Hi kathyp,
I am in Gainesville, FL. The bees are much closer to my horses, goats, chickens, etc. then they are to her horses and they never bother my animals (though they aren't interested in my water bins like they are her's, but I think that's the automatic waterer). I think it's definitely an over reaction, but I am trying to keep the peace too! She has always been a good neighbor to me, even saved my goat herd from a pit bull attack a few weeks back... That being said I think she did some reading on-line and that's probably fueled the fire, i.e. a lot of people give commentary to things they fear/don't understand on-line... If I could get her to just understand that if she cuts the automatic waterer it would drive them elsewhere, but she only cut it for a few days (the bees left!) and then turned it on again :( A few days won't help get my bees re-trained, lol...
Thanks,
Allison