Spokane County Beekeeping Limits

This proposal and the current zoning for LTA/STA/Forest show an extreme lack of knowledge about bees and beekeeping and their affect on agriculture.

First, lets just say that the bees and Agriculture are in deep trouble. With the global economy and 60% of our fresh food being imported they have brought in many diseases that affect the bees. Last year Washington beekeepers lost almost 40% of their hives. And honeybees are responsible for 1/3 of the food we eat, so their importance can’t be overstated. An example of the potential financial impact can be given locally. What if Greenbluff wasn’t pollinated…. There would be no apples, cherries, peaches, carrots etc.,

Basically all the farms with no produce. This would devastate the farmers, but beyond the obvious their produce is sold in the stores and what a tax cut Spokane County would take.

Second, it is obvious that Spokane County has no idea of the number of beekeepers in the county and how many Commercial beekeepers there are. I would guess that there are about 1,000 beekeepers in the County and I know of at least 4 that are commercial. It is apparent with the recommended limitations that they have no idea what a commercial beekeeper does or how they work. I could not imagine asking every farmer to have a security fence so I could pollinate his or her orchard…. Bees are set at many locations and spread out so they would need several security fences. Now the fun part… the hives are usually on pallets and set with machinery i.e. fork truck, so how large an area needs to be fenced to allow operation of this equipment. Sorry it is easier and more cost effective not to pollinate. So your rule would put the county at odds with the goal of preserving farming/agriculture and our way of life.

After pollination, Commercial beekeepers move their hives to locations that produce a good source of nectar make honey. We pay a yard rent in the form of shared crop i.e. honey to the farmer for this privilege. This is no different than a farmer renting a property so they can farm additional acreage where the owner is paid in money or share crop. There would be no yards available if the farmer needed security fencing in that area.

Third, when fall and winter come, if the bees are not moved out of the area and wintered here, we pull all the hives together so we can attend to them and monitor them. This means that I could have 500 hives on MY property. I see no reason for a limit on the number of hives I can have on MY property as mostly they will be staying in out of the weather and affecting nothing. Beekeepers all know that when the bees are set out for honey production that about 32 hives is the maximum for an area and we try to separate hive locations by about 3 miles. This gives the hives a maximum yield of honey and there are few noticeable bees except directly at the hives or in the flight path. I have had over 100 hives at my house in the spring not 400 feet away and you would not know there are even bees in the neighborhood if you didn’t see the hives.

Most important is that honeybees are the most passive of the 20,000 species of bees available and there are only 7 species of honeybees. When I have been called for complaints of bees I almost always find it is a wasp or yellow jacket with the only honeybee item would be a swarm. A swarm is a natural way the hives has to reproduce and I love swarms. They are looking for a home and because of that they are very docile… I don’t suit up, just offer them a hive box and they go right in…. best part is I get free bees. When I work the hives I don’t use gloves because it is usually too hot. I have worked over 100 hives in a day and may have gotten stung up to 5 times, but all those times it was my fault by trapping or squishing the bee and they stung out of defense.

To conclude, there is no need for a security fence as the bees will fly out and they are docile unless attacked and then they will defend themselves… sounds like most Americans. A 50-foot setback is not necessary as the beekeeper can control the direction of flight path and with an object in front of the hive causes them to go high and not even be noticed. Limiting the number of hives is not necessary as there is a natural limit for pollination and honey gathering and when they are needed to be at home they are not gathering.

I acknowledge that there are some complaints about bees, but I will bet most of these are not honeybees and those that are come from not understanding the bee. I for one look forward to robins in the spring, but when my cherries are ready I hate them as they wipe out my fruit…. Should we ban robins too?

The city of Spokane has an ordinance for bees that works and one of the keys is a trained and Washington state certified beekeeper, who knows how to take care of bees responsibly. Don’t try to legislate common sense or limit beekeeping because of a few misguided people.