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ocba - Re: [ocba] Bees + Public Swimming Pools = Bad PR

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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com>
  • To: John Nicholson <jlnicholson AT gmail.com>
  • Cc: ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Bees + Public Swimming Pools = Bad PR
  • Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 23:01:01 -0400

John,

Your note is a good reminder that it is our responsibility as beekeepers to be good neighbors and consequently good ambassadors for the beekeeping community. All it takes is a bad incident in the press to get regulators to react by banning our hobby. Logic doesn't match up well against hysteria.

Know where your bees are getting water and provide a convenient, constant source if necessary.

You can search the OCBA listserv archives for discussions on this topic.

The OCBA map is here. There are a few beekeepers on the map within flying distance of your pool.

Randall Austin


On 7/17/2013 1:43 PM, John Nicholson wrote:
CAMC1L8kyfXdv1fjYkdrTge4hO7VsxUb9TMbCd33tKWJoXOhg2Q AT mail.gmail.com" type="cite">
Dear OCBA Beekeepers:

I am a novice beekeeper and member of the Heritage Hills swimming pool in Southern Orange County. Over the past few days, the bees have taken over the swimming pool with over 10 people being stung in a single day! People are getting very frustrated, resorting to bringing Raid to the pool, setting up traps full of dead bees and killing any bee in sight. 

As a beekeeper, I try to explain that the bees won't sting unless threatened but when you are dealing with mostly kids (and frantic Moms), good luck with that message. I wanted to solicit any advice you may have and ask that anyone keeping bees close to the Heritage Hills neighborhood please check on your hives and make sure they have plenty of water close by. Is the Google Map still active? I would be happy to reach out to any beekeepers close by who may have missed this post. 

I fear that this is bad PR for bees and beekeepers and appreciate any ideas to mitigate the situation as soon as possible.

Thanks,
John




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