Moving bees

[FredBorn]

A freind of mine is getting out of bee keeping - he's 89 and he is giving me his hive.

The problem is that he lives about 1500 feet from me ( about a block and half.

He is selling the property and I have to move the hive to my yard. I know that you can only move a hive either just a couple feet every few days or a couple miles - both which I have done. However that won't work in this situation ---- so would this work.

I box them up at night - and make sure they are adequately ventalated. Move them. And then keep them boxed for the next day and night ( iav 36 hours). They release them. Would they stay in the new location.

Any ideas.

Thanks.

fred - citrus county Florida - 4 hives

[Jerrymac]

Just my thoughts.

That might work, but then there would probably still be bees returning to the old place. Could place empty box at old location and drag the stragglers back home every evening. Also after the 36 hour period place twigs and grass and stuff in front of the opening so they realize something is different and reorientate on the hive.

[Michael Bush]

Load them up either in one piece after dark or load them a piece at a time as close as you can to the old place and wait for dark.  Move them to the new place.  Put a branch in front of the entrance to each hive to trigger reorientation.  Make sure there is no equipment at the old place until just before dark, so the insistant ones will go back to the new place.   Just before dark put a few empty boxes there for the stragglers.  After dark move those boxes to the new place with a branch in front of those boxes.  By the next day they will sort it all out.

The branch is ESSENTIAL to trigger the reorientation.