Bee's

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robo
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Has anyone had experience of keeping bees , our pest control guy is into them in a big way I've always fancied having a go he has said if I get a hive he will get me a swarm and as they are an endangered species I'm thinking now is a good time to have a go , I'm looking for any advice I can get so please fire away
Monika
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It's something I have always wanted to do, Robo, but my OH is seriously allergic to bee stings so we dare not do it. But the best advice I was given when I looked into it was to join a local beekeepers society or club and first get some on hand experience with bees without committing yourself to the expense of equipment and clothing. That sounded very sensible to me.
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peter
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My dad kept them, as did his friend next door.
We're allowed them on site subject to;
    Positioning for flight approach & departure
    Membership of the town bee keeping club
    Insurance comes with above
    Completion of keeping course
    Site Agent approval
Never quite got the bug, don't like being stung.
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PLUMPUDDING
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My father built 5 hives and bought all the kit for managing them, honey separators etc. They are quite high maintenance and tended to swarm when there was only me at home so I got used to brushing them off wherever they had landed into a box, covering them with a blanket and putting them in a new hive. If you get very flighty ones you have numerous swarms when it's warm, usually in May. They are quite spectacular with thousands of bees on the wing. The neighbours don't like it.

More recently I let a friend who keeps bees put a couple of hives in the garden but he saw to all the maintenance and gave me a few jars of honey at the end of the season, which was a much easier arrangement. Again I decided to stop having them to avoid conflict with my neighbour who was petrified of them.

They were a very gentle non aggressive English bee so have been re homed yet again.
tigerburnie
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I'd love to keep them, my uncle in Norfolk had them for years, daughter got stung as a youngster and is now terrified of them, pretty sure she wouldn't visit if I had a hive.
Been gardening for over 65 years and still learning.
Colin2016
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A neighbour has bees.

Whilst working in the garden last year they kept attacking the wife & myself we both got stung a couple of times. They seemed real vicious as if they were protecting their territory.

Perhaps it was because I like their honey.

Been quiet so far this year.
PLUMPUDDING
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Most honey bees are very calm and easy to deal with, but there are occasionally some that are agressive. We once collected a swarm from someone's garden and they were small, black and extremely nasty. They used to fly at your face and sting you if you got within 20ft of the hive. They were humanely destroyed.

You should move in a calm steady way, no arm flapping or panicking, and they are less disturbed by people in light coloured clothes. They don't like brown or furry clothes.

When I was very small I used to sit in a field and watch the hives belonging to the man across the road and despite being told not to get too close I nearly always did and would go home yelling when they stung me. Then I'd have to be held down while my mum applied the dolly blue to neutralise the acid of the sting. Who can remember the dolly blue they used to,put in the washing?
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Primrose
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Yes, I can remember the dolly blue. That makes me positively antique !
I'll leave the beekeeping to the rest of you. Being stung in the eye by a wasp at girl guide camp and nearly blinded as a result, I keep a healthy distance from all stinging flying insects. However, I have a lovely crop of foxgloves at the moment which I will let self seed and am very happy to provide food for them. It's a delight to see all the bees bussing around them.
robo
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Now I will look to find dolly blue is she a miss or mrs
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Geoff
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Nothing like diverting a thread!
http://www.oldandinteresting.com/laundry-blue.aspx
Looks like the baking soda was the key to treating stings.
PLUMPUDDING
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It's nothing to do with porn Robo :D
tigerburnie
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My uncles bees would get aggressive when he closed the hive to take some honey off.
Been gardening for over 65 years and still learning.
Colin2016
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“They don't like brown” I had a great suntan last year so guess that's why they went for me.

Had another thought there were very few flowers in garden as I had stripped it of all plants, so they could have got the hump. This year I am creating a bee friendly section, hoping they will visit and stay away from us.
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peter
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tigerburnie wrote:My uncles bees would get aggressive when he closed the hive to take some honey off.


That's what the smoker device is for.

Smoke them and they go and load up with Honey to take flight from the approaching fire, this calms and slightly stupidest them. Of course if you open the hive or get too close they treat you as a potential hive raider.
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Tyler Adams
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Do the bees mix in different hives?
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