having beehives

[BrianDT]

I put up an ad asking if any bee keepers wanted to place hives on my property since I have 5 acres of clover and alfalfa with a pond near by. I had a few responses, but all of them want drive up access to the bees and permission to use the property at any time they want. That seems like a stretch. They could at least walk a bit to the hive or allow me some notice that they will be on the property.

 

[RTII]

I put up an ad asking if any bee keepers wanted to place hives on my property since I have 5 acres of clover and alfalfa with a pond near by. I had a few responses, but all of them want drive up access to the bees and permission to use the property at any time they want. That seems like a stretch. They could at least walk a bit to the hive or allow me some notice that they will be on the property.

Several reasons why they would need drive up access. #1 reason is populated and producing hives are heavy! a large super of honey can weigh 100lbs! Mediums are 50-60lbs when full. Drive up would be very important. Access to the hive is important as well. hives may need to be checked regularly. For health, production, brood, queenlessness and other possible problems. If you can't give them access then maybe having their hives on your property won't be the right solution for you. Keeping a few of your own might be more logical and i guaranty you will find it fascinating and addicting. I will say that you could probably expect a beekeeper that is using your property to respect it, keep gates closed, and be as unobtrusive as possible. It's a win/win for both of you and if he or she doesn't respect your property then you can easily kick them off.

 

[aczlan]

Several reasons why they would need drive up access. #1 reason is populated and producing hives are heavy! a large super of honey can weigh 100lbs! Mediums are 50-60lbs when full. Drive up would be very important. Access to the hive is important as well. hives may need to be checked regularly. For health, production, brood, queenlessness and other possible problems. If you can't give them access then maybe having their hives on your property won't be the right solution for you. Keeping a few of your own might be more logical and i guaranty you will find it fascinating and addicting. I will say that you could probably expect a beekeeper that is using your property to respect it, keep gates closed, and be as unobtrusive as possible. It's a win/win for both of you and if he or she doesn't respect your property then you can easily kick them off.

Agree on the drive up access. We have 2 hives and I wouldn't think of placing them someplace without drive up access for at least a golf cart.
On the notice, I would see if they could notify you the day before. I understand that their schedules can change, but it seems that notification the day before should be doable.
If you have locked gates, I would request that they provide their own lock and use multiple locks so that you can track if they leave the gate open.

Aaron Z

 

[troutsqueezer]

Everything I have read has said two miles and that they favor particularly strong sources to nearby ones. I have bees and rarely see them in my garden or on my flowers. Lots of honey anyway.

Well, there is a lot to it, many variables, but according to one of the first people to study this (Eckert, 1933, re: The Hive and The Honey Bee) they will actually fly up to 13.7 kilometers to forage (8.5 miles).