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Can I mow around my beehives?

Keep yourself and your bees safe and stress-free by knowing what steps to take when mowing near your beehives.

(Question Credit: Marlin, in Stanwood, WA)

When you have finally chosen an ideal bee yard location and have set up hives on your property, it can be incredibly exciting to bring them home and officially start being a beekeeper… but what about when everything starts growing up around that bee yard, is it safe to mow around your beehives? The answer is yes, you can mow around your beehives but like most things in beekeeping… there are some very important things to keep in mind if you want to keep yourself safe and ensure as little stress as possible is affecting your honeybees.

Bees are very perceptive to any sounds and vibrations that may disturb them, they do use buzzing to communicate after all! One way to make mowing around your hives less agitating to the bees is to minimize that disturbance. If you must mow near the hives, do so on cooler, cloudy days when fewer foragers are outside of the hive. Consider mowing around the area further away and moving in gradually to gauge the bees’ reactions. If bees seem aggressive with larger equipment like riding lawnmowers, try a push-mower or string weed trimmer close to the hives to minimize noise, vibration, and bees’ frustrations.

If you’ve noticed that any of your colonies seem to be reactive to any disturbances, it’s always a good idea to play it safe and wear your protective beekeeping equipment while you’re mowing, especially if you have any bee sting allergy. You may also want to bring a lit smoker out with you to give the beehive a few puffs and help keep bees inside a little calmer.

One way to minimize the potential upset that mowing your lawn could cause your bees is to minimize the need for mowing altogether! Consider planting bee-friendly low, ground-covering plants that will minimize grass growth under and around your beehives or use mulch and other landscaping techniques to keep grass from growing (see image below). Some beekeepers, like PerfectBee’s own Nicole, will choose to entirely skip mowing near their bee yards to keep bees undisturbed, and to help leave plenty of plants close by for bees to forage resources.