Rotten Hive

[froggy]

Hi, I have been offered a Bee Hive and Bees. The National is very rotten , two holes in the side, 2" in diameter and brood box crumbling ! the Bees seem ok ! my question is how do I transport the Bees as the Hive is too rotten and it would not stand moving or transporting. There must be a way of saving these poor Bees .Iam hoping there is a way of transporting the Bees to my home 40 miles away . Here"s hoping ! any advice great fully received Terry.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Transfer them into another hive, then move them.

 

[deanrpwaacs]

If its that bad then purchase a new hive and transfer the frames into it . When you say the bees seem ok have you fully inspected them . If there are holes in the sides they have probably been got at by wasps .

 

[froggy]

is it ok to transfer during the day or should I wait until late evening ?

 

[deanrpwaacs]

I would do it late then wait an hour for them to finish going in . Keeping the new box in the original position and get the old box well out of the way .

 

[Davelin]

You can transfer them in the day.
Move the old box to one side (if it can move without falling apart)
Put the new box on the old site and move the frames across. They will find the way back in.

To move them back home you will need to wait until they have stopped flying to shut them up, i.e. late evening

 

[Thymallus]

Whilst evening is fine, I find it more reassuring to move early morning before they start flying (which isn't that early these days). Working into the light gives you plenty of time to sort out any mishaps that might occur, also easier to see where you are going when carrying hives. If summat goes wrong at night it's a torch job to sort out.

 

[froggy]

cheers

 

[Russel]

As the hive is in such poor condition, are the frames the same?
Take empty frames, elastic bands etc, you may have to traet as a "cut out"

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

is it ok to transfer during the day or should I wait until late evening ?

You can transfer the bees into the new hive at any time - in fact it would be better in the day as a lot of bees would be out flying and not getting in your way. Once you have finished the transfer leave the new hive in the exact location of the old one (first getting rid of the old pile of firewood ) for the bees to settle.
I'm assuming that having a forty mile trip you want to do everything in one day so my advice would be
1. Transfer bees to new hive mid-dayish,after they have been put in their new hive, strap up the whole hive ready to be moved (entrance still open at this point so bees will be flying as normal) at this time of year, as long as you have an open mesh floor, this should be sufficient ventilation for a forty mile journey, leave them settle
2. In the evening, when the bees have stopped flying, close up the entrance and finish securing the hive for transportation and you can then take them away.
3. Orientate the hive in the car with the frames running 'fore and aft' i.e. with the lugs pointing towards the front and the back of the car.
4. as a 'Just in case' drape an old net curtain over the hive in case you have the odd escapee - drive in your bee suit with the veil off so you can quickly make yourself 'bee proof' if the worst happens.
5. When at your destination, put the hive in it's new location and open the entrance, the next day they should re-orientate themselves and when they have settled you can remove all the straps etc.

Of course, this is all dependent on the frames in the old hive being intact enough to facilitate the transfer, otherwise we are talking Bailey change or similar

 

[Erichalfbee]

Exactly what I would do but I would add a travel screen

 

[Beanwood]

Hi, I have been offered a Bee Hive and Bees. The National is very rotten , two holes in the side, 2" in diameter and brood box crumbling ! the Bees seem ok ! my question is how do I transport the Bees as the Hive is too rotten and it would not stand moving or transporting. There must be a way of saving these poor Bees .Iam hoping there is a way of transporting the Bees to my home 40 miles away . Here"s hoping ! any advice great fully received Terry.

Some good advice on here already. I would second the bee suit in the car though - I once had a 5 frame nuc overturn - it's a whole new sort of exciting seeing bees appear in the rear view mirror whilst doing 60mph

Do you want some assistance/second opinion on the actual bees/frames etc? If so, where are they located? For example I'm South Glos BS37, and happy to help if they're not too far away.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

well done - that's a real noble offer!

 

[froggy]

I am Dymock, maybe too far away? thanks for the offer. Terry.

 

[Beanwood]

I am Dymock, maybe too far away? thanks for the offer. Terry.

No problem - I had realised you were Dymock, but you didn't mention where the bees are located. I'm 40 miles south of you - so if they were also south, I may not have been far from them.

 

[froggy]

The Bees are located in Newent, if that is ok?

 

[Beanwood]

The Bees are located in Newent, if that is ok?

I see the problem! You said in post 1, the bees were 40 miles away, but they are in fact 4 miles.
Bit too far for me I'm afraid.

 

[froggy]

that"s ok , thanks for the kind offer . Terry.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

and if you've only got four miles to move them, then a trvel screen is not really necessary as long as you have a mesh floor

 

[froggy]

I am going to move them to my family business, which is 40 miles away, my fault for the confusion. Terry.