How To Safely Transport And Relocate Your Hives

Transporting hives with Bees is definitely a daunting task that should be handled very carefully. Everything should be well planned to lessen the disruption to the bees. Pollination is a reason of transporting hives. But, there are many other reasons like moving your house, repositioning the bees in cold weather, etc. So, transporting hives with bees is required at some point. Here is a small guide to safely transport and relocate your hives.

Follow the below steps and you can do the task of hives relocating with ease.

Prepare the Hives

The first step in safe transporting the hives is to prepare it for the movement. Some foragers may be in the field during day time. So, night is the best time for that. Cover the entrance of the hive with a hard cloth. Ensure it fits properly in the entrance. Next, check for any other gap and then staple it by screen or duct tape. If you are transporting the hives during hot weather, it is best to replace the inner cover with a screen for better ventilation. Also, you can leave the outer cover off for a long trip.

Move the Hives

The next step is to move the hives, which is the most stressful one. Smoke the bees before starting the journey as it will help them keep calm. Once the hives are properly sealed, get to the road as soon as possible. Remember, the bees become self-protective at night time. So, extra care is needed for the movement. It is best to have one more person along with you to make the whole thing smoother.

Relocation of the Hives

If you move or relocate the hives a very shorter distance less than 2 miles, there is a possibility that the bees will come back to the old place. But, if the distance is more than 2 miles, they will adjust somehow. Also, some foragers may fly in the field only in confusion. So, you should help the bees in reorienting to their new location. There are few tricks for so. The tricks are listed below. You can use any of them.

·       Sequestration: Keep the screen at a place for almost 72 hours. This will automatically help the bees to reorient on their own.

·       The best time to move the hives is rainy weather and winter season. These are the times when bees don’t fly.

·       Keep an object in front of the entrance. This trick will work great as the bees need to crawl through the object as they leave the hives.

Useful Tips for Hives and Bees Relocation:

·       Avoid relocating bees during the mid of the day. Early morning and evening is the best time for that.

·       Also, avoid transporting the hives during hot weather. Cold weather or rainy season is the best time for this. Because this is the season when bees generally don’t fly.

·       The bees will get thirsty after a long journey. So, spray a mist of water in front of the entrance before opening it.

·       Finally, when you install the hive in a new location, keep the hives a bit tilted to the front. This will drain out water if any was there.