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Neighbors destroying colonies

50K views 179 replies 95 participants last post by  sc-bee 
#1 ·
I finally found out why my colonies are on the decline ever since spring started. I don't live in a subdivision, but a smaller residential area. My backyard is only 40ft wide and one side of my yard gets more sun then the other. That's why I put my hives towards this side. I have a total of 10 hives in my home apiary and have been keeping bees since I was 3ft tall. I live in Mississippi and there are no state, county, or local laws restricting/prohibiting/regulating residential/hobby beekeeping.

I checked first with MSU (Mississippi State University) entomology department.
. Using Mrs. Audrey information I contact my local Chamber of Commerce. I got re-directed and re-directed they couldn't give me any solid information. Got transferred to the "legal" department and they had no records indicating laws regarding beekeeping. I don't live in an area with a home owners association either. I hope I checked all my bases.

Then this morning I found this:


I'm still quite mad and shaken up over this event. I called the local police and have a case number in hand. The police officer wanted to know how much money of property damage it was and how much it costs. I'm so upset i couldn't give him a solid number, just that my honey crop this year is destroyed. Over $1000.00 just in honey sales.

Happy SUNDAY!
 
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#32 ·
It is hard to believe these folks are so blatant with their actions. Were you able to get a video I'd of the can? Otherwise they could say they were spraying sugar water vapour if it comes to a court case. It may be worth swabbing for residual chemical...there must lots on the top of that fence as they weren't tall enough to clear it.
 
#34 ·
I have went out there and i have a bag of cotton swaps and cotton balls in a zip lock bag. It smelt like raid, and didn't have the velocity to be wasp spray (stream), but I could be wrong. Who knows this could have been the 10th time she sprayed and just tried something new to kill them.
 
#33 ·
Hats off to you sir! I know what my reaction would have been, is why i moved to the county and away from neighbors. We all know how we would react, but you showed us the correct way to do so. I hope you get this arbitrated to your satisfaction.


On the downside, i nearly beat a kid senseless i found breaking into my vehicle at 4 am several years ago. My dog actually grabbed my arm to stop me from doing what i was doing to this punk roaming the neighborhood looking for anything he could hawk for some drug money. You did this right, minus filming the person's face on the other side of the fence, but methinks that property owner is at fault.

Well done!
 
#35 ·
I am humbled at the way you handled this. I would have not been able to maintain the control you did. Your setup and your hives are beautiful. It is apparent you have put a lot of work and care into your hives (and yard) and it shows. You should go after this person to the fullest extent of the law-civil and criminal. If anything positive can be taken away from this horrid experience it is the way you handled yourself. I wish you the best of luck in beekeeping and hope these "neighbors" of yours end up where they belong.
 
#36 · (Edited)
It is a crime in my state to spray insecticide on bees that are not on your property that you do not own. Definitely find out for sure what your state laws are. The police probably don't know, go to the agriculture department.


Edit to add an idea. Do you have a shed? Or would you like to have a shed? Placing a small shed between the fence and your hives would make them inaccessible to your neighbor.

Pursue legal options, but the neighbor knew what they were doing was inappropriate but that didn't stop them. Fact is, you'll probably need to do something to find a situation where "out of sight out of mind" can happen
 
#40 ·
I think that section says basically that your neighbor can't bring action against your bees as a "nuisance" if they've been there over a year and there have been no complaints . I hope you nail those unspeakably evil beings to the wall . It looked in the video like the neighbor tried to spray some of that at you , as they were walking down the fence line . I believe that can be considered aggravated assault ...
 
#41 ·
Wow. You're a way better man than me. I would have been over that fence in a heartbeat with a short length of 2 x 4 and a very bad attitude. I would have made sure they ate what was left of that can of spray.

I hope they get jail time and lose their freakin house & property.
 
#43 ·
Get a trail cam, put it on a pole high enough to film your bees and it just happens to catch the other side of the fence, just the other side so you are not invading privacy.

We have 16 cameras watching our pond, bees yard etc, mainly because I like watching the wildlife that wanders through. But if someone messed with our bees it would be well recorded. (our bees are deep into our property so not even worried about them, but you never know)
 
#44 · (Edited)
Your neighbor is a horrible person!! I would strongly pursue the fullest criminal prosecution possible. If you are "lucky," this nasty person has a record of other acts of vandalism, and a judge will finally get tough with him/her. Unfortunately, that probable won't be the case (hopefully, I am wrong on this). I see little chance for civil prosecution, since it appears there was little damage to your hives.

IMHO, you've got a problem on your hands that goes beyond spraying insecticide on your hives (which, by itself is really really bad!). To deliberately attempt to kill your hives in broad daylight, and to be so dumb to think that the undirected spraying of a can of consumer-grade insecticide over the fence will do so, shows your neighbor is a vicious and stupid person. He/she may even have some serious mental health problems which lead to irrational behavior or poor impulse control, resulting in further conflict on multiple issues. Who knows what other problems he/she is going to cause for you - shoot your dog because it barked? Poison your cat because it strayed into his/her yard?? Surveillance cameras pointing into your yard? Key your car because he/she doesn't like where it is parked. Search through your trash for sensitive information to attempt further harm against you?

