Safely Move Hives

It takes two people to easily move hives with a hive lifter. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Safely Moving Hives

Spring is here and some beekeepers will be looking for new sites for their hives, either because it’s too shady or there are not enough flowering resources to feed their bees. Or maybe they want their colonies closer to the house so they can watch them every day.

Regardless of the reason, one of the best tools I have in my beekeeping inventory is the hive lifter.

Now I put off adding this to my inventory at first. I was transitioning from 10 frames to 8 frame hives so thought that would be enough to lighten the load when I needed to move a colony.

Once I had it in hand I wondered what had taken me so long. The hive lifter makes moving hives much easier on the back and, although it requires two people to use, makes the transportation easy. Helps if you tie the hive closed so the boxes don’t move in transit.

Most beekeeping suppliers offer a form of hive lifter. Since it’s a hit and miss use item, get one and split the cost among several beekeepers.

It’s a great little tool that will save backs for many years to come!

Charlotte