Newbee in Colorado

I live in a neighborhood as well. I informed noone of my bees except the people I knew and let them do their thing. One day i was approched by a neighbor asking if I had bees(you can see the hives from the road) I said yes I do and he handed me a bag full of squash and Cucumbers and Okra. He was THRILLED and said his garden had never been better. I say talk to your neighbors and tell them what you are considering. My neighbors have learned to let the bees work it in the a.m. and they go out mid-afternoon and evening to tend the garden. You can put a fence in front of hem standing about 6 ft tall and it will force them to fly up and over your head. i would not expect them to do it all the time though. I just moved my sons soccer goal up near the beeyard and he was playing amongst the 10 colonies last night and they never bothered him. he is aware of them and just goes on about life. We also have 16 kids that play within the the confines of about 4 yards....noone has been stung yet. They all know about the bees and i taught them what to do and not to do....now the new boxer pup, thats a different story. She will learn her lesson though...LOL

btw, the boxer just cam e in with a swollen lip...guess she found one again..LOL....one day she will learn...

I am also just a new keeper. I am in a residential area and have 4 hives in my yard. A six-foot wooden fence surrounds the yard. Even in my yard, the bees are not a problem; they exit the hives, fly quickly up and away. Two of my neighbors have basswood trees which have had some bees previously, although more bees this year. The bees are up in the tree with the flowers and not at “person level.” My neighbor has trees along the fence line where I have 2 hives; before my bees were there these trees had bees working them. Another neighbor has fruit trees in the yard.

If people don’t want bees, they should not have plants attractive to bees. Bees simply don’t frequent areas with no forage. If there is forage, bees will be around, whether from your hives or elsewhere.

My four hives are growing rapidly; looking around my neighbor, there is no evidence of large numbers of bees. I am absolutely certain the area had bees present before my hives and has, and will have, bees other than my bees.

I really enjoy my bees, you will too.