Unfriendly bees
Hi! I totally understand the need for bees and how important they are as pollinators.
Having said that, my neighbor has a hive next to our fence and I’ve been stung several times. The bees get aggressive and attack us or our dogs, I assume because of the proximity of the hive.
Is there anything we can do? I don’t think the laws in Berkeley have any guidance with regards to beekeeping. I am writing this while 20-40 bees are right outside our door to the point we cannot/don’t want to venture out.
Mar 29, 2024
Parent Replies
Yikes, I'm sorry- that sounds scary. I have a terrible reaction to bee stings that seems to be getting worse as I age. Have you told your neighbor about your stings and the aggressive behavior? Perhaps they'd be amenable to moving the hive to another part (opposite side) of their property or house. Keeping bees is cool, but not when they are a danger to fellow humans and animals... You could also contact the Alameda County Beekeepers Association for advice (easily found via google). Good luck!
We had a problem like this with our neighbor's bees which swarmed and found a place to live in our walls, taking time and money to remove. There are a couple of local beekeeping groups we contacted for help. I think recreational bee keeping is a real problem in a dense urban place like Berkeley, because many of the people who keep backyard hives don't know how to keep them in the city. I wish I had more of a solution for you. We tried to remove them and rehouse them with the help of a beekeeping group, but eventually had to hire an exterminator to get them out of the walls. Fortunately those neighbors stopped keeping bees.
We had this problem in Oakland. Ask the owner to kill the queen and introduce a new docile one. Also they can make it so bees must fly higher up before entering your yard.
So sorry you’re having to deal with the bees. Does your neighbor know about this? Have you asked your neighbor if they could move the hive? I wonder if that could be done when they are harvesting the honey.
I'm so sorry to hear about this. I'm the president of the Alameda County Beekeepers Association, and what you're describing is not okay -- you should not have to put up with this. While Berkeley doesn't have specific laws regarding beekeeping, people can't have a nuisance that bothers others.
From a beekeeper's perspective, this should not be happening; you normally shouldn't even notice bees on the other side of a fence, and they certainly should not be stinging or attacking you or your dogs. Something is wrong, and the beekeeper needs to address it. I live in Berkeley and if you were my neighbor, I would do everything I could, including completely getting rid of bees on my property (although that shouldn't be necessary), to solve this.
Our group promotes responsible beekeeping in Alameda County, and we would love to help with your situation if you haven't already resolved it somehow. We can give advice and resources to the beekeeper that should make this stop, or help mediate if necessary. Please contact me directly, or use our website's contact form (choose "General - Outreach; Bee, Pollinator, Gardening Questions").