Disaster!!!!

[Gaztafari]

Hi, I have just heard from the houseowner where I keep my 2 hives that the hives and stand have fallen. Not too sure at the moment how or why, but he says the garden is full of Bees and the hives are entrance down into the grass! Has anyone any tips or advice as to how to go about rectifying this disaster. Obviously the first thing I will do is to try and reassemble them but if there are any pitfalls I need to be aware of I would be most grateful.

 

[E1M]

My advice?
Carefully.
I think I would reassemble the hives first and with a bit of luck some of the bees will stay with or on the frames.
If that is so I would hope that the others get a whiff of the Queen, if indeed she is still there, and rejoin her.
I suppose another idea would be to treat as a swarm.
I am sure somebody with far greater knowledge than me will advise you very shortly.
Bad luck but lets hope you can recover them.

 

[Gaztafari]

Cheers E1M...I am about to go round and survey the war zone!!!!! There doesn't seem a lot I can do other than reassemble and then assess.

 

[E1M]

And ask some friendly local beekeepers to help of course.
Are there any beekeepers nearby?

 

[SunnyRaes]

Do you have another spare hive you can build on the newly built stand (in the same place) so that the bees can move straight in? Might make it a bit easier - might not!

 

[flemage]

take some thing to repair / replace stand.

Put back together as best you can and leave alone till tomorrow.

I have had two hives blow over and helped another beek whose had hers knocked over by lawn mower.

Don’t panic, they will probably be fine.

 

[jackbee]

take some thing to repair / replace stand.

Put back together as best you can and leave alone till tomorrow.

I have had two hives blow over and helped another beek whose had hers knocked over by lawn mower.

Don’t panic, they will probably be fine.

got some spare breeze blocks or bricks as a temp measure?

shouldn't need spare hives if stands have collapsed

then assess stands to see what weak points were, could they have bee knocked over??

 

[REDWOOD]

Looks like a case of either the hive stand has sunk one side and the hive has toppled over or the hive stand has failed, get some pallets or car tyres to make a temporary stand. bees are quite resilient and will do their best in any situation to survive, approach the bees with caution as they will be a little annoyed, smoke them well and start with the floor and then brood box, careful not to crush any bees/queen. It's always a good idea to have a strap on them especially if in an area where vandalism is common

 

[tonybloke]

sorry to hear this.

 

[Poly Hive]

Stand them on the ground so the non flying bees can crawl back in.



PH

 

[Gaztafari]

Hi everyone....first of all thanks to everyone who replied to my distress call, it's nice to know there are plenty who care and it is much appreciated....Anyway, I got to the hives and it was, as I suspected, a problem with my (home made) stand...it had buckled just enough for the weight of the hives above to topple it. I tried to contact a couple of people from the Apiary but was unable to so I just togged up with an extra pair of jeans and then a sleeveless veil, then my all in one suit and got in there! I managed to acquire a nice, low table from a nearby joiners/antique/reclamation shop and set that in, then started to slowly lift away the box's. The floors were easy enough but the first brood box was propolised to the second brood box and as I was alone, I couldn't lift them both safely so I prised them apart and got myself out of the way for a while then returned to place the first box onto the new stand....I carried on doing this, place a box, walk away, another box, walk away, etc etc until I had completed both hives. Unfortunately I think a few bees met their demise as i was not patient enough in aligning the box's....there were a LOT of bees in the air and they were all trying to chew through my veils!!!!! and a few bees didn't get out of the way fast enough.....there were a lot of Bees congregating on the outside of the hives but apart from all that, it sort of looked OK when completed, .
Within about 20 mins....after a brew, I went to have a look and it all appeared remarkably calm. So, I will wait a couple of days until I go back to try and assess whether they are both Queen right....What an ordeal and one I don't want to go through again....in hindsight, I should have checked the stand more often, I painted with Linseed oil and Beeswax at the start of the season and it all seemed OK.
Having said that, nothing had broken, it just seemed to have moved a little, maybe sunk into the soil as 'Redwood' suggested, and that was just enough for the top weight to push it all over.
So, thanks again everyone for your encouragement and tips....I will try to upload a photo of the stand as it was on first sight.

 

[Gaztafari]

No, sorry, the link hasn't worked! No photo....

 

[Lindylou]

Fingers crossed then for when you go back in a few days.

 

[enrico]

This is a really good teaching thread or all new beekeepers though......the weight of a full brood and a couple full supers is tremendous! It is so easy for a leg to sink in the ground and it will all topple over. I use 3 foot by 4 foot slabs to stand my hives on, this even seems to foil the mole!!
It is also important to get the weight directly on to the legs so make sure the cross and length beams are on top of the legs and not just screwed into the side. This way the weight of the hive can't rip the screws out!
I am so pleased you seem to have recovered your bees, I am keeping my fingers crossed for your queens
E

 

[Swarm]

Nationals fit nicely on a pair of pot blocks side by side. If laid with cavities horizontal, you can strap around block and hive. They are a fairly decent height but some 3"x2" or 3"x3" blocks on top will leave a better working height. Set these blocks nice and level and there is no danger of them failing. Not that aesthetically displeasing either.

 

[Gaztafari]

Enrico....you are so right, the weight consideration is a thing I had overlooked and a good lesson for all, but particularly new beekeepers such as myself.!

 

[tonybloke]

Nationals fit nicely on a pair of pot blocks side by side. If laid with cavities horizontal, you can strap around block and hive. They are a fairly decent height but some 3"x2" or 3"x3" blocks on top will leave a better working height. Set these blocks nice and level and there is no danger of them failing. Not that aesthetically displeasing either.

like these

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=7092&stc=1&d=1344034924

 

[busybee53]

OP When you have checked them next time let us know if you managed to get the queens too.

PS Polyhive had a good point about putting the hives on the floor so the non-flying bees could crawl back in. Assume you did not see this till after using the table. Do you know if you lost many of those young bees?

 

[milkermel]

Well this has confirmed my thoughts in my new aipary I had thought about building/buying stands as this place is theirs and my forever home, however think I may stay with the blocks and slabs like I have always done.

Advice, keep calm, get smoke ready, and take something to bodge up stand. Atb.