Moving Hives Across the Yard

[Rogerio]

I just moved my bees across the state and set them up in my back yard. Once I got the hives set up my lovely wife informed me that I had set them up precisely where she wanted to put her garden. So I'm going to have to move them a short distance. Can I just move them across the yard at night, or will they keep going back to where I first set the hives up?

Thanks,
Roger

[pgg]

Hey Roger,
Move them at night and after you get them where you want them put several leafy branches in front of the entrance. Not totally blocking it but enough so that when they come out in the morning they will notice that something is different and re-orient to the new location.
Or you can move them 3 feet every other day until you get them where you want them.
I've used the first several times with pretty good results.

Patrick

[timgoodin]

I started two packages in April real close to our deck and next to the garden. My wife asked me to move them so I have been moving them about 3 -4 feet every 3 or 4 nights. I put a branch in front of them stuck in the ground and plenty of leaves on it so they reorient when leaving the hive. There is always a buzz of orientation the next day figuring out which hive is correct but for the most part the two hives have stayed well balanced on bees and they do find their way back into a hive. They are both busting at the seams and I keep supering. Tim

[yoyo]

I had a similar situation where I needed to move one hive from the shop out across the feild to the bee yard. I went out last night and closed them up and then I got out early this morning and moved them. My plan was to put a rag over the entrance to try to make them re-orient. It took me a few minutes to get the rag in place and in just that short time there were hundreds of bees that flew back to the original location. I had to go back and get the hive and put it back where it was to collect them all. I will move them again next week to a place a few miles away and let them stay a week and then move them to where I want them.

[Michael Bush]

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