How to convince prospective landowners to allow bees on their property

[Killervector]

Hey guys...

Been awhile since I've posted. I discovered 2 years ago I'm allergic to bee venom, and have since sought treatment from an allergist, which is ongoing. But, I'm back now and wanting to keep bees again. I have the hives, and my nucs are ordered.

I have a nice patch of timber close to my house, and the landowner wants to allow me to have bees, but is concerned about his younger grandchildren that visit a few times a year. He is concerned they may get stung. He wants to know how far the bees will range from the hive, but as he only owns 8 acres of timber, I can't assure him his grandkids won't have contact with them.

So, anybody have a good argument to convince him to allow 2 hives on his property? I think he may want me to place the hives deep in the timber, which I don't want to do for obvious reasons... Late start every morning wouldn't get 2 new colonies going too quickly, etc.

Any help would be sincerely appreciated!

Thanks!
Chad

[shannonswyatt]

Unless the kids are directly in front of the hives I would say the odds of getting stung would be about the same without hive on the property as they would with hives on the property.

[Myron Denny]

If I had to convience the landlord I would go to a different landlord. The people I deal with want the bees!

[Mr.Beeman]

I'm with Myron on this 100%.

[beegeorge]

while I agree wthMyron and Beeman, I suggest that you usethe concept that he may have a feral hive already in a tree, Hornets in bushes, or yellowjackets in the ground,, at least the honey bees are normally not aggressive, (and I would be DARN SURE yours are not) and risks are minimal....

[zookeeper]

I agree with Shannon. As long as the hives are located far from the house and the kids don't play near them, there really isn't an increased risk. As long as there are plants on his property with pollen & nectar, there are going to be stinging insects of some sort around, hives or no hives.

If you want a good argument, here's one I used. I have a friend who wanted to cut down a bee tree near his property because he was afraid his young kids would step on the bees working the clover in his yard. I told him that cutting the tree down wasn't going to do him any good, because there are other hives around (mine) that would work his clover even if the tree wasn't there. I told him if he really wanted to cut down on the risk, he needed to get rid of the clover instead of the bees. Thankfully, he didn't do either one and the tree (and the clover) is still there.

[bobbarker]

If the above reasoning doesn't work, and explaining that honeybees are really not aggressive away from their hives, you could offer to put some snow fence around the hives. It's relatively cheap, easy to put up/take down, and would keep the kids out from directly in front of the hives.

[shinbone]

Offer to elevate the hives 8' off the ground. That way, no one can get in the flight pattern.

[Honey-4-All]

If I had to convince the landlord I would go to a different landlord. The people I deal with want the bees!

Ditto on that. The bottom line is that in every sale its best to convince the "purchaser" that this is in their best interest to purchase. If that's not happening move on. Headaches are a dime a dozen.. Don't keep drinking if you don't want the headache.

[dixiebooks]

ditto. -js

[Ian]

he will have more wasps around his yard than he knows of now,
If you were locating a yard of bees, Id say no, but your talking two hives

keep them away from the yard, they will not know they are even there. Kids will stay away, or they will get stung lol

I keep a full yard of bees in a wooded yard 500 feet from a house yard. The land owner cut me out the yard with his mower, Im right in his yard ! and he has grand children. They do fly into his yard during certain times of the year but he is more than happy with the pollination to his fruit trees and tomatoes and loves the tithe of honey

[NowThen]

When a family with young children offer up their property and there is any chance at all that my bees and their kids would end up in an unpleasant encounter, I politely turn them down. I would feel absolutely horrendous if something bad happened to a child that I could have prevented.

[Ian]

thats life