I know you have to have permits county to county, in TX. You also need them if you are going to state to state. However taking live stock of any sort across an international boarder is really a question for a US Customs Agent. Then you are looking at quarantine etc. Depending on what you have it may not be worth it. I really think if I was going to do something like this, I would sell most of my stock and equipment, save extracting tools etc. Make the move and then re-acquire equipment and bees as local stock is always going to be best.

 

I don't think it is possible to cross the northern boarder with a truckload of empty beehives let alone colonies of bees. I would imagine that even the hive bodies with all the propolis, left over debris etc. would be considered a source for bacteria, non bee insects, fungus, mold, or varroa mites. They are pretty strict, as they should be, and as the US should be for any going south.

 

It is a long drawn out process to become a permanent resident of Canada. Like 10 years or more long. I remember folks wanted to move up there but had to wait a long, long time.
As far as Mexico? I would be very careful of where I moved to in Mexico. Do you speak Spanish?

 

It is a long drawn out process to become a permanent resident of Canada. Like 10 years or more long. I remember folks wanted to move up there but had to wait a long, long time.
As far as Mexico? I would be very careful of where I moved to in Mexico. Do you speak Spanish?

My son has owned a home and lived in Mexico. He kept his citizenship in the USA. He has friends who spend 6 to 9 months in Mexico, but also have homes in the states. Mexico is not dangerous for American citizens, if your not dealing in drugs. I spend a lot of time in Mexico, but have a home in Kentucky and Florida. There are several communities in Mexico which are basically all US citizens. Mexico is much safer then a lot of our cities. The Mexican citizens are very friendly with us.

 

It kind of looks like its so expensive to live here that it might not be a bad thing to try to living elsewhere.

Where is "here"? Your profile does not indicate where you live. I assume you live somewhere in the US because you mention moving into Canada or Mexico.

When you calculate the cost of living in Canada don't forget to include the VAT (Value Added Tax). With very few exceptions everything you buy and every service you have done will have 5% added to the price for the VAT (or whatever the rate is now). If you own a pistol or a radar detector you might want to check their restrictions before you move to Canada. And if you think gasoline is expensive here in the US (especially since November) you will be shocked at the price of petrol in Canada. They sell petrol by the liter and price it in Canadian dollars so you have to do a couple of calculations. (If you live in California the price of petrol in Canada may not be as much of a shock.)

Don't get me wrong. I love Canada. But only as a place to visit.

 

No offence Hobo, but remember, we have free healthcare which more than offsets any taxes we might pay. I have zero health insurance bills in a year, and paid zero for the care of three cancer patients in our family which would have amounted to more than we, on a small family farm, could afford.

 

Sell your hives and start over wherever you move is the easiest path. Cost of living is cheaper in Canada, but be aware that recent inflation is worldwide. Cost of housing is much higher in the US, especially in desirable areas. Supply and demand at work and it does hurt the little guy. J

 

Dangerous ground here. I would imagine one could find great living situations in all three mentioned countries.

To the subject at hand, I greatly doubt you could legally and cost-effectively move colonies across either of those borders, in either direction. Sell and rebuild is the better plan.

 

I will add, after spending most of my life in Canada, the cost of living is way cheaper here in NC. Everything from property taxes, to consumables. There is a website online where you can compare city to city costs of many items, to decide if somewhere else is cheaper. I was living in greensboro, NC and would consider it one of the cheaper areas I know of, being close (~10mi) from downtown. The website I was using ranked Greensboro, NC at 7% cheaper than the national average. For instance, I was offered to move to Anchorage, AK for work. The cost of living was 16% higher than the national average. The cost of such things was so high, compared to the lower 48. I also had an opportunity to move to Peterborough, ON and Kelowna, BC and both places have a pretty high cost of living compared to here in NC. There are lots of states that have very decent cost of living, but proportionally, most career salaries compare.

 

I think, as bushpilot stated, there are areas in all three countries that are great places to live, the key is to find the one that suites you best. People who love where they are usually ignore those things that are not so great about it and put up with them simply because the payoff is something they are willing to accept.

