Honey Bees Spark Debate In Howard County

HOWARD COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) -- Vital to agriculture, but do they belong next door?  That's the question Howard County's Council will be weighing Monday evening when it takes up the question of honey bees.

Alex DeMetrick reports the buzz is over a vote.

In summer, a honey bee hive can number in the thousands.  Those numbers and activity drop in winter.  One thing that doesn't vary in Howard County is where hives can be placed.  Zoning rules require 200 feet between a bee hive and a home.  A vote could reduce that to 25 feet from adjoining property or 10 feet, if a six-foot fence is installed.

Janice Asato is lucky to have a big backyard near Mount Airy.  To keep bees, you need one...but current zoning laws demanding a lot of space around bees could soon change.

"I wholeheartedly support it," Asato said.  "We've been working with the council for three years to determine a law that was friendly to beekeepers and non-beekeepers."

There are 85 backyard beekeepers in Howard County.  Those supporting a change in the zoning laws do not expect a land rush of new keepers.  Tending a hive takes work.  As for the risk of being stung, keepers say yellow jackets are the real culprit, not honey bees.

"European honey bees are very gentle.  They are vegetarians," Asato said.

Beekeeping as a hobby has grown in recent years.  Statewide, Marylanders care for more than 11,000 honey bee colonies.