Moving advice...

[Queens59]

OK - I may be premature - but we have our first ever 2nd viewing next week - so we may actually sell our house (after 2 years you may understand my scepticism)!!!

Never having had to move a full hive before - silly question time - If moving in daylight do I need travel screens or is an OMF enough I suspect we will move between 30-50 miles??

Also, we had no choice but to use a WBC this month - can I attach the boxes together, add floor and roof and move it minus the lifts or do I have to split into 2 nuc boxes and reunite when we get them wherever??

I wouldn't worry yet but FinL is doing my head in about how difficult 'I' am making the move by 'having such a difficult and stupid hobby'...and I basically want to shoot him down next time he starts!!!

 

[BeeJayBee]

Is this any help? http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5133

 

[OldMech]

I just moved two hives about 60 miles a week ago.. I cant tell you that I did it correctly, but all seems to be going well...
I waited until sunset when the bees were all back (I hope) and screened the entrance. I used a ratchet strap to tie the hives together, picked them up and slid them into my truck. I tied them down very well as attested to by the tires squalling when I nearly took out a big doe on the way back... but the hives held together fine... these were langstroth. medium brood boxes with honey supers in place.. I set them in place when we arrived home, but left the screens on until about 5:30 the next morning. I unscreened them and checked on them about two hours later.. the front of the hives was black with bees orienting... Temps the night of the move were about 65 Deg... I checked them today, a week after the move and they are doing splendidly..

 

[Gilberdyke John]

OK - I may be premature - but we have our first ever 2nd viewing next week - so we may actually sell our house (after 2 years you may understand my scepticism)!!!

Never having had to move a full hive before - silly question time - If moving in daylight do I need travel screens or is an OMF enough I suspect we will move between 30-50 miles??

Also, we had no choice but to use a WBC this month - can I attach the boxes together, add floor and roof and move it minus the lifts or do I have to split into 2 nuc boxes and reunite when we get them wherever??

I wouldn't worry yet but FinL is doing my head in about how difficult 'I' am making the move by 'having such a difficult and stupid hobby'...and I basically want to shoot him down next time he starts!!!

If you have an omf in your wbc
I would strip off the outer lifts and stuff the bee entrance slope with foam then strap the base floor, inners and crown board together. If you have bee escapes in the crown board make sure they are secure or fix gauze over the apertures.
If you have solid floor now is the time to make up a transport base with ventilation. A similar top instead of the crown board might be good if transporting inside a van.
A long journey will require hydration and put a light tight cover over the hive to avoid the bees clustering at the vents. Preferably ship with the frames aligned fore and aft and drive steadily, avoiding jerking, bumps and swerving where possible.
If you are shipping with supers on screw temporary slats of wood bridging the joints between the boxes or staple the boxes together as advised by Hooper

 

[Erichalfbee]

We moved the hives 200 odd miles in September last year.
In the day substitute the crown board with a travel screen.
Strap the hive up ( I used two straps perpendicular to each other)then put on the roof.
After they have stopped flying block up the entrance.....securely!
Husband had two boxes in his van whereas my two were in the car and some bees got out!)
If you don't do an inspection in the week up to the move your frames should be glued well enough together to avoid much movement in transit.
Move at night or early in the morning. We had to move the hives a few miles in the evening ready for a very early morning start.
Load into vehicle and take roof off.
If you are travelling far it's useful to have a water spray to give them the odd mist.
We made a custom hive carrier out of two looped ropes and two robust poles to use as carry handles and it worked well.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I basically want to shoot him down next time he starts!!!

Make sure you do it outside as removing blood stains prior to a viewing is hell. Try using expanding ammunition - better trauma effect, but If it's a head shot small calibre sub sonic upwards from under the chin will do as when it loses power it will just rattle around in the cranium and do a good job of destroying brain tissue.

Oops - sorry, just realised you were using a figure of speech

 

[Luminos]

lol JBM

 

[itma]

Shift them in the dark (or early morning), and with an OMF (& airflow space beneath) you shouldn't need a "travel screen".

Ensure all boxes are full of frames or dummy boards, so nothing can slide within the box.
An upside down (mesh) floor - with entrance block secured - makes a reasonable travel screen. (If you must.) Or even a swarm board with a mesh panel ...
Fit any travel screens, straps, etc and do all the preparation the DAY before. (Put the roof over the top until you set off!) Close up the entrance after dark (water mister to persuade any promenaders inside), and you are good to go.
I put a bit of tape round the box joins to prevent sliding or twisting apart (which would happen during loading/unloading if it was going to happen).


Like OldMech said, secure the hives in/to the vehicle - especially against braking! (Other accelerations should be entirely within the driver's control, but an emergency stop would be inadvertent.
Drive very gently, and round potholes and bumps.

Take your suit(s), and keep them within reach in the vehicle!


If you can, do any new site preparation before the bees arrive! Strimming, levelling, placing blocks aren't what you want to be worrying about.
Since the 3 foot rule will apply after you let them out, don't rush that part.
If they are in the shade, well aired and you can water spray them occasionally (even up through the OMF), they can be left shut in until you are ready to release them.

Prepare, practice even - and don't worry about it.

 

[Elaine]

We also use a large piece of net curtain round the hive - and taped shut. Probably not necessary - but makes us feel better Longest move of a hive we have done is 130 miles - we waited until the foragers had come home, blocked up the entrance and put them into the van - strapped down on to pallet and set off! Just don't try any rally driving! They were on OMF, and we didn't have any heating on in the van. The site had been pre-prepared, so just a case of putting the hives in place when we arrived. We opened the entrance to about 1 inch, and left them to it. When we checked first thing in the morning, they were out and exploring thier new environment.

 

[Luminos]

When I bought my 2 WBC's including bees last year, my friend transferred the frames into his Nationals for the transportation, and then back into the WBC boxes in situ.

 

[Queens59]

Make sure you do it outside as removing blood stains prior to a viewing is hell. Try using expanding ammunition - better trauma effect, but If it's a head shot small calibre sub sonic upwards from under the chin will do as when it loses power it will just rattle around in the cranium and do a good job of destroying brain tissue.

Oops - sorry, just realised you were using a figure of speech

Wanna bet??

Thanks all - all sounds far more do-able than I had considered - the only prob. being I won't be able to prepare the site in advance...unless the people we buy off are VERY understanding...

 

[itma]

... the only prob. being I won't be able to prepare the site in advance...unless the people we buy off are VERY understanding...

See if the magic word "bees" will work!
You might even be able to move the bees in BEFORE you move (which would make your own move much simpler).
But do at least exchange contracts before getting everything in gear!

If you are thinking of making a proper hard standing etc for the hives, yes, definitely defer that until after you have moved in. But you should be OK to establish temporary stands just in front of your final hive positions - so when everything is done, its just a simple 'backward' move - the least confusing to the bees. And if you were to do the groundwork in winter, you would get minimal 'assistance' from the bees, and they shouldn't bother about the slight repositioning.


And its a good point about putting WBC frames into a national box for the movement phase. Makes the colony much simpler to shift.