Comments | beekeeping: borrowed hive space

thanx_n_advance in beekeeping

borrowed hive space

Jul 17, 2009 15:53

My family owns a single family home in a residential area on a ½ acre lot (Annandale, Virginia - 22003) that would be ideal for bee hives and I'd like to offer the space to would-be beekeepers to establish new hives who might otherwise have space/regulatory constraints (HOA's, apartment dwellers, etc) I am a first year hobbyist beekeeper myself so ( Read more... )

Comments 6

squid_ink July 17 2009, 21:41:38 UTC

I keep my hives at an 'outyard', I took out an ad on Craigslist and got quite a few responses. This is my second year keeping bees, it's worked out well. I drew up a 'contract' stating that I own the hives and the bees and will need 90 days to relocate the bees.

the people are really nice and quite frankly I rarely see them. They've got nine acres, keep organic (no pesticides!) and border a state park

revsphynx July 17 2009, 21:42:52 UTC

If you're in the US, contact your county extension office or check your state dept. of agriculture for the state apiarist. They will more than likely be able to put you in touch with a local beekeeping club, or at least local beekeepers.

incendiary_ave July 20 2009, 04:48:21 UTC

At a recent guild meeting, they announced that someone had emailed the guild to ask if a beekeeper wanted to keep bees on their property, so what you are asking is not unheard of.

You may want to check out your local guild. A quick search located two - one in Virginia and one in MarylandA friend of mine did offer to let me keep bees at his house, but the transport issues and time issues (what if a good time for me to work on the hives was a bad time for him to have visitors?) had discouraged me thus far. Keep in mind - he was offering me to use his back yard, not his orchard or farm space ( ... )

thanx_n_advance August 2 2009, 00:30:26 UTC

Thanks, I'm a member of the BANV. ;)

Bee Hosting hiperlynx July 29 2009, 20:50:20 UTC

I'm in Dallas, Texas, and I, too, have been considering hosting bees. Trying to decide if I should attract a wild swarm, buy bees, or host someone else's guest bees. I have a large un-used industrial greenhouse that would be very safe for them. I'm not extremely interested in much bee interaction, just want to provide a safe haven.

klangs July 29 2009, 22:23:13 UTC

I live in South-Western Ontario
I know that my dad keeps his bees on other peoples property, because we live in a suburb.
I'm not totally certain of the exact arrangement, but both of the farmers who allow my dad access to their land are friends of his. One yard is in an orchard on a farm recently purchased and not yet rented out. The other is at the end of a clover-lined grass airstrip at the back of a farm.

I am relatively certain that my dad gives them honey, and their farms also benefit from the increased pollination that the bees supply. But in terms of other payment or rent (so to speak) i'm not certain

I have heard of farmers paying beekeepers to temporarily keep yards in orchards during prime pollination seasons, it seems like a win/win situation to me. better honey for the beekeeper, better fruit for the farmer.