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In adherence to California State regulation (FAC 29040-29056), if you are keeping honey bees in any part of San Diego County, it is required that you register the location of all apiaries as well as the number of hives with the San Diego Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures.
Ideally, beehives should be located on firm dry land with good drainage nearby a fresh water source. Level the hive so that the front of the hive is slightly lower than the back, so that any rainwater drains out of the hive.
American foulbrood is a highly contagious bacterial disease which can kill entire colonies of bees. It is caused by Paenibacillus larvae ssp. larvae, a pathogen that infects the mid-gut of honey bee larvae (Sammataro and Avitabile, 2011).
Honey bees are known to defend their colonies by stinging anyone or anything that may threaten their safety and their resources (honey and young bees). A foraging bee, a bee flying from flower to flower, is not a threat.
To reduce the safety risks while promoting beekeeping, the beekeeping ordinance in San Diego County requires beehives to be placed further away from areas that people or animals frequent.
Beekeeping in San Diego County is an outreach and education program developed by the University of California Cooperative Extension San Diego, working in collaboration with University scientists and educators; the San Diego County Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures; the San Diego Beekee...
Research Outreach Education Beekeeping/Beekeeper Forms E.L. Nio Bee Lab, University of California, Davis Nieh Lab, University of California, San Diego Other University bee and beekeeping research and education programs: Bee Health -eXtension.
