Richard A Cartwright wrote:

>I'm faced with the problem of getting 'bee beards' back into the hives
>
>
>
Are you using screened bottom boards, and propping up the cover to
maximize ventilation?


I have screened bottom boards on top of regular bottom boards (I think
that creates about a 1-inch gap for ventilation). Maybe getting rid of the
wood bottom board would help. I also experimented with a screened top
(with no telescoping cover) on one hive.There was no difference in the
number of bees out front by 11:00 PM the night before the move, so I
replaced the telescoping cover for fear of overnight rain.

On approaching the hives at 4:15 AM, I first sprayed the bees with a light
sugar solution to aid in gently scraping them off and dumping them into a
cardboard funnel designed to fit into an old 3-pound screened package
container. A neighbor's floodlight (suburbia) coaxed the disturbed bees
into the air and I got stung a couple of times. I then tried smoke to get
the bees back inside the hive, but now the sugar solution on the hive
front kept them outside. I eventually decided to cut my losses and brush
the remaining few hundred bees off onto the ground so that I could staple
a screen over the entrance. However, as quickly as I could sweep them
away, new bees came out to replace them. I gave up at 5:30 AM.

Maybe I should try smoking them FIRST as one subscriber mentioned.

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