I am one who believes "life is easier when you are friends with your neighbors." But his/her actions go way beyond any hope of ever being friends or approaching some level of functional coexistence.

Unfortunately, you lost the "good neighbor lottery" when you bought this house.

I have no potential solution to suggest, but I think you have a problem on your hands beyond the safety of your beehives.

JMHO




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#45 ·
Mississippi 's department of agriculture has a law enforcement branch that investigates and prosecutes ag related crime. They respond to crimes involving crop theft, livestock theft, even copper theft from center pivots and irrigation components. They investigate equipment theft like tractors, combines, and cotton pickers. I would think they would be a great resource for you and would know all of the specific laws that could apply. Sorry that you have to deal with this, sad that someone would do this!
 
#47 ·
>Your neighbor is a horrible person!! I would strongly pursue the fullest criminal prosecution possible

Sometimes trying to obtain justice just escalates the behavior of this kind of nut case. My neighbor did not complain about my bees for the first two years of living there. Then she got a psychotic rescue dog who barks continuously. I complained to her several times. Never a word of concern or apology from her. Her responses:
"Dogs bark, that's what they do".
"The problem is not my dog barking, the problem is you complaining about it".
"Your complaints are harassment, I am going to call the sheriiff".

She claims I dumped dead bees over the fence onto her patio. She complained when my gardener dropped a few trimmings over the fence. So this week a hive sent an after swarm through her yard, it landed in my yard and later flew away. She called the sheriff who came knocking. I explained that it was retaliatory complaints against my dog barking complaints. Her dog barked violently as he approached my house and even more when he went to her house. I have kept bees here for 42 years without another complaint. My neighbor on the other side ordered a Garden Hive from me this spring for his yard. I would report it but not prosecute it.
 
#48 ·
odfrank - I agree with you on this. I think this is the beginning of a long battle. Some people live to make other's unhappy, and the neighbor is one of these people. No matter what the OP does in response, this neighbor is going to make his life miserable. If the OP totally capitulates and moves the hives to another property, this neighbor will find something else to complain about. I am afraid it is going to be lose-lose for the OP with this vicious and irrational neighbor.
 
#49 ·
Sorry to rain on the parade but if you did not get a picture of the person doing it, you are going to have a really hard time winning a law suit. Was it the neighbor, neighbor's wife, or kids? It could have been somebody from 2 houses down that crossed into your neighbor's yard because he knew your bees were right over the fence and that was the best location to spray from.
 
#50 ·
No doubt a video of the person's face would be best, but the OP was there when it happened. He will be able to confirm who was doing the spraying, if he saw the perpetrator or spoke to him/her, etc. But, I agree, the bare video is not enough, by itself, to support a criminal prosecution.

JMHO
 
#51 ·
To bad you couldn't have snuck up and grabbed the spray can from them then you would have their fingerprints on it as well as what they were spraying. I hope those people are just renters and will eventually move away. If you prosecute them ( successfully or not) that kind of person will probably try to retaliate in some way or another.
 
#54 ·
Bees are a popular cause right now and beekeepers seen as warrior gods saving the EARF. Play that card and get the mindless little reporter at the local rag and or television station all worked up about this animal cruelty/pollination ending tradgedy. That will make more happen than anything, possibly making people insist that the willow in the wind judge see it as the crime it is. We no longer live in a nation of laws but one of feelings. Play the game. Your calm voice and the hand on the spray can will play on every newscast for a week.
 
#55 ·
even though a lot of people say, you need more information picture or can or something. I still think you should file in court. Your neighbors are always going to be a problem if it wasnt bees then it wouldve been poisoning your dog or chickens or whatever. Anything they dont like. So push it. Some gross intent to cause financial burden on you. Was you going to place those bees in future to promote federal pollinator act??
 
#64 ·
I'm not sure of his situation but I know I can pull my phone out of my pocket and be recording in less than 30 seconds. Lucky he kept his cool enough to think to do it before confronting the person. And I'm sure he got a good enough look at the person through the fence to be able to identify them for legal action. Especially if it's someone familiar to him like a neighbor.
 
#67 ·
As long as we are making things up in our heads, this is what they said in my head ;)

ChrisBex: I saw them walking out to the back from the house, then after I stopped recording I looked through a crack in the fence. Furthermore, I walked to the front yard and I saw him (or her) again carrying the can.
 
#69 ·
Lawyer: My client was walking outside to water the garden, saw some kind of commotion, noticed a can on the ground by the fence and picked it up. Then proceeded to carry it around the front of the house to properly dispose of it.

Again, if ChrisBex did not actually see the person there is little chance of winning a lawsuit. It this case it would be better not to even have the video and just say that your were looking out a second story window and clearly saw you neighbor Bob spraying the bees over the fence.
 
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