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I'm interested in beekeeping for a number of reasons, but my useful knowledge about beekeeping is close to nonexistent.

I'm a mostly retired teacher. I have a pretty decent amount of time on my hands, a small amount of money I can spend, a house with a back yard that's fenced in, and a lot of energy.

Does anyone know if it's possible for me to start keeping bees in my backyard? I live in a small town in Kentucky between Cincinnati, Ohio and Louisville, Kentucky. It feels absurd to think of keeping bees but I would love to? Does anyone know if there's a way to keep bees in backyards Kentucky?

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  • Where I live it is fairly easy to find beekeepers - for example some have flyers up at coffee shops asking if you would like a beehive in your yard. And I know of 2 or 3 at work. Ask around and likely you will find some mentors.
    – Jon Custer
    May 5, 2020 at 14:00
  • Thank you, Jon.
    – Jamie Watts
    May 6, 2020 at 13:14
  • Googling for "Kentucky beekeeping", "Kentucky beekeepers" seems to give the information you need. You might also try googling for beekeeping in your town or nearest city for sources of specific local advice. Good luck! More people need to keep bees.
    – ahron
    May 6, 2020 at 14:19

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I would like to challenge this question somewhat. As I cannot judge from your question how new you are to the beekeeping topic, this might not 100% apply, but I think it is important nonetheless:

--> I think the most relevant question to ask is not Am I allowed to keep bees (regardless of jurisdiction), but Am I prepared to really get into beekeeping. I know several beekeepers and have heard a fair number of stories from them.

According to my beekeeper friends there seems to be a quite common misconception among new beekeepers, that beekeeping is essentially no work and just collecting free honey once in a while. It is very important to realise, that this is not the case, and that there is a fair amount of work needed in caring for the bees, the equipment, etc.

It is also important to know, that if you do beekeeping wrongly, e.g. by not taking the needed care in preventing the spread of bee diseases and parasites, the actions of a careless beekeeper can actually be detrimental to the local bee population. The reason is because diseases and parasites can quickly spread to healthy bees in your surroundings, which will hurt these otherwise stable populations.

That being said, I know of multiple people who have picked up beekeeping as a hobby, and easily manage to do it along side their full time jobs.

--> The important thing is to go slowly, educate yourself, take informed decisions.

I'm sorry if that doesn't answer your question regarding legality - I think the question what am I getting into here is just as, if not more important, and you should be making an informed decision.

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  • I don't often downvote, but an experienced user explicitly not answering the question is a bit much, even in the context of making good points
    – Chris H
    May 5, 2020 at 12:43
  • Thank you, Chris. I was a little turned off by fgysin's answer, though I understand and read it. It's just not what I was I was asking.
    – Jamie Watts
    May 6, 2020 at 13:28
  • @JamieWatts fair enough, I realise this might not have been the information you are looking for. But this question will also be found and read by people who are generally interested in "can I keep bees in my backyard" (without the Kentucky aspect) - and I stand by my information being important for someone who is at the very beginning of getting into beekeeping (can't tell from your question if that is the case for you).
    – fgysin
    May 7, 2020 at 7:23
  • I have removed the legal aspect from the question as that is likely ot be off topic. The rest of the question is well answered by fgysin
    – Rory Alsop ♦
    May 7, 2020 at 19:29
  • @ChrisH I agree with the counterpoint in this answer. If someone asked “can I climb Everest in just my pants and socks?” you can guarantee an answer would say “yes, but you should not do this”.
    – Darren
    May 8, 2020 at 4:34

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