are you one of those "every dog attack is a pit bull!" guy?

Just mowed the yard and for this thread I ramed my lawn mower into the tree with the hive repeatedly.
Bees seemed not to care but I saw one look at me with a ''are you drunk or stupid'' look

No, If they were wild bees, then yes.

Sevin dust

...my bad.  

I worked in a flower bed for about an hour earlier this morning.  The bees were out but didn't give two shits about me.  When I fired up the hedge trimmer, they got noticeably agitated.  More bees, more contact, stung once.  I managed to swat one while on my neck and compared it to photos shared earlier as well as online pics.  Yep, honey bee.  They really don like my power tools.  I have to figure out a way around this.  If I work 15 yards farther away, they don't care, but I have a bunch of plants near her property line that need to be trimmed every so often.  I hate the thought of having to use pruning shears for several hedges.

ETA Thank you to those who im'd me with useful suggestions and constructive criticism's.

If 15' makes that much difference, the hives may be just over the fence.  I'd talk to the neighbor about it, ask if the hives could be moved further from the fence.

Once you are stung, or smack one bee, exit the area as soon as possible.  When a bee stings it emits a pheromone to attract other bees.  They're marking you.  

You probably have a yellow jacket nest somewhere.

I have a hive of honey bees.  I mow right past the front of the hive in mid-afternoon without a reaction from them.  I opened the hive up last week to add a feeder since pollen is tapering off.  No suit, no stings.

I tend to maintain aggressive (hot) hives for this very reason. I'm also on 20 acres and my closest neighbor is a half mile away. If one mentioned a problem, I would certainly change what I'm doing, to a degree (re-queen to a more docile variety).

 

It sounds like the hives are right on the property border. Talk to her and see if she can move them. If she refuses, most cities have ordinances about how close hives can be to property lines.


It might be worth investigating the hedges. There may be an open hive of feral bees inside of it.


As a beekeeper, I hope you find a way to remedy this problem without using poison. I also understand that to some people, bee's can be a problem. If I was your neighbor, I'd hope you'd come to me first. Then again, I wouldn't put my hives right at the border. Two way street and all.

Even there, colonies don't get africanized unless you collect a random swarm or the queen is superceded, which only happens if you are a complete idiot.

No.... Not all bee's are Africanized....  We don't have honey badgers here in the US... Again...  My dad's hive I would have to continuously kick the "F" out of it continuously before one of them even consider to sting me......  Hell the only time my dad has been stung is when he was robbing the hive and accidentally grabbed one......

But beekeepers monitor it.  Some queens do produce a more aggressive hive.  The beekeepers that don't mind that trait because of other tradeoffs, like perhaps the bees have hygienic behavior when it comes to mites.  Others will requeen the hive, and breed out the aggressiveness.  

In the case of the OP, the best advice has already been given several times.

Talk to your neighbor.  If you're being molested by bees the hives must be pretty close to your property line.  Perhaps the beekeeper can move her hives and solve the problem.

I would have to specifically ask my dad what the "breed" of his bee's are.  I "think" he said they are from Hawaii and they are as hostile as flies.  It damn near takes you picking one up and jabing its stinger in you to get stung.....

This. Just a couple of weeks ago a guy working for a bee relocation service got stung numerous times and ended up dying. It ironically was his first day with the company so I suspect he didn't really know what he was doing. But, they were indicating that the larger problem is that they were an Africanized variety. That's here in Vegas so it could easily happen in TX.

I completely agree.  Most hives are pretty damn docile.  But occasionally you do get queens that produce more defensive hives.  Verona mite and other problems have resulted in beekeepers trying to produce hygienic queens.  Some of these can be more aggressive.  Some of the Russians can get "more active" working hives.  Some of them can be more aggressive.  But beekeepers usually requeen problem hives.  They kill the producing queen, and put another in.  The problem corrects itself in a generation.  

But back to the OP, he needs to talk to the beekeeper.  Beekeepers are very aware of the natural phobia non-beekeepers have about bees.  Most of them will bend over backwards to make it okay with their neighbors.  

If she has the hives right on the property line, she might be able to move them.  Bees don't just attack. It's a suicide mission. They attack to defend their hive.  

I don't know put up a bug zapper?

Very well said sir!

The stresses added by varroa mite infestation can cause an otherwise docile hive to become "hot". When I'm working hives and one that is normally docile becomes aggressive, I immediately dig farther to find the cause. Heavy mite load is normally what I find. Small Hive Beetle is a close second. In a few, it's a poorly laying queen or queenless hive. Some are just fine and mean. You learn to deal with it.

IMO, the africanized thing has become a catchall for aggressive hives.


 

Then raise raccoons to eat the hornet nest.

Not trimming quote tree again jmills224

But I have encountered in rare cases an aggressive hive.  But I knew the signs.  Bee's bouncing off me.....  They never stung me, and I turned around and walked away and have never been stung.  I stress RARE.....

Bees sense fear (humans excrete various pheromones when they are frightened) and the bees pick up on it and sense it as a agression of sorts.

I used to be very afraid of bees when I was little and I would be stung often (partly because i would flail about and scream and run)

Once I learned that bees really don't care about me as long as I don't fuck with them I actually LIKE bees and welcome them in my yard as I would song birds and good friends.

Haven't been stung since.

