes the dogs even walk out to the beeyard while I'm working there and they haven't been stung either.

Of course, my husband does like the benefit of the bread I make using the honey... so that's a perk.

Hopefully your "Honey" will give in!
Godsgapeach


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## Me Beekeeper (Jan 6, 2009)

*Convincing can take time, but it's an Education.* 
:rock: Yes, my wife had the same feelings about bees in general. I did much like yourself and studied up a bit. I found that Honey bees had been bred to be gentle for nearly 3000 years. I think you need to differentiate the honeybee from other bees. The other bees have a smooth sting and some sting just for fun. :flame: They sting you to see if your going to holler, scream or run.  Honey bees have barbs on their sting and know if they use it, they will die. So, the only time a honey bee stings, is when it's hive is threatened. If you disturb one on your flower, they just go to another flower. If your in their hive and start smashing their sisters, they don't take kindly to that and the alarm goes out. Then the thought of swarms scared her. So, you need to know the honey bees gorge themselves with honey and nectar before they swarm. When they do this they become so plump, they can't bend over to get their sting to poke out. They are harmless when they swarm. My wife often wondered where I was as I built our house and would take a break. I was out in a lawn chair, watching the bees come and go. :lookout: She thought I was a bit touched, but after the second day, I had company bringing out a cold drinks to sit with me. She's as interested as I am now. :icecream:


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## alidansma (Jun 30, 2006)

How about solitary bees? Does anyone bother puttign out homes for them?


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

what is a solitary bee ?

 Al


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## the kid (Jul 9, 2006)

If your talking about the mason bee and the orchard bee ,,, yes some do put out places for them ,,, I know the mason bee nest is just holes drilled in some wood , cant remember just how big or deep the holes are ... google mason bee and orchard bee and it will come up ....
Tom


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

alidansma said:


> How about solitary bees? Does anyone bother puttign out homes for them?


If you are talking about bumblebees, they are native to this continent and they make holes in the ground to nest in. I don't think they NEED our help! 

In this modern world there are not many hollow trees for the hive bees (They naturally nest in hollow trees: A hive is an artificial hollow tree), but, bumble bees can usually find dirt of the proper texture.


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## thorsgurl75 (Dec 13, 2008)

I know you can build a hive/nest for bumble bees the univeristy of mn has a bee program and one of the books they sell tells how to do it.I havent gotten the book yet but I plan to. Just for fun and because they are great at helping the local plants.You dont harvest anything from them.
Rachel:viking:


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## the kid (Jul 9, 2006)

for bumble bees all you need is a bale of straw ,,, or put straw in a large bird house...bumble bees are fun to catch with your hands when they land on flowers ,, but there not a solitary bee ,, as they build a nest of a few hundred ... and yes I do catch them with my hands ,,, I taught my kids to catch bumble bees and honey bees with there hands .... and now Im teaching my grand kids to catch them ,,,,, yes ,, I know ,,,Al ,, like you say I march to a diferant drummer ... I caught them from the time I was 4 or 5 years old .... my dad taught all us kids ... he didnt want us to bee afraid of bees.....
for me it was fun to hear them buss ,,when that one stoped bussing let it go and catch the next one ...or just shake it a little and it would start bussing again .. and yes I still catch them ..


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

:shrug: Tom I wonder how Bonnie puts up with you. You have to be worsce than the 8 grand kids LOL. Not to mention the stuff you teach them.

 Al


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## the kid (Jul 9, 2006)

Bonnie had 6 kids and I had 5 
(5 kids and me ,,, she has all ways said her oldest kid ( me )was more to put up with then the other 5 ))
when I come out of my first childhood thats when she can bury me 
tom


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Tom enjoy life any way you can any time you can. Life it to short for starters so having a miserable life just sucks.

 Al


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