Farmnote 7/99 : General guide to backyard beekeeping

General guide to backyard

beekeeping
By Lee Allan, Senior Apiculturist, Animal Research and Development
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Services, South Perth

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Advice to hobbyist beekeepers on placing hives, providing water, bee
temperament, hive management, public education on hive
management,amateur associations, beekeeper registration and hive brands
requirements and Shire restrictions.

Beekeeping can be one of the most rewarding hobbies. However, to

neighbours, the bees may be a constant source of worry.
Over the past few years, closer settlement and the rapid increase in the
number of hobbyist beekeepers have resulted in a steady increase in
complaints made to Agriculture Western Australia regarding bees kept by
neighbours. Often these complaints could have been avoided by the
beekeeper if he had considered the following points.

Placing hives
Aspects
Place hives in a warm, sunny position, preferably with a north-easterly aspect.
Hives placed in a damp, cool position may be constantly troubled with
dysentery.
In summer, hives should be shaded during late morning and afternoon. This
will reduce the need for the bees to seek water to cool the hive in hot weather.

Obstructions to divert flight

Bees can be trained to fly in a certain direction or height, by placing an
obstruction in their flight path. If bees are forced to reach a height of about
Farmnote 7/99 : General guide to backyard beekeeping

five metres to cross this obstruction, they will fly at this height and not bother
pedestrians or neighbours.

Proximity of dwellings
Hives are often placed as far from the beekeeper's own house as possible and
too close to a neighbour's house, path, clothes line or rear fence. There, the
bees may cause a nuisance.
Place hives towards the centre of the yard and encourage the bees to fly high
by placing or erecting an obstacle or screen fence, so that the bees do not
cause a nuisance.

Number of colonies
Two hives are the maximum recommended for the average suburban
backyard. Numbers of hives often alarm neighbours more than the strength of
the colonies. For larger numbers of colonies, a separate out-apiary avoids the
problem of bees causing a nuisance to neighbours and provides better
conditions for the keeping of hives.

Providing water
Bees often cause trouble when they drink water at a neighbour's tap or
swimming pool. A tub of damp sand placed in the shade will provide an ideal
watering place. Do not let the water run dry at any time.

Temperament of bees
Bees vary greatly in temperament and the beekeeper should always maintain
a docile strain. Strains of Italian bees bred for their docility are suitable for
backyard beekeeping.
Bees often become less docile as the queen ages, possibly because of
swarming and subsequent cross mating with less docile strains. If the hive is
allowed to supersede and raise a new queen, it is possible that this queen will
mate with a drone of a aggressive strain from another hive. The beekeeper
should consider annual requeening to avoid this problem.

Hive management
Open hives only on warm sunny days and when there is no risk of
thunderstorms. The most suitable time is before midday.
Always use adequate smoke, but do not over-smoke, since this will
Farmnote 7/99 : General guide to backyard beekeeping

disorganise the hive to the extent that the bees become aggressive.
Never leave the hive open for long periods. Generally 15 minutes is the
maximum, or much less if bees are inclined to rob.
Honey exposed to robber bees can cause the bees in a hive to become
aggressive and annoy neighbours. It can also result in weak hives being
destroyed through robbing. It is an offence under the Beekeepers Act to leave
honey accessible to robber bees, since this can lead to the spread of disease.
Before opening a hive it is advisable to inform your neighbours so that they
are not inconvenienced by bees and can keep clear until the bees have settled
down again. This action will help to avoid complaints.
It is also advisable not to open your hives if your neighbour is gardening or
mowing the lawn as the noise, vibration and smell of the lawn mower can
excite the bees to sting.
Small hive entrances and insufficient supers to provide room in the hive will
result in overcrowding and may cause the bees to swarm. Often the swarm
will settle in a neighbour's yard and the sight of 20,000 to 30,000 swarming
bees can alarm most people.
Over-supering in winter is bad hive management and should be avoided. It
may lead to dysentery and subsequent spotting of neighbour's washing in the
winter and spring.

Education
If more people were informed of the small danger of properly managed bees,
it is certain that less friction would result between neighbours. Make people
aware of the following points.
● If a bee sting is removed correctly, it will often result in pain little
worse than a mosquito bite. Incorrect removal will result in all the
venom being injected into the flesh and distributed throughout the
body. Severe reactions are unlikely, but can occur.
● Scrape the sting out with a knife or similar instrument. A sharp
finger-nail is satisfactory. Try not to rub the area, since this distributes
the venom over a larger area.
● An ice pack applied to the area will stop the venom passing as rapidly
throughout the body. It may be desirable to obtain a suitable
antihistamine from a doctor and have it on hand in case of severe
reactions to bee stings.
● Neighbours should not use toxic pesticides indiscriminately. Too many
bees are killed because backyard gardeners spray their fruit trees and
vegetables with toxic chemicals when they are in full bloom.
Farmnote 7/99 : General guide to backyard beekeeping

Other possible ways of educating neighbours, to reduce friction, are:

● Provide neighbours with protective clothing and show them the
workings inside a hive.
● Advise neighbours of the relative docility of swarming bees and urge
them not to interfere with swarms in any way.
● Stress the importance of pollination by bees in home gardens. If it was
not for the pollination by bees, many fruit crops would be virtually
non-existent.
● A jar of honey presented to a neighbour occasionally is also good for
public relations.

Amateur associations
Members of amateur beekeeping associations can help by properly managing
their own hives, by educating non-members, new members and the general
public and by promptly removing swarms.

Beekeeper registration and hive

brands
Under the Beekeepers Act (1963), all persons keeping bees are required to
register with Agriculture Western Australia and to brand their hives with a
registered brand. Address correspondence about registration or hive brands to
the :
Chief Executive Officer,
Agriculture Western Australia,
Locked Bag 4
Bentley Delivery Centre, WA 6983

Shire restrictions
Some shires have restrictions on the keeping of bees. Check with the shire on
these restrictions before starting beekeeping.

Further reading
● Bulletin 4344 'Beekeeping in Western Australia' (Agdex 481/10).
● Farmnote no. 6/99 'Ant and termite control in the apiary' (Agdex
481/20)
● Farmnote no. 57/98 'Sac brood disease of bees' (Agdex 481/653)
Farmnote 7/99 : General guide to backyard beekeeping

Disclaimer: This material has been written for Western Australian

conditions. Its availability does not imply suitability to other areas, and any
interpretation or use is the responsibility of the user. Mention of product or
trade names does not imply recommendation, and any omissions are
unintentional. Recommendations were current at the time of preparation of
Prime Notes the original publication.
Index This file: F00799.HTM Date converted: 24 Feb. 1999
© Copyright Chief Executive Officer, Agriculture Western Australia,
1999
Farmnote 7/99 : General guide to backyard beekeeping: Figure 1