Long term hive moving projects

[the naked beekeeper]

Have any other beeks had to move their hives over a few weeks in painfully small steps?

My hives are currently in a small copse. They are situated on a slope and under a canopy of trees. Now I'm a little older and wiser, I have seen the error of my ways in where I've situated them. Working on a slope is painfully hard, especially as the ground is often wet and slippy all the time, also the hives get dripped on from the trees and I really do need the hives a lot closer to where I enter the copse. (I have to leg over some barbed wire) so I can get supers into my car easier. My initial glee at having got some bees has been seriously put in check by the practicality of checking them.

So, I'm currently in the process of moving my hives every couple of days, a few feet at a time, levelling out the ground as I go, sometimes leaning them against trees. It's a nightmare and bloody hard work!!! It's a wild copse, so there's as many obstacles as you can imagine.

Tell me I'm not the only one who's made this stupid mistake?

Beekeeping is a seriously steep learning curve and they're coming thick and fast this year.

 

[whizzwheels]

Moving hives

Have come to the same conclusion as yourself. I too put my new hive under the slight shade of a tree as the other option was to put it in direct sun light, which i thought would be too hot.
Went to inspect the hive a week ago with the possible option of adding a super to try and get some honey this year and found all the food reserves in the hive gone so had to feed them.
I've come to the decision that I will have to move the hive to a location in the garden with more sun for next year, but I'm thinking of moving it in one go over winter when the bees are all inside.

 

[Frisbee]

One of my hives swarmed earlier in the year, I picked them up still in my field, hanging from a low shrub, I hived them where they were as I had already had one attempt to get them in a nuc and they left as soon as they'd had chance to look around.......... anyway I am moving them slowly back towards the rest of the hives...........

As for siteing them under a tree, I thought that was a good idea, shelter etc. In my second year a branch fell off the tree and knocked a hive over, I was away at the time so when I got back all was lost, they are now under a hedge but away from the naughty tree.

Frisbee

 

[Gaz Fella]

you could try confuse-a-bee techniques and a bigger move: shut them in at night --- stuff the entrance with grass; move the hive to where you want it. put a nice big bushy pot plant [or a bit of cut off branch] in front of the entrance. By the time they have cleared the grass - hopefully a couple of days - and fly out straight into the bush they will {to be a bit anthromorphic about it} realise that summat is up! They are then more likely to do re-orientation flights to work out where their entrance is now. You may well lose a few to their original site, but the majority will stay ... especially the young bees which don't know their way about yet anyway. It is still early enough that you won't really have any winter bees, so losses should be made up. And its late enough that your honey crop is probably complete, so loss of some foragers will not significantly dent your takings.

 

[victor meldrew]

Get a cheap and cheerful warehouse ftuck , modify to suit your needs (simples)

John Wilkinson

 

[victor meldrew]

The wheels were liberated from an old golf trolley ( magic for soft springy turf ).

John Wilkinson

 

[Haughton Honey]

Why not move then all more than 3 miles away and then back to where you want them in time for winter after a few weeks?

 

[oliver90owner]

You will learn! it is a steep learning curve at the beginning and you realise after a while to give every little idea/change some serious consideration. I would have left them until the winter and moved them very gently during some very cold spell. Job done.

Regards, RAB

 

[hedgerow pete]

i have made bigger mistakes than that one so dont worry about it

 

[oliver90owner]

If I counted up all the things I have done wrong, or could have done better, with my bees - er well, I'd lose count!!

RAB

 

[the naked beekeeper]

Well, another lesson learnt today.

I moved the hive another 3 feet today. It has been nice here the last 2 days so I donned my suit and thought, it's only a little move, so I won't need smoke or gloves......bad move...I got stung multiple times on the hand. And the blighters followed me all the way to the car and wouldn't (excuse the pun) buzz off.
From now on, ANY procedure I do at all with the bees, I will pay them full reverence and always have a smoker handy and gloves on.

Finman's words were right...always have a smoker to hand. Rare are the bees that don't need them.

One more harsh lesson for me.
One more swollen set of hands.
The wife is non too happy!

 

[BKF Admin]

I feel for you,If I take a single sting to the hand I have no problem,but more than one and my knuckles disappear for 4 days.

I learned your lesson a while ago...

 

[the naked beekeeper]

Tell me about it.
We don't need heating or lighting tonight....my hands are enough!
And I know what you mean about the knuckles disappearing! Woah are my hands fat!

 

[MJBee]

I,ve just joined the "no knuckle" club I finally found a queen who has been eluding me for weeks, caged her with a crown of thorns and found I couldn't get the top off my marker pen with gloves on, removed one glove - instant double zap -ouch x 2
Mike

 

[the naked beekeeper]

Try ouch x11!

 

[JCBrum]

Try ouch x11!

Put your clothes on then, silly billy.

 

[the naked beekeeper]

I have well and truly learnt to never underestimate the bees!
I had a full suit on, but didn't use smoke or gloves.
Like I said, I will always use smoke now for any procedure.
My stupid fault.

 

[jezd]

took a single hard hit yesterday to the hand, never even saw the bee as I must have squashed it and it even got through leather gloves, really hurt, after 12 hours the right hand has swollen now - skin is very tight ggrrrrrrr

 

[JCBrum]

I have well and truly learnt to never underestimate the bees!
I had a full suit on, but didn't use smoke or gloves.
Like I said, I will always use smoke now for any procedure.

Are you going to change your name to " the fully suited-up and veiled beekeeper with added smoker"

... only kidding,

 

[DrNick]

took a single hard hit yesterday to the hand, never even saw the bee as I must have squashed it and it even got through leather gloves, really hurt, after 12 hours the right hand has swollen now - skin is very tight ggrrrrrrr

Just wondering what you are using to press the shutter button on the camera