# Moving my hive across the backyard . . .



## Joe Hillmann (Apr 27, 2015)

Wait until night. Move them to where you want them then put some leafy branches in the way of the entrance but not blocking it so much they can't get in and out. The branch in their way will cause them to reorient when they leave the hive. After a day or so you can remove the branch.


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## waynesgarden (Jan 3, 2009)

Acarter said:


> I know it's supposed to move only three feet a day,


I've long-ago given up on doing what I'm "supposed" to do. These rules are written by those convinced their way is the only correct way.

Move it once. Move it as the sun is setting when almost all the foragers are in. As Joe mentioned, putting a leafy branch in front of the entrance forces them to reorient Some may return to the old spot but they should circle around your yard and eventually find there way home.

Don't do it in the dark. They do crawl out and all over you until they find skin. And should you happen to dump them in the dark, cleaning up the mess will be far harder than in the light of day.

Wayne


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## jkard883 (Sep 17, 2014)

I just did something similar. Moved a hive about 15 feet to a better location. Here is what my process was

*STEPS*

 Around 11 PM, blocked entrance to hive with a piece of foam
 Moved hive to new location
 Removed foam to open the entrance 
 Put entrance reducer in (reduced to smallest opening)
 Covered over (not blocked) entrance with a bundle of bamboo shoots so bees had to crawl through to get out
 Put a Nuc at the old location with several frames in it
 Waited 5 days and removed bamboo from entrance

*PURPOSE OF THE NUC*
The purpose of the Nuc was to catch any bees that got confused and went to old location. Every night I would take the Nuc over to the new location, shake any bees in from the Nuc into the moved hive, then return the Nuc to the old location. 

Worked great and only orphaned about five to ten bees.


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

Does closing up a hive for a couple of days cause them to reorient when they emerge?


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## mountainmanbob (Jun 3, 2015)

Back in my old bee keeping days (just gotten back into bees) we would stuff a good amount of grass into the entrance. Seemed that by the time in which they removed the grass, most didn't realize that they had been moved ??
MM


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## Joe Hillmann (Apr 27, 2015)

Phoebee said:


> Does closing up a hive for a couple of days cause them to reorient when they emerge?



I don't have first hand experience if it works or not but I have read that doing it that way does work. But from what I read it takes a while. I think it said 72 hours gave the maximum benefit but 48 would do. To me that seems like a long time to keep a hive closed up though


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## Acarter (Aug 16, 2014)

Thanks, everyone. I'm in my first year, so don't have a nuc, but that sounds like a great idea. I can personally testify to the "don't do it in the dark" comment. I was covered with bees (it's hot here, and hundreds of bees were hanging out on the front of the hive even before I started), and got my first sting about 2:40 a.m. two days ago. I will spare you all the detailed description of turning the garden hose on myself in the driveway in an attempt to convince the little darlings to go elsewhere.


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## Arnie (Jan 30, 2014)

Keeping a hive closed up for 3 days in Texas in August might not be a great idea.

When I had my bees at the farm, back in the day, I had to close them up when the farmers sprayed the alfalfa. Usually overnight until the next afternoon, sometimes a full 24 hours. The bees were NOT happy when I let them out! I wouldn't do it in my backyard.

Move them, put a branch in front of hive, then be sure you put a catcher hive in the old location. Otherwise you will have lots of confused and irritated foragers roaming your yard looking for their old home. They won't like that and neither will your neighbors. At night dump the bees from the catcher hive into the new location. After a while they'll figure it out.

One thing to remember, you don't want confused ornery bees that close to your neighbors. If I were you I would move them a little at a time. Bees that have suddenly lost their home are not in the mood to play nice.


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

Arnie said:


> Move them, put a branch in front of hive, then be sure you put a catcher hive in the old location. Otherwise you will have lots of confused and irritated foragers roaming your yard looking for their old home. They won't like that and neither will your neighbors. At night dump the bees from the catcher hive into the new location. After a while they'll figure it out.
> 
> One thing to remember, you don't want confused ornery bees that close to your neighbors. If I were you I would move them a little at a time. Bees that have suddenly lost their home are not in the mood to play nice.


This is going to be a fun experiment at the end of the month. I moved a new nuc down to a neighbor's place a couple of weeks ago. Queens should have emerged last weekend or early this week. Presuming the survivor mates, I figured I'd move them back to my apiary for the fall. The neighbor is only half a mile away, so I expect foragers to go back to that location. But the old location is on top of an old 10-frame deep hive ... this neighbor used to keep bees.

Sounds like I ought to clean up around that old hive and see if it can still serve as a catcher hive. But it won't bother the neighbor ... he's thinking he might want to get back into beekeeping, particularly if I get lucky this winter and I have an extra nuc available next year.

His cat who likes to sleep on the nuc will probably miss it.


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## Agis Apiaries (Jul 22, 2014)

Phoebee said:


> Does closing up a hive for a couple of days cause them to reorient when they emerge?


I've heard that suggestion as well, and supposedly it will work, but it isn't necessary. We always just moved them and placed the obstruction as noted above for a couple of days, and never had a problem.


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## waynesgarden (Jan 3, 2009)

Yes, assuming they don't cook to death in the hive during their confinement, they will reorient upon leaving the hive, just as they would had they not been closed in and they emerged fresh and ready to forage the next morning.

Moved a nuc into a 10 frame hive in the bee yard 50 feet away the other evening. There were a handful of bees circling around the old location the next day and by evening all were gone.

I try to not make any of my bee-related processes more complicated and risky than necessary.

Wayne


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>I know it's supposed to move only three feet a day

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


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## jvalentour (Sep 4, 2014)

Acarter,
I have moved my hives several times. First and foremost, set up your destination location prior to hive transportation. Be a good scout and Be Prepared.
In the daytime I ratchet the hive tight so it will not come apart. Harbor Freight has cheap tie downs. At night I plug the entrance , put them in a truck and move them wherever. After I clear the entrance I put pine branches in front of the entrance. All my hives survived. M. Bush has a site that gives pretty good advise about moving. It's not a big deal. Three feet a day is not necessary.
What you shouldn't do:
Don't move a large have alone, get help to lift.
Don't move a hive without protection, a veil a least.
Don't move a hive bare foot.
Don't drink alcohol before moving a hive.

Good luck! Enjoy your bees.


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## MTN-Bees (Jan 27, 2014)

I've had good luck just by adding a robbing screen.


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