How can I move hive 25ft

[jorie]

I heard that you can not move a hive less than 3 miles.
that the bees will return to the old spot and die.
I want to move 2 hives together and tar paper for winter.
Thanks for info
also looking for more information on condensation.
thanks
Jorie

[Kathyp]

close it up at night and move it.  they will figure it out in the morning.

where do you live?

[jorie]

I live in Iowa.
Wayboring Iowa  ;)
We are going down to 33 tonight and 31 tomorrow night.
3 of my hives are really strong, and one is not.
I was wondering what the best material to winterize the bees would be.
I am really worried that in my ignorance that I will cause condenstion.
a lot of the bee keepers around here use black tar papper.
is there anything better than that?

[danno]

I regularly move colonies just 1/2 mile with no problems however I have a mature forest between.   Funny one spot is my farm and the bee's have done pretty good there but 1/2 mile away they do fantastic.   The honey is almost amber at my place and water white at the other.  Sorry I guess i took that out in left field

[jorie]

Hi Danno,
Left field is good, especially if you had a honey crop.
we are leaving all of our to the bees.
It's our first year.
husband was told that if we move the bees around the yard, that they
would go to the old spot, and not be able to find thier way home.
Now i've heard that about removing bees from a wall.
So your winters may be more brutal than ours, what do you do to
winterize.
i'm originally from Muskegon.
thanks
Jorie

[Kathyp]

put your location in your profile and we won't have to ask you from post to post.  you can't expect old folks to remember!   :-D

i live in a pretty wintry area.  other than reducing my entrance, putting an insert in to close the screened bottom,  and providing a wind break, i don't winterize my hives.  i don't wrap them.  if they are strong and well fed, they should be fine.  the black roofing paper has been used for years.  maybe the black is even an advantage if it absorbs heat and helps warm the hives when the sun is out.  wind breaks and making sure your entrance stays clear of snow are pretty important.

there will be a few that will return to the old hive site.  usually not to many and they figure it out eventually.  if you feel there are to many,  stick an empty box with some comb there and bang them out in front of the parent hive the next morning.  i would not put the empty box there except as a last resort, late in the day, and only if you have a large number of bees going back to the old spot.  an empty box earlier might encourage them to go to the old spot.

[jorie]

Thanks i will give'r a try

[hardwood]

Move 'em at night (close 'em up first of course...nothing creepier than a bunch of bees crawling up your arm) and lean a couple of branches against the entrance if it's warm enough for them to fly. The branches cause them to re-orient themselves.

Scott

[jorie]

Thanks Scott,
i'll try the branches

[hardwood]

It's worked well for me in the past...good luck with it!

Scott

[danno]

All I do for winter is break the wind,  vent and insulate the tops,  install mouse guards and I like them heavy enough that I struggle to tilt them.  I dont wrap.