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Construction around hive

1K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  Gypsi 
#1 ·
Hi for background - I am a new beekeeper that started with my hive about 9 months ago. I have a flowhive with two brood boxes. Bees are doing well and I will be putting the queen excluder and fly w give on soon. My question is how to handle the construction of a 6’ x 6’ deck/platform right next to my hive. I cannot do the work myself due to a back injury and need to hire it out. Work will require two days including setting posts and then attaching the framing to the posts and laying the deck. The hive is in a remote corner of my property on a steep hill and I need a more stable platform for it and me to access it. Can I block up the entrance at night so the construction work can be done the next morning? Weather this weekend is supposed to be partly cloudy and mid to high 60’s . Will they be ok for one day all locked inside? Is there a better or more preferred method? Thanks in advance for reading the long post.
 
#3 ·
Unfortunately not - the platform they are on is not the most stable and I don’t want to delay any further. I am in Southern California and in general the weather is just going to get warmer. I will look to see the f there is a cold snap coming up. I could possibly shade the hive during each day of work?
 
#5 ·
to go one step further, just put up a cloth or tarp 6ft high and separate the area the hive is now and where the new platform is going , run the tarp on temporary poles like 2 x 3s set in the ground and for about 20ft, this will put a solid barrier between the workers and the bees, or buy the workers bee suits to wear, other than that you dont have much choice other than moving the hive a few yards away at nite so in the morning they can come and go, but im not sure if this will screw up the bees orientation to the hive, also how far will you bee moving the hive from original location to new location on new deck?
 
#6 ·
Moving a hive a short distance is going to result in lost worker bees looking for their hive and getting frustrated. Now if you can move it a mile, and put an empty box with one frame at the old location, you will lose fewer bees. Just hang a leafy twig over the front door so they see it on the way out and know to re-orient
 
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