You can set them up and be away from home for a little while
As I was preparing to go on vacation, I wanted to make sure I’d set up a post for Sunday. And I thought to myself, what better topic to write about than setting bees up to be left for a little bit. As much as I love my buzzing little friends, I like to get away from my regular job and home every now and again. Traveling can be so enjoyable. There are definitely some things I like to consider though, when I’m thinking about leaving.
Thankfully honey bees aren’t like a milk cow. It’s quite possible to set them up for life on their own for a period of time.
Some considerations
When preparing to leave, pay extra attention to very strong colonies, and very weak colonies.
Make sure the weak colonies have the resources to defend themselves from robbers, and that they have enough food. If necessary, you can feed through the inner cover, or put some solid food like fondant on them just to make sure they won’t run out. Be careful with entrance feeders to make sure that you don’t inadvertently start a robbing spree. If necessary, put a robber screen on or reduce their entrance.
For the strong colonies, make sure they have plenty of room. You won’t be into them while you’re away, so you’ll just have to estimate how much room they’ll need. It’s best to error on the side of caution and give them that extra box, so they don’t swarm. Also make sure they haven’t backfilled the brood nest with honey. If they have, checkerboard some frames so the queen still has room to lay.
If you’re raising queens, make sure they are in a good place to hatch, mate, and begin laying.
If it’s summer time, make sure they have a good water supply. A large chicken waterer can work well for this. Put rocks in the bottom where they will drink from, so that they can get their water without drowning. Of course you could always have a bee friendly neighbor keep water in your bird bath, or keep their water filled.
Predators can also be an issue. You won’t know if your bees are alright or if they’ve been knocked over in the middle of the night. Make sure your hot wire fence is working properly, and consider getting a camera that has remote access, so you can check on your bees yourself. Again, a bee friendly neighbor or friend could also keep an eye on the bees for you and let you know if you need to make arrangements to reassemble your hives if they have been torn apart.
It is a very doable task to set your hives up to survive without you while you’re on vacation or traveling for a few weeks. Just think through what you’d want to do if you were home, and set them up in that way in advance. And then relax and enjoy that vacation!