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When you're a beekeeper, at some point you are going to have to move your hives. It's important to disturb the bees as little as possible and to avoid stress. There are basic steps for honey bee relocation Wayne County MI beekeepers have used successfully in the past and are happy to share with new hobbyists.
Preparation is key. Night time or early morning are the best times of day to prepare the hives. When you close them up in the middle of the day, any foragers will be lost. You close the hive with a piece of hardware cloth, making sure the fit is tight. You need to check your hives for other openings, cracks, or gaps. Smoke the bees as necessary to keep them calm. If you're moving hives in the summer, you have to be careful not to let them get too hot.
Your hives must be secured. If your bees have propolized their hives, and you aren't going very far, you might get away with not securing them. If you think they will jostle at all, it's important to secure them rather than hoping the bee glue will be enough. Some beekeepers staple the bottom boards. Others prefer using straps to hold the unit in place.
Moving can stress bees out. You don't want to start this operation until you are ready to leave. You should get on the road right after you've finished covering the hives. Taking someone with you makes the job a lost easier. You will need a dolly or some other kind of hand truck to get the bees onto the bed of your truck or into your trailer.
The greatest danger at this point is tipping over hives or dropping them. You have to be careful handling your hives because bees get defensive once the sun goes down. Everybody handling these hives needs to be suited up. You need to pack the hives as tightly and closely as possible in your vehicle to minimize the chance of them moving or shifting while you are on the road.
Reorientation can be tricky. Bees are funny. If you move them a couple of feet or over two miles, they adjust just fine. Anything in between that confuses the foragers. When this happens, bees may fly around like they are lost or form clumps on the ground where their hives were before.
To reduce the confusion you can leave the screens on the entrances for a day or two. The bees may reorient themselves once you remove the screen. You can move them in rainy weather when they would not be moving around anyway. You can also put something in front of the entrance and make them crawl through it.
Beekeeping is a fun and interesting hobby. Moving a colony can be done successfully with preparation and care. If you plan ahead the bees will adjust to their new surroundings fairly easily.
Preparation is key. Night time or early morning are the best times of day to prepare the hives. When you close them up in the middle of the day, any foragers will be lost. You close the hive with a piece of hardware cloth, making sure the fit is tight. You need to check your hives for other openings, cracks, or gaps. Smoke the bees as necessary to keep them calm. If you're moving hives in the summer, you have to be careful not to let them get too hot.
Your hives must be secured. If your bees have propolized their hives, and you aren't going very far, you might get away with not securing them. If you think they will jostle at all, it's important to secure them rather than hoping the bee glue will be enough. Some beekeepers staple the bottom boards. Others prefer using straps to hold the unit in place.
Moving can stress bees out. You don't want to start this operation until you are ready to leave. You should get on the road right after you've finished covering the hives. Taking someone with you makes the job a lost easier. You will need a dolly or some other kind of hand truck to get the bees onto the bed of your truck or into your trailer.
The greatest danger at this point is tipping over hives or dropping them. You have to be careful handling your hives because bees get defensive once the sun goes down. Everybody handling these hives needs to be suited up. You need to pack the hives as tightly and closely as possible in your vehicle to minimize the chance of them moving or shifting while you are on the road.
Reorientation can be tricky. Bees are funny. If you move them a couple of feet or over two miles, they adjust just fine. Anything in between that confuses the foragers. When this happens, bees may fly around like they are lost or form clumps on the ground where their hives were before.
To reduce the confusion you can leave the screens on the entrances for a day or two. The bees may reorient themselves once you remove the screen. You can move them in rainy weather when they would not be moving around anyway. You can also put something in front of the entrance and make them crawl through it.
Beekeeping is a fun and interesting hobby. Moving a colony can be done successfully with preparation and care. If you plan ahead the bees will adjust to their new surroundings fairly easily.
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You can find a summary of the benefits and advantages of using professional honey bee relocation Wayne County MI services at http://www.thebestbeeandwaspservice.com/services right now.
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