Yeah, I knew it was getting bad but I'm on my phone?

I'm alergic to bee's, but I've found so long as I don't go babe Ruth on the side of my dad's hive the bee's don't even give me the time of day....











AGAIN..............

The behavior sounds more like yellowjackets than bees.

I'm no bee keeper but I'm studying up to become one. From what Ive learned and seen I doubt it was the honey bees. I've noticed that if I approach the hive in the flight path and get within ten feet they tend to get pissed but always warn me first. Like bouncing off my face.

I'd look for ground bees or hornets.
Even tending to my apple trees in the spring when its loaded with honey bees they never sting me.

Look at the carcass of the bee that stung your kid, if its a honey bee most likely it will still be there, pulling its guts out. Hornets hit and run.

We need to help honey bees they are dying off. I'd hate to see you take them out only to find hornets or yellow jackets.

Here is something informative:  Likely your kid was stung by a wasp with a nest in the hedge, or he could have annoyed another stinging insect...  Oh fuck, why bother.  Go ahead dad-of-dindu, play your stupid games.  SMH  And they think '13ers are so bad.

And there you have it.  Fuckin' '15er.

Never come across an africanized cross breed, I take it?  My family is who the tricounty area calls to remove natural hives.  Some bees are simply ZFG

Op how far from property lines are the boxes?

Second.

A friend of mines dad growing up kept bees. I spent countless hours on the property and near the boxes and never once got stung. If your kids are getting stung they are doing something wrong. Bees are awesome and globally we are facing a problem with shrinking bee populations which are needed for pollination of crops we depend on. I've contemplated taking up bee keeping myself once I can move out to my rural property full time.

I've swatted countless sweat bees and never been stung by one. I think you have something other than sweat bees.

lol

You came here asking for advice on how to fuck with your neighbors property.

Yet you tel him to fuck off.

Eggsactly. TaylorWSO does not deal with bees. If he did, he would not have written that statement.

 

Check YouTube. Those Africanize bees are aggressive. Lots of videos to keep you awake tonight.

Minimally, I'd say neighbor owes you a 4 pound bottle of honey!

Not to argue with the Beekeeper, but all the bees in the hive release pheromones.  Different pheromones for different reasons. Workers emit all kinds of chemicals when they die, which happens when they sting.  





The queen emits a specific set of pheromones, that the others don't.  I find it absolutely fascinating.   Bees have always amazed me.

But again, to the OP, please talk to the beekeeper in question. I'm sure she'll work with you.  Don't resort to poison.

Africanized bees don't typically do well in cold climates, so we up here in the high desert don't have to deal with them on nearly the level you southern gents do.

I am a beekeeper, and in fairness to OP, there are a few things that can be causing the attacks he is referring to.  While it is true that a foraging bee will not attack unless messed with, bees near the hive are a different matter.  While generally docile, there are several factors that can cause aggressive bee behavior because they will perceive them as an attack on the hive and the guard bees will respond in kind.

1) This time of the year there is a nectar dearth in most part of the country.  This will cause bees near their hive to behave more aggressively because of honey robbing going on by other bee colonies and yellow jackets.
2) If the hive is in close proximity to his yard (within 25 to 50 feet), the guard bees from the hive will go out that far if they perceive a threat.
3) If the owner of the have has been working on it without smoking the bees, they will get very agitated.  I have seen this happen time and time again.  It takes several days for a hive to calm down once opened without smoking the bees.
4) Bees are known to be set off by loud noises and vibrations when already in an agitated state.  If OP's son is mowing the lawn, and the above conditions are present, I can easily see him getting attacked by guard bees.

Sounds like the hive next door to OP is "hot", or the bees are in an agitated state and are being set off by further disturbance.  If his neighbor is opening hives without smoking the bees, especially this time of year, and she has them in close proximity to her neighbors, she is being irresponsible.  OP can turn to the county extension office for help and let them know there is a hot hive next to his property.  Most states will intervene and have the beekeeper relocate the hive, or work with them to identify why the bees are being aggressive.  OP could also just try talking to his neighbor.  If she is an ass about it and the county won't help, then file a lawsuit.  Any responsible beekeeper knows to keep hives located where there will be a minimal chance of the guard bees attacking perceived threats (i.e., other people).

Case in point - I was out running yesterday afternoon on a country road near my home and ran past a cluster of hives kept by one of the local honey producers.  The hives are situated about 10 feet from the shoulder of the road.  As I ran past on the opposite side of the road, several bees attacked me and I was stung once.  I wasn't surprised at all because of reasons above: nectar dearth, proximity to the roadway means constant disturbance by motor vehicles and farm machinery, and I know for a fact that the owner works on the hives without smoking them.  I was close enough that the bees saw me as a threat and they were in an agitated state.  Not much I can do about that one, but the owner of the bees is still an ass for handling them the way he does and placing the hives where he did.

If this is happening in OP's yard I don't blame him for being pissed.  There are good beekeepers and assholes that keep bees.  Sounds like OP's neighbor may be the latter, or she is just very uneducated about bee behavior.  I have a hive that is about 150 feet from my neighbor's house.  It has never been an issue for him and his kids even when I had a hot hive a few years ago.  Had it been closer, it may have been a different story.  I now smoke my bees before any work and have not had a hot hive since.

Potentially Africanized?

A.W.D.