Found a stat that claimed 80% of urban beekeeping hives fail in their first year

I was reading a local extension office report from Oregon State and saw that 80% of urban beekeeping hives fail within 12 months, mostly from mites and bad location choices. That feels high to me but I've only kept bees for two seasons in my backyard here in Portland. Anyone else see numbers like that or think the real issue is people not prepping enough before buying a hive?

2 comments

2 Comments

king.kevin12d ago

Wait, doesn't that 80% number include all the hobbyists who buy a hive on a whim in spring and then just leave it alone? I mean, I volunteer with a community garden apiary and we see a ton of people who get a hive as a gift or a cool project but never learn how to do a mite check or even find their queen. So the location thing is real but I also think it's more about people not realizing keeping bees is actual work, not just buying a box and hoping for honey. Maybe the extension office counts those as failures even if the hive would've been fine with basic care. Idk, it just feels like the real issue is education and commitment, not just bad luck with mites or a bad spot.

willow_ellis12d ago

Stick with what works and skip the guesswork. Ive had my own hives in SE Portland for about four years and the first season was rough because I put a hive too close to a busy sidewalk and the vibrations messed with them. Mites are a real pain too but honestly if you do a sugar roll every month starting in July you catch them early enough. The 80% number sounds about right from what Ive seen around here, but a lot of those failures come from people buying a nuc in April then going on vacation in May without anyone checking the brood. Location matters a ton too, like dont put them in a low spot where cold air settles or right under a tree that drops sticky sap. Its not about being an expert, its about doing the boring weekly checks and knowing when to treat for mites instead of hoping for the best. Start with healthy starter bees from a local breeder not a big box store and you cut that failure rate way down.