# Time to move KTBs



## StevesBees602 (Mar 8, 2015)

History: 2-4' KTBs with 1/8" screen bottom + 1/4" screened hinged bottom boxes roughly 6" x 4", slide in oiled flashing metal for mites, external 4 gallon rectangular feeder pails with divider so bees can't get to loading side. Hived in Spring. Made it through a mass robbing time by reducing openings & 1/4" screen 'tubes' around openings. Hives are now 3/4 full & calm.
My question is when should I move them 40'? I found a blocked drain tile under the hives & I don't think my back hoe is rated bee friendly.
I can wait till next year but would prefer to move them to a permanent location at first frost.
So should I wait till Wisconsin Zone 5 winter has fallen? 
I plan on insulating & venting the hives in November.
All the posts I've read state small moves or large moves but Never 40'.
Thanks for the help.


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

Just move them, do it at night and heavily branch the entrance. If you're really worried move them several feet at a time over a few days. 
There will be some near where hives previously were, but they should find home rather quickly since it is nearby. If the hives are just a little farther away in line with their normal approach it shouldn't thrown them off too bad.


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## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

You have two options. 
1) move them 3 feet a day
2) cover entrances, move hives, leave closed up for 3 days, branch up the entrances, and then let them out so the bees can re-orient. There is a video on youtube where a man did this. It's not my idea but it seemed to work fine.


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## StevesBees602 (Mar 8, 2015)

I've heard / read of making an entrance 'maze' or flight divert-er so they have a new flight path by placing a board inches away from the entrance. But knowledge without experience is just wishful dreaming.


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## Life is Good! (Feb 22, 2013)

I moved my hive across my acreage - about 100' from first location. Installed end of April 2011 during a flood, so their apiary site was literally under water! But their tbh would have been out of the water if I had had it placed already (it was still in the barn). By end of May the floodwaters had receeded, so I could place the hives in their permanent locations. 

I moved the hive on a drizzly night so there was less chance of leaving anyone behind. But the foragers forgot to orient as they left in the morning rush! So later that first day, I found a group balled together on a fencepost near where their hive had been. It was a simple matter to go out at dusk, scoop them into a container, and pour them back into my tbh.

I used a flat sided scoop we use for chicken feed and a piece of wire mesh rubber-banded over the top so no one was blown out while I walked to new location. The only part which was tricky was trying to open the hive with just one hand! A second person suited up would have been helpful, but I did it on my own.

This continued for about 3 nights before all the foragers seemed to have figured it out. Then no one was left behind again. 

Hope this helps you!


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## brunothefinn (Jun 16, 2014)

Just move them and place a branch in their flight path for a few days. Don't worry about nothing. 
Love Bruce


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I move hives 40 feet or 100 yards any time they need to be moved...

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


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## StevesBees602 (Mar 8, 2015)

Thanks for the replies. I had images floating in my dreams of bees swarming to the open drain tile! Maybe a future 'B' movie?
May all your neighbors be like good dogs ... without the rolling in stinky stuff part.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

When you move a hive and don't do anything to cause them to reorient, they will fly out the door off to the fields and return on autopilot to the old place. If they did not reorient, they have to spiral outward until they find a hive and by then they usually just move in to whatever hive they find. When you move a hive and put a branch or something to obstruct their path in front of the entrance, they fly into that, circle around it and then circle the hive to get their bearings. Then they fly out to the field, return to the old place on autopilot, circle a little until they remember "oh yeah, that branch was in front of the hive, and the hive is over there" and they fly to the new location. Any way about it the day after the move will be somewhat chaotic. Two days after some of the bees will still be confused. If you forced them to reorient then the confusion will be over, but the old field bees will still fly back to the old hive location and then make a turn and go to the new location... in three weeks all those bees will be dead...


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

aunt betty said:


> You have two options.
> 1) move them 3 feet a day
> 2) cover entrances, move hives, leave closed up for 3 days, branch up the entrances, and then let them out so the bees can re-orient. There is a video on youtube where a man did this. It's not my idea but it seemed to work fine.


Closing a hive up for three days is a terrible option and entirely unnecessary. Best result would be that the hive would react the same way as if you'd have just put a branch in front of it and never closed them up. Worst result is a cooked hive. Putting a branch in front of a hive has never cooked one...

Way way way too much "close up the hive" ideas floating around on beesource for new folks to read, take as gospel, and then post on here when 75% of their bees are dead in a big pile four days later. The only way a hive should be closed up is with ample ventilation and the only time that is necessary is for a long move (like on the road).


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Closing up a hive for three days in cool weather is very stressful for the bees. Closing up a hive for three days in hot weather is death for the bees. I try never to close them up at all. Pretty much moving and robbing are my only reasons and then it's never for more than a few hours.


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## my2cents (Jul 9, 2015)

I moved a hive late last night. I attempted to set it in place and the bees were not co-operative. Not being able to see well in the dark, I left them on the trailer over night. I did park the trailer about 6 feet from where I was placing the hive. I went out this morning, around 9 AM and moved the hive off the trailer to the location about 6 feet away. The returning bees were a little dis orientated, but a I watched, they found their hive.
My2Cents


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## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

By "closing" I did not mean to nail a board over the entrances. Use a window screen. 

If we are going to get rid of all the newbs making comments start on me please.
Beware because once you start the weeding process there will only be two or three experts left on here talking to themselves.

35 years ago I moved two hives 5-10 feet a day (on a cart) to get them moved about 250 yards. It was a task and I don't think I'll ever do it that way again. It was hard on the bees and me too.


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## ChuckReburn (Dec 17, 2013)

Closed up with windowscreen in hot weather will kill them just as dead as tape or a board. They will jam pile and choke the entrance, over heat and pile up like cord wood. Over heated dead bees have a distinctive smell.


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## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

ChuckReburn said:


> Closed up with windowscreen in hot weather will kill them just as dead as tape or a board. They will jam pile and choke the entrance, over heat and pile up like cord wood. Over heated dead bees have a distinctive smell.


I think you are absolutely right but this video does not. If you want to argue about it lets take it private please. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxZ4uEgRRZg


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>By "closing" I did not mean to nail a board over the entrances. Use a window screen. 

So did I. I wouldn't close them for a few minutes with solid boards...


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