Transporting a hive

[BernardBlack]

Just wondering about any do's and dont's when transporting a hive via road.

I get the gist of things: night time, seal entrance, staple hive, wear bee suit in vehicle, prepare site beforehand etc. Just wondered if there's any tips you mightn't necessarily think of when transporting.

 

[madasafish]

I use gaffer tape applied vertically over top and floor to keep hive together.(Hive straps would do).
Mount floor on two wooden blocks/strips to give air space for cooling etc.
Position hive so frames run front to rear of car - to minimise frame rock.
Spray mesh holes at top and bottom with water before you start.
Bungee straps to floor retaining brackets (Honda Jazz has those) to retain hive.
Cover on floor of car/van/whatever to collect debris through OMF - which should be open for cooling.

err that's it for this time in am..

 

[Beefriendly]

Ventilation.....depends how far you moving it. Open mesh floors are okay for short distances, but for long trips (say 40 miles or more) you might think about travel screens, particularly if using poly hives.

 

[alfazer]

If I use my trailer I drop the tyre pressures right down so they are quite soft because my springs are stiff and the roads are bumpy.
I dont do this if the hive is in the car. Its suspension is more compliant.

I don't get too fussy about frame direction. The frames are all packed tight and there's propolis binding them too.

 

[Millet]

I have moved hives a few times and this is what i do.
I screw the floor to the brood box with little brackets, pin some varroa mesh over the feed hole in the crown board and ratchet strap the crown board to the brood box before placing the lid back on over the ratchet strap, at night time pin another piece of varroa mesh over the entrance, on the day of the move remove the roof and place the hive in the car on some chocks of wood for air flow underneath(((( before you put the hive in the car DO NOT forget to check the open mesh floor)))) as it could have a fair few bees underneath that where left out over night, and that's it really easy peazy .

 

[madasafish]

I use gaffer tape applied vertically over top and floor to keep hive together.(Hive straps would do).
Mount floor on two wooden blocks/strips to give air space for cooling etc.
Position hive so frames run front to rear of car - to minimise frame rock.
Spray mesh holes at top and bottom with water before you start.
Bungee straps to floor retaining brackets (Honda Jazz has those) to retain hive.
Cover on floor of car/van/whatever to collect debris through OMF - which should be open for cooling.

err that's it for this time in am..

Just moved one this am on double brood for a lady. Distance 7 miles to her allotment: then moved bees into a new Maisie's poly hive.
Started at 9:30am arriving at apiary from which bees sold. Collected and installed in new hive in under 90 minutes..(Wheelbarrow job up and down some steep slopes).. Piece of cake...

 

[MartinL]

Just remember the greatest force the cargo will receive is braking/sudden stops!

Before securing it, ensure it is tight against something stopping it from moving forwards.

Then just strap down and tighten against the solid brace you have put it against, (although a central position in the car is probably best), back of rear seats in an estate/hatchback if the car is full.

 

[Heather]

Notice on rear window.. 'Live bees in transit'.. keeps the white van man at a distance and less chances of cutting in and causing heavy braking.

 

[Teemore]

I moved two Nucs yesterday to unite them with Q- colonies. Not a complex process or one that should be overthought but I accept that it is daunting the first time you transport bees.
Nuc 1, Home apiary. Entrance closed with a piece of foam rubber pressed into the entrance with my hive tool. Feeder removed and piece of slate slid over the feed hole in one move. Time: 10:00am. Strap placed around nuc, running over the piece of slate and Nuc carried to car. No bee suit needed. Drive to out apiary - no bee suit. Nuc 2, out apiary, a simple process of flipping over a piece of floor mesh that is screwed to the nuc box and allows you to close the bees in but also gives a little ventilation. Strap around the nuc. This was done right before I lifted the Nuc and carried it to the car. Time: 11:00am. Bee suit and gloves on as i needed to take a quick look into another stock of bees. Before the nucs were set into the car, I lifted them up to check for "loose bees". The second nuc had five or six and they were brushed off before the nuc went into the car.
Both nucs have spring clips holding the floor and box together. With a strap around them, they are only going to come apart in a catastrophic event....
If you are concerned that your hive isnt secure or that there are a few loose bees clinging to your hive, wrap it in an old bed sheet. I have a few in one of my storage cupboards for this purpose but they tend to get more use from people collecting nucs from me than from me directly.
With regard to ventilation, if you have a long car journey to make, make sure the bees are well ventilated and its probably not a good idea to crank the heat up to full in the car. All my nucs have mesh vents in the floors and my full hives have mesh floors and so they are ok for the distances I expect to move them.
If you spot bees flying in the car when you are driving, just put the car windows down - air flow will tend to push the bees to the back of the car. I would be concerned that if you wear your veil you will be at greater risk of failing to see a road hazard than being at risk of being stung by one of the bees in transit. Above all, keep calm and carry on!
PS - should have added that it is my practice to align hives so that the frames run in the direction of travel - even though frames may be propolised together, this orientation reduces "swing" when moving the hive.

 

[Heather]

Yep, only problem I ever had.. moved a hive as a favour for someone else. All ready to go as I arrived. BUT I didnt check under the OMF as presumed all ok.
On A23, suddenly seemed to have lots of bees on the back window, and had to waft a few out of my side window as they flew past my nose!

So do check what may have gathered overnight from late foragers if you have blocked them in early eve. Can be unnerving to a new beekeeper when in busy traffic to have bees land on you. .

 

[Clemcook]

I use a price of long foam to stick in the entrance and then gaffer the whole thing really well, some tips as a novice :

Be FAST the guard bees are ridiculously quick at alerting the hive and if you not careful they pour out and you've had it.

I had to carry them quite far so hired a sack trolly

Stragglers follow the hive, when I came down in the morning there were bees around the hive which follow you! I ended up leaving the hive a distance from the original spot for a while then came back and most had gone

Also bare in mind I was moving my hives from a terrace garden to the car, didn't really want to be strutting about in my suit in the time of total angst for all the neighbors to enjoy!... With my trolly!!