Fortunately honey is one thing people like to pay more for and buy local. Might be in a drive out to the country, a flea market, from a local beekeeper, what have you. I used to have hives but am afraid to have them here due to lawn mowing equipment setting them off. How do your bees react to gasoline powered engines?
LOL. Yes, I got a little too close to one hive last week and got tagged on the side of my head, but just twice. No big deal. I was being mindful of how close I was to the hive and had the exhaust side of the mower away from the hive but then the mower was a 36” hydraulic walk-behind so it is a noisy machine and I’m sure the vibrations upset the girls. I have learned the girls get a bit finicky after rain storms (would love to have one here).
Actually, this was a hived that had swarmed about 2 months ago so it was a queen the girls raised themselves through supercedure. They tend to be a bit nastier in their behavior. If I were to re-queen this hive with a new Italian queen, the bees, generally speaking, would be more well behaved.
If you were to install hives again, how close to the hive(s)would you have to mow? Would they be Italian bees? Using a weedeater could alleviate your problem and permit you to have hives again? Just keep the exhaust pointed away from the hive and maybe even use a veil while you mow up close. I hope you can get bees again.