 

Agree, however would add most stay where they are out of fear, having never known or experienced anything else.

 

I live in Midland TX, Permian basin area. I’ve been considering getting out of here myself. I feel kind of land locked secondary oil, prices have just gotten out of control on everything. However there is plenty of work etc. That said I think central Texas, is more than likely where I am heading, around College Station so I can finish off some things at A&M.

 

I'm lookingfurther west and south to some hills or mountains. will take a look this winter.

 

northern Az or Utah may be nice then.

GG

 

There are some nice places around alpine, and in the mountain areas.

 

I've lived on 5 different continents from the Artic to the equator, from NYC to Jakarta, Indonesia for oil companies and both State and Defense Departments with assignments typically over a year. I like being home in New Jersey despite the costs of living, politics and large concentrations of idiots. It's home, the weather is nice, fields are green and my family's here.

 

Well said, very well said!

 

to the opps point sell all the bees and hives then move across the boarder. most disallow any cross boarder bee movement. as well your bees are not climated to where you plan to move to anyway.

Both places have immigration things to consider. I would research it a bit more before worrying about the bees.
so of the 52 state how many have you tried? MANY cost effectives place in the US to try before leaving.

How many hive do you have to "sell/move"

GG

 

I lived for 45 years in Sub tropical South Africa from a warm ocean rising to mountains up to 14000 ft in 200 miles so I miss some mountains and also do not want to spend another winter this close to the Potomac.

 

You can't even bring potatoes into Canada from the US without a bunch of BS. I can't imagine bringing bees across, you also can't bring over worms or minnows. Hell, they won't even let people across right now!
I don't think they even allow package bees from the US, were they getting bees from overseas in tubes instead of traditional packages instead? I'm sure some Canadians could comment.

 

You can't even bring potatoes into Canada from the US without a bunch of BS. I can't imagine bringing bees across, you also can't bring over worms or minnows. Hell, they won't even let people across right now!
I don't think they even allow package bees from the US, were they getting bees from overseas in tubes instead of traditional packages instead? I'm sure some Canadians could comment.

HMMM? have you tried bringing an orange across into Montana, even if it is an orange that originated in Florida, not gonna happen. A carving made of birch wood? The restrictions each way are there for a reason, to mitigate the transfer of disease and pests and to protect those who's livelihood would be affected.

 

Bee import regulations (into the USA) are the purvey of USDA - APHIS. Here is a quote of part of the page:

Importation of Honey Bees ( Apis mellifera mellifera) and Beekeeping Equipment

Adult queen honey bees and package bees (worker bees, drones, with a queen) can be imported into the continental United States (i.e. not including Hawaii) from Canada and New Zealand:

General Shipping Requirements for the Importation of Honey Bees

• Whole colonies in hive bodies cannot be imported from any country.
• Used beekeeping equipment cannot be imported from any country for use in beekeeping.
• adult honey bees from any country other than Canada and New Zealand and honey bee brood from any country are restricted.
• Importation of honey bee queens and package bees from Australia is prohibited.

Importation of Bees other than Honey Bees

The following five species can be imported from Canada under the Requirements for the Importation of Bees other than Honey Bees:

• Bumblebees of the species, Bombus impatiens and Bombus occidentalis
• Alfalfa leafcutter bee, Megachile rotundata
• Blue orchard bee, Osmia lignaria
• Horn-faced bee, Osmia cornifrons

Bees other than honey bees and the five species listed above are restricted.

Importation of Honey Bee Germplasm

Honey Bee germplasm can be imported from Australia, Bermuda, Canada, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, and Sweden provided the following the conditions are met in the Requirements for the Importation of Honey Bee Germplasm. For honey Bee germ plasm from any other country see the section on Importation of Restricted Articles and Organisms.

