Moving

[AndersMNelson]

Can someone give me some advice on moving my hive please?  We're moving about a half-mile away.  Is moving in winter a good idea?  What about the bees' memory of the old location?  How  do I stop them from going back?

[pembroke]

I'm not an expert but if I was going to do what you want, I'd move at dark or very early morning and put some grass clippings  and small brush in front of entrance for a few days until they got used to new home place. I'm sure there are more knowledgeable beekeepers that will have better answer. hope this works for you.

[Michael Bush]

It's better if it's only a hundres yards or so or more than two miles.  A half a mile is about the worst distance to move them.

I usually don't recommend this, but at a half a mile the BEST thing would be to move them more than two miles away for a week or so and THEN move them to the new place.

I always use a branch in front of the hive to trigger reorientation.  Actually shaking the bees up pretty well seems to also set it off to some extant.  If the weather is cool, there is plenty of ventilation and you have a way to feed syrup, water and pollen, you can close them up for 72 hours and they will reoirent after that.  But confining a strong hive for 72 hours is pretty problematic.  If you lack ventilation, food or water you can damage them a lot.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmoving.htm

[Mici]

i wanted to ask this branch thing before, now is the best oportunity. so what you do, is to put a branch (a branch from a tree, right?) right in front of the entrance? that's all what it takes???

[AndersMNelson]

I understand, but does anyone know if there's something else I can do other than moving them away for a week?  What about moving them during winter?  Wouldn't the bees' dormancy make this easy and effective?

[Brian D. Bray]

Moving during cold in the winter will cause the bees to reorientate on those times when the tempreature is warm enough to allow the bees to excercise or do house cleaning (above 45 F).

[Michael Bush]

>i wanted to ask this branch thing before, now is the best oportunity. so what you do, is to put a branch (a branch from a tree, right?) right in front of the entrance? that's all what it takes???

It will help more of them to reorient.  Some will still go back to the old location, but if they reorient they usually quickly figure out where the hive moved to.  If they don't reorient, they never seem to remember.

>I understand, but does anyone know if there's something else I can do other than moving them away for a week? What about moving them during winter? Wouldn't the bees' dormancy make this easy and effective?

Anytime they have been confined, whether from cold or from closing them up, for more then 72 hours they will reorient.  So yes they will reorient.  The problem is moving them when they are cold without knocking bees to the bottom board that are too lethargic to move back up.  If you can move them gently enough, it could work great.  If not, it might not work so great.  How cold it is is also going to have an effect.  If you do it when it's 40 F out it will work better than if you do it when it's -20 F.

[Robo]

I understand, but does anyone know if there's something else I can do other than moving them away for a week?  What about moving them during winter?  Wouldn't the bees' dormancy make this easy and effective?

I have succesfully moved bees short distances during the winter.   Just make sure you wait long enough to avoid any late indian summer days. If you can wait until there is snow on the ground, all the better.

[AndersMNelson]

I would say in January it gets down to 20F, possibly in the 'teens.  However, this is rare during the day...

Thanks for the help.