Michael Bonanno from Fishermans Reach NSW has spent hours helping his neighbour save a dozen colonies of bees.
Michael fortunately moved the bees before floods drowned the bees.
If your property is under threat from flood, raise the hives up on bricks (or something that won’t float easily) to give your bees the best chance of survival. If the height of the bricks isn’t high enough, you may need to move them to a completely different location that is well above flood level. Keep in mind, it is best to move bees to their new location at night (so you don’t lose your worker bees who are out foraging - however, during torrential weather - it is likely most of the worker bees will be home during the day too so it will be okay in this instance to move during the day). Be mindful that the bees will be very defensive because of the poor weather, so suit up safely and smoke the hive before you do anything.
What to do when your bottom box is covered by flood water.
If the entry to the hive is flooded and you can’t move them, slightly crack the top lid so the bees don’t suffocate. This also allows them to come and go as needed. Try to position the lid in a way to minimise rain entering the hive, but still giving the bees the oxygen and escape route they need.
If worse comes to worse
You may need to sacrifice one hive to save another. You can do this by placing one hive above the other to keep it out of the water. Do not put yourself in danger of flood waters yourself though.
Post bee care after storms and flood.
If your hive has been flooded but still has enough living bees, they will take care of cleaning the inside of the hive and removing debris. But as they will have been trapped in their hive for some time due to the weather, and the nectar will have been washed from flowers, they won’t be able to access food easily. This means they need to eat stores from their own hive, so please don’t take honey off them until they have recovered sufficiently. This is very important, especially going into winter, as they will need all the stores they can to survive. If it is Autumn, it’s a good time to think about compacting your bees down to two-high.
Moving hives.
First of all, make sure you and the hive are secure – Suit up, Strap up, Shut the door and Keep it cool.
Use a pickup truck or a trailer to transport your bees. Transporting a beehive inside a vehicle is dangerous - if the bees get out you could be in real trouble, so we don't recommend this.
Keep your smoker at hand during transportation.
When placing your hive on the pickup or trailer, make sure it sits nice and level.
Strap the hive on tightly using strong straps. We recommend using ratchet straps as these are really secure.
When you reach the new location, set up your hive, get it level, take off the straps and open the entrance. The bees will come out and get acquainted with their new home.
Michael Bonanno from Fishermans Reach NSW has spent hours helping his neighbour save a dozen colonies of bees.
Michael fortunately moved the bees before floods drowned the bees.
If your property is under threat from flood, raise the hives up on bricks (or something that won’t float easily) to give your bees the best chance of survival. If the height of the bricks isn’t high enough, you may need to move them to a completely different location that is well above flood level. Keep in mind, it is best to move bees to their new location at night (so you don’t lose your worker bees who are out foraging - however, during torrential weather - it is likely most of the worker bees will be home during the day too so it will be okay in this instance to move during the day). Be mindful that the bees will be very defensive because of the poor weather, so suit up safely and smoke the hive before you do anything.
What to do when your bottom box is covered by flood water
If the entry to the hive is flooded and you can’t move them, slightly crack the top lid so the bees don’t suffocate. This also allows them to come and go as needed. Try to position the lid in a way to minimise rain entering the hive, but still giving the bees the oxygen and escape route they need.
If worse comes to worse
You may need to sacrifice one hive to save another. You can do this by placing one hive above the other to keep it out of the water. Do not put yourself in danger of flood waters yourself though.
Post bee care after storms and flood
If your hive has been flooded but still has enough living bees, they will take care of cleaning the inside of the hive and removing debris. But as they will have been trapped in their hive for some time due to the weather, and the nectar will have been washed from flowers, they won’t be able to access food easily. This means they need to eat stores from their own hive, so please don’t take honey off them until they have recovered sufficiently. This is very important, especially going into winter, as they will need all the stores they can to survive. If it is Autumn, it’s a good time to think about compacting your bees down to two-high.
Moving hives.
First of all, make sure you and the hive are secure – Suit up, Strap up, Shut the door and Keep it cool.
Use a pickup truck or a trailer to transport your bees. Transporting a beehive inside a vehicle is dangerous - if the bees get out you could be in real trouble, so we don't recommend this.
Keep your smoker at hand during transportation.
When placing your hive on the pickup or trailer, make sure it sits nice and level.
Strap the hive on tightly using strong straps. We recommend using ratchet straps as these are really secure.
When you reach the new location, set up your hive, get it level, take off the straps and open the entrance. The bees will come out and get acquainted with their new home.
Thanks for the tips
NSWAA is working with NSW Government for support for flood affected beekeepers.
To help us deal with the government we need some figures on the damage. I have anecdotal word that approx. 6000 hives have been lost.
IF YOU HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY THE NSW FLOODS please pass the following information to NSWAA:
Name (this is needed so that govt know how many beekeeping businesses were affected by the flood); NSWAA will not share your name with anyone else.
Number of hives destroyed;
Number of hives damaged;
Value of plant & equipment (including vehicles) destroyed or badly damaged (flood damage not vehicles bogged); and
The impact on your business of these losses/damage?
NSWAA will collate the figures which will give us leverage when asking for assistance for our industry.
Government has informed us that without industry figures their support will be minimal.
If you know beekeepers who are not members that were affected by the floods please pass this along.
NSWAA Email: info@nswaa.com.au
NSWAA is working with NSW Government for support for flood affected beekeepers.
To help us deal with the government we need some figures on the damage. I have anecdotal word that approx. 6000 hives have been lost.
IF YOU HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY THE NSW FLOODS please pass the following information to NSWAA:
Name (this is needed so that govt know how many beekeeping businesses were affected by the flood); NSWAA will not share your name with anyone else.
Number of hives destroyed;
Number of hives damaged;
Value of plant & equipment (including vehicles) destroyed or badly damaged (flood damage not vehicles bogged); and
The impact on your business of these losses/damage?
NSWAA will collate the figures which will give us leverage when asking for assistance for our industry.
Government has informed us that without industry figures their support will be minimal.
If you know of commercial beekeepers who are not members of our association that were affected by the floods please pass this E Bee along.
NSWAA Email: info@nswaa.com.au