Read the full page here:

USDA APHIS | Honey Bees and Other Bees

www.aphis.usda.gov

 

The quoted article suggests honeybees can be imported from Canada. that changed in 2019, and for some reason shipments of queens going south were suddenly blocked at the border, I dont remember the exact reason. This was a bit of an issue for some of the producers that breed lines in Canada, then ship queens from those lines to California for early spring queen production. I found out about this when I got a call from an outfit in saskatchewan who had just had a shipment blocked, wanting to know if we had the ability to winter 50 queens for them in our milder climate.

It is my understanding from conversations with a producer in Ontario ealier this summer that queen shipments to the US are still not allowed. In years gone past it's been difficult to get queens from Ferguson because they had waiting lists and a big chunk of the business was shipping them to the US. When I talked to Bill at one point this summer asking about getting 10 the answer was 'can ship them tomorrow'. He did comment then that there was a lot of availability this year because they cannot ship to the US.

 

From the Ferguson Apiaries Site:

For USA orders, there will be brokerage and inspection fees and a veterinary certificate is included.

Since August 2019 the boarder was closed to shipping. We are hoping it would open. If you are interested in queens please check with your local inspector to check the status.

 

So this is something I doubt many people have asked...

I'm curious if it works, allowed, or is suicide to try to bring a bee business either across the border into Mexico, or Canada from the US? Naturally there'd be issues. (One way, not coming back and forth.)

It kind of looks like its so expensive to live here that it might not be a bad thing to try to living elsewhere. Everywhere I go I see its so expensive to live in the US now. And rents are freaking sky high even in states that used to be cheaper. I don't really like paying through the nose for rent. I don't like a paycheck having 70% or more to go to rent etc also not counting other things.

I'm not sure if Canadians would let people from the US do that? And ...with Mexico not sure if they'd rob you blind trying to go in there, both at the border and also once you are in a town?

Now some people say a lot of places are nicer to people outside the US. But ... you couldn't just abandon your bee business.

This kind of thing doesn't come up very much. I suspect it might not get a lot of people even able to respond.

Sorry if this question offends anyone.

When I asked the Canadian bee authorities they told me the only thing you can bring from the US to CA is queens.

 

So this is something I doubt many people have asked...

I'm curious if it works, allowed, or is suicide to try to bring a bee business either across the border into Mexico, or Canada from the US? Naturally there'd be issues. (One way, not coming back and forth.)

It kind of looks like its so expensive to live here that it might not be a bad thing to try to living elsewhere. Everywhere I go I see its so expensive to live in the US now. And rents are freaking sky high even in states that used to be cheaper. I don't really like paying through the nose for rent. I don't like a paycheck having 70% or more to go to rent etc also not counting other things.

I'm not sure if Canadians would let people from the US do that? And ...with Mexico not sure if they'd rob you blind trying to go in there, both at the border and also once you are in a town?

Now some people say a lot of places are nicer to people outside the US. But ... you couldn't just abandon your bee business.

This kind of thing doesn't come up very much. I suspect it might not get a lot of people even able to respond.

Sorry if this question offends anyone.

 

So this is something I doubt many people have asked...

I'm curious if it works, allowed, or is suicide to try to bring a bee business either across the border into Mexico, or Canada from the US? Naturally there'd be issues. (One way, not coming back and forth.)

It kind of looks like its so expensive to live here that it might not be a bad thing to try to living elsewhere. Everywhere I go I see its so expensive to live in the US now. And rents are freaking sky high even in states that used to be cheaper. I don't really like paying through the nose for rent. I don't like a paycheck having 70% or more to go to rent etc also not counting other things.

I'm not sure if Canadians would let people from the US do that? And ...with Mexico not sure if they'd rob you blind trying to go in there, both at the border and also once you are in a town?

Now some people say a lot of places are nicer to people outside the US. But ... you couldn't just abandon your bee business.

This kind of thing doesn't come up very much. I suspect it might not get a lot of people even able to respond.

Sorry if this question offends anyone.

I know this is probably a bit silly, but bees from this side of the Canadian border fly into Canada every day..just like Maine lobsters crawl into Canadian waters every day.