Moving hives

[chemicalmaker]

I need advice on how to best move my hives from one side of my yard to the other. New neighbors are not comfortable with my hives. Is there a safe way to move hives this time of year?

[Jacobs]

You can move them in stages--about 3 feet at a time. Foragers will return to the original spot, circle up & most will find the new location. I'm not sure how the bees would do if you made the move all at once. That might depend on how large the move is within the yard and whether the bees have enough light and warmth for flight times to try and make the adjustment.

[DuaneB]

I have had good success doing this. Move them to wherever you want their final destination will be, at night. Then put some branches in front of the entrance, but don't completely block it. You want them to not be able to directly fly out, but have to crawl over the branches. That will make them reorienting. There might be a small handful of foragers that will go back, but not many. This is good for if you need to move them now. If you have the time, Rob's suggestion is best.