Reed took up beekeeping as a hobby in 2013, after taking over a hive that had been gifted to her husband for his birthday. As of 2022, she maintains over 320,000 bees across her hives. Reed is a media commentator on beekeeping and the decline of the UK bee population. In a 2018 article for
The Times newspaper, she attributed the decline in bee numbers to a loss of wildflowers resulting from urban sprawl and the use of bee-killing
neonicotinoid pesticides. She also expressed support for legal action against the UK Government to suspend its use of
thiamethoxam, a pesticide used on
sugar beet crops that is thought to kill bees. Reed has also attributed the decline in bee numbers to the
varroa mite, following its spread to the UK in 2003. She recommends
organic produce over mass agricultural produce that relies heavily on bee-killing pesticides, and encourages households to increase the bee population by planting bee-friendly wildflowers, letting lawns grow, providing
bee hotels, and
hanging baskets. She adopts the beekeeping technique advocated by Bill Anderson of
The Idler, which involves collecting only small quantities of honey during periods of surplus. == Philanthropy ==