Some people will always find something to complain about, no matter how much you try to accommodate them.

So, what would you do if your neighbor asked you to relocate your bees, and even after you did, they kept demanding more? Would you get rid of them to keep the peace? Or would you stand your ground and protect your rights?

In today’s story, one homeowner is in this exact situation and wants to keep her bees. Here’s what happened.

AITA? – neighbor said my bees are a danger and a nuisance

We legally keep four beehives in our ~0.5-acre forested backyard (full lot is an acre), fully compliant with all state and county ordinances and regulations.

Initially, we kept two decorative hives in the front yard —the hives themselves were designed to look like little green-roofed houses.

A neighbor we’ve known for years asked us to move them to the backyard, expressing concern that the bees were “biting” the fish in her koi pond.

While bees don’t bite fish, we relocated the hives to the backyard out of consideration for her concern.

A different neighbor started complaining about the bees.

A few years later, another neighbor, whose property backs up to ours from the adjoining subdivision, began complaining that our bees are “a danger and a nuisance” and are interfering with his enjoyment of his swimming pool.

In response, we relocated the hives to the far side of our backyard and added more water sources to keep the bees hydrated closer to home.

Unfortunately, he says this hasn’t helped.

Apparently, the bees are still visiting his decorative stone waterfall feature, which flows into the pool. The waterfall is not intended for use by people; it’s purely ornamental, but the shallow water and accessible ledges make it an ideal spot for bees to drink.

This is despite the fact that there’s dense vegetation between our yards, and in spring/summer, we can’t even see his property because of all the trees and shrubs.

What he doesn’t understand is that these bees are not aggressive.

The bee families we keep were selected by my father, an experienced beekeeper, specifically for their gentle temperament.

Despite having a toddler who plays barefoot on our clover-covered lawn almost daily, he’s never been stung.

In the nearly ten years we’ve had the hives, I’ve only been stung once, by what may not even have been a bee (it flew away after getting tangled in my hair).

She asked an important question.

When the neighbor first complained, I asked whether he or anyone in his household was allergic to bee stings.

He said no.

In my view, that would be the only truly valid reason to consider removing the hives. I want to be respectful of my neighbors, but I also feel strongly about property rights and environmental stewardship.

She thinks bees are beneficial and doesn’t want to budge on the topic.

What’s hard to swallow is that many of these same neighbors regularly use harmful herbicides (even on windy days, their landscape company just sprays it weekly), synthetic fragrances, and other substances known to be detrimental to human health, including causing brain cancer in kids.

And yet, I’ve never asked anyone to change what they do on their land.

Why should I be pressured to remove bees, which are beneficial to the ecosystem and even offer medicinal benefits (bee venom, for example, is used therapeutically)?

Now, the neighbor is again asking me to relocate the bees, offering to cover part of the cost. But the truth is, I don’t really have anywhere else to put them, and honestly, I don’t want to.

AITA?

Wow! It’s easy to see both sides of this issue, but bees do make some people uncomfortable.

Let’s see what the folks over at Reddit have to say about it.

It seems like this person leans both ways.

For this person, they wouldn’t want to be bothered in their pool.

This reader sees nothing wrong with her keeping the bees.

As this person explains, it may be time for a lawyer.

There has to be some middle ground.

If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.