Follow the City of Janesville Beekeeping Ordinance BEE-ING A City of Janesville Ordinance 6.12.130 regulates GOOD beekeeping on residential properties. The ordinance outlines requirements to NEIGHBOR minimize the potential for nuisance issues and promote good beekeeping practices. License. Beekeeping is allowed in our community, but requires a license. GOOD-NEIGHBOR Apply with the City's Clerk-Treasurer BEEKEEPING PRACTICES for a license. AND YOUR CITY O R D I N A N C E Fees. Your license requires an REQUIREMENTS initial $50 application fee, and after the first year there is an annual $25 license renewal fee. Example Beehive. A beehive is defined Number of Hives. You may have up to as any man-made, enclosed structure created to house and accommodate two colonies of honey bees on any honey bees. residential lot that contains a single- family or two-family residential dwelling. One additional colony per acre is allowed for properties one acre or larger. Signage. You must have a sign in the front of your property that indicates QUESTIONS? the presence of the beehive. Notify Your Neighbors. All neighbors CONTACT within 150 feet of your beehive must be City of Janesville notified beforehand using a form 18 N. Jackson St. provided by the City Clerk-Treasurer. Janesville, WI 53547 Licensing: (608) 755-3000 Compliance: (608) 755-3065 www.ci.janesville.wi.us Beehive Placement and Types Share with your Neighbors Provide Adequate Water S o u r c e s Location. Place your beehives in your Honey Bees are Docile. You can backyard no closer than 10 feet from alleviate fears by educating your Water. You are required to maintain a your property line. Entrances must neighbors of the docile nature of constant water supply for bees on your face away from adjacent neighbor lot honey bees and the benefits of having property. lines. Consider placing your honey bees in the neighborhood as Common water sources include hive behind a garden shed, hedge, or pollinators. People often refer to more birdbaths or chicken waterers. fence to minimize human interaction. aggressive wasps and hornets as Sensitive Sites. Beehives cannot be "bees," so it is helpful to explain the A Few Best Practices placed within 150 feet of any property difference. designated as a "sensitive site." (ex. Safety First. Find out if any neighbors Consider Time of Day. Sunny days, school or daycare) have serious allergies to bee stings 10am-3pm, when most of the field Flyway Barriers. A flyway barrier (ex. and be sensitive to their needs. bees are foraging, is an excellent fence or hedge) six feet tall must be Encourage children to wear shoes time to examine your hives. constructed along any part of a around your beehive and blooming Weather. Avoid working your bees property line within 20 feet of a plants in your lawn. when there is threatening or beehive. Flyway barriers raise the Bee Swarms are Harmless. Discuss inclement weather. flight path of bees leaving the bee swarm behavior; so neighbors Timing and Neighbor Activities. beehive, limiting their interactions with understand that swarms may be cast Respect your neighbors and DON’T nearby residents. from your hive and that they should work on your hives when neighbors Hive Types. Honey bees must be not be alarmed, but should inform you have activities going on in their yard. maintained in beehives with removable if they see a swarm or swarm cluster. Create a Bee Friendly Yard. Plant combs. Langstroth and top bar are Communicate about Pesticides. Have flowering plants throughout your acceptable. neighbors notify you if they plan on yard to provide more food resources pesticide applications. honey bees and native bees. Example Beekeeping Site Plan Invite Participation. If they are Minimize Robbing Behavior. Ensure

Flyway barrier (6ft) interested, invite them over for a no empty beehives or other materials Water source Beehive#1 colony inspection. that might encourage robbing are left Beehive#2 Share the Bounty! The best way to on the property. win your neighbors over is to share Disposal. All beekeeping materials some of the honey you produce. should promptly be disposed of in a sealed container or placed within a building or other bee-proof enclosure.