How To Move A Beehive

Prepare the new location before you move the hives. Set up your hive stands and choose a leafy branch or branches to place in front of each of the hive entrances to make the bees reorient. 

This is helpful step if moving the bees within a couple miles of the original location. But if moving them further than that, the surroundings will be so different, you don’t need to do that.

Be certain that you’ll be able to park as close as possible and reach the location with whatever device you are using to move the hive.

Ventilation

To make sure that your bees have sufficient ventilation, you might give them a screened bottom board, and if possible, even a screened inner cover.  

This isn’t as important in the winter when it is cold, but you can easily overheat a colony in the summer if it is sealed up for long. 

You can make one with some wood and hardware cloth) For closing the hive entrance, a great option is Foxhound Bee Company’s universal reducer, turned so that both of the ventilated sides block the opening. 

These should be screwed in at the hive entrance. Another entrance ventilation option is to use hardware cloth or a mesh screen and push pins.

You’ll need to seal the entrance, the top, and if you are moving multiple boxes, you’ll need to seal the two brood boxes together. (If the hives you are moving have honey supers, remove those before moving, using a fume board and Bee Quick. 

You can store them briefly and replace them after you transport the bees.) You can move them with all the boxes on the hive, but it will be much heavier.

You can tape the joints between boxes with duct tape, ratchet straps the bottom board, boxes and top together in one or both directions. Taping is important if you absolutely want to keep any bees from leaking out during transport. 

Some hives have hive staples that connect the bottom board to the bottom box. These can be helpful when moving hives. You can add bag around the entire hive if you would like. They will fit a hive all the way from a package or nuc up to a full size double deep.

That way, if bees do escape, they’ll still be inside the bag, and you’ll avoid losing bees. It also makes it safer for those around you if they do get out.

When your beehives are sealed, move them from the old location as soon as you can. The less time they spend trapped inside the hive, the less angry they’ll be. 

Park your vehicle as close as you can to the original hive location, whether it’s a tractor with pallet mover forks, a low trailer (this is a great option because you won’t have to lift the boxes so high), or a pickup truck. 

Any of these options will be better than moving hives in your car or SUV, but if that is your only option, you’ll definitely want a Buzz Bag.

Getting The Bee Hives To Your Vehicle

To move the secured hives from their original location to your vehicle, you can use a hand truck, a moving dolly, a wheelbarrow, brute strength, a tractor, or whatever other way you have arranged to pick up and move the hive. 

Another option is to stand two 2×6 boards on the top edges of the hive. Use a couple more ratchet straps to attach them to the hive, and then you can use the boards as handles to lift and carry the hive. (You’ll need another person to help you carry the hive this way.) Wear your bee suit or at least have it handy in case you need it.

If you are moving multiple hives, pack them close together, perhaps on a pallet, to keep them steady. You could strap them all together. Just be certain that they all still have adequate ventilation. If you need to move several, the process is the same as doing just one

After You've Loaded The Hives

When you've packed up the bees and you're ready to roll, you might consider leaving an empty box with some comb in it or a swarm box where the old hive was. 

If you leave a box in the old location, lost foragers, stragglers, or confused bees left behind will gather there and you can come back and collect them a few days later.

Once you have set up your hive bodies in their new position, wait until you have them all in place on a hive stand or hive stands before you open the entrances. 

It is a good idea to have your suit or jacket on and have your smoker and fuel handy when you do this. If you leave an obstacle in their entrance, like a leafy branch or brick, that will make the bees orientate to their new location.

Before you do open them up, be aware that the jostling from the movement will irritate them. If you let the hives sit in their new location for 10 minutes plus, they will calm down a little bit. Be still be prepared to run once you open them up if you don’t have your protective gear.