Harlingen, TX Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)
Key Facts
- Backyard hives
- Prohibited citywide
- Legal basis
- Declared a nuisance
- Exception
- Enclosed shipping/exhibit bees only
- Max fine
- $500 per violation
Summary
Harlingen outlaws keeping bees or running an apiary anywhere inside city limits, treating any hive as a declared nuisance.
The keeping of bees or the operating of an apiary within the city limits is hereby declared a nuisance and is hereby prohibited and made unlawful. Any person who causes, suffers, or permits the keeping of bees or the operating of an apiary within the city limits shall be deemed guilty of an offense.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4546847; v3 updated 2025-07-16).
Full Breakdown
City Code § 6-2 declares the keeping of bees or operating an apiary within Harlingen city limits a nuisance and makes it unlawful outright, there's no residential-zone carve-out or hive-count threshold like many cities use. Anyone who causes, suffers, or permits bees kept or an apiary operated in city limits is guilty of an offense. The only exception covers bees confined in cases, bottles, boxes, or similar enclosures for shipping, exhibition, or demonstration purposes, not live backyard hives.
Violations & Fines
Violating § 6-2 is a Code offense; the Chapter 1 general penalty (§ 1-7) caps fines at $500 per violation, and each day a hive remains can be charged separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep a beehive in my Harlingen backyard?
Is there any exception to Harlingen's bee ban?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Harlingen
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Harlingen to another location·View the Texas animal ordinances overview
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Beekeeping in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle beekeeping.