If varroa mites had a favorite pastime, it would be hitchhiking. They don’t care whose yard they’re in, what your treatment schedule looks like, or how many miles your hives are about to travel. And when you’re hauling bees for almonds, apples, melons, or seed crops, you’re not just moving colonies—you’re potentially moving mites, viruses, and headaches right along with them.

The trick is making sure your bees are ready to travel… but your mites are not.

Pre-Trip “Customs Check” for Mites

Most operations are tracking mite loads anyway, but before a big move, testing becomes non-negotiable. Sugar roll, alcohol wash, CO₂—pick your method, but don’t skip it. 

A pre-haul mite check is essentially a border inspection:

• Above threshold? You treat before the move, not “somewhere along the way when we have time.”
• Barely under control? You plan your post-arrival sampling and treatment window like it’s a second job.

The goal is to prevent loading a rolling mite farm onto the trailer. And here’s where logistics quietly matter: if your hauler understands that treatment timing, ventilation, and move dates are linked, you’re not forced into that terrible choice between, “Treat now and risk stressing them in transit,” or “Skip it and hope for the best.”

A bee-savvy hauler gives you realistic load-out options so you can treat, let colonies stabilize, and then ship.

Biosecurity on Wheels

If you’re staging loads in holding yards, mixing bees from different outfits, or stacking pallets closer than a crowded concert, you’re practically sending varroa a formal invitation to mingle. Good transport biosecurity looks like:

• Minimizing drift: Logical pallet spacing, common entrance orientation, and avoiding “bee soup” staging areas when multiple outfits share space.
• Dedicated gear: Straps, nets, and forklifts that aren’t bouncing between operations without so much as a cleaning.
• Smart routing: Fewer unnecessary layovers where bees can fly, drift, and trade “greetings” in the form of mites and viruses.

A transport partner who respects biosecurity isn’t just protecting you—they’re protecting every beekeeper whose hives might be parked next to yours in a holding yard or orchard.

Stress, Immunity, and the Hidden Cost of a Bad Haul

Here’s the ugly synergy: stressed bees handle mites worse. Long hot rides, poor airflow, rough roads, and daytime stops turn strong colonies into worn-out clusters. And worn-out bees are easier targets for varroa and the virus cocktail they bring.

Plan for:

• Night moves when temps are lower and bees are calmer.
• Good ventilation—no suffocating net jobs and no “we’ll just stack one more row.”
• Gentle handling: Forklift drivers who know they’re not moving bricks; they’re moving queens, brood, and your income.

You can be running a textbook varroa program on paper and still lose ground if every move leaves colonies more stressed than when they left the yard.

Turning Movement into an Advantage

Done right, hauling isn’t just a risk—it’s an opportunity to reset. You can tie your movement schedule to your treatment calendar: clean up mites before a big move, verify loads on arrival, and use those timing anchors to keep your annual mite control on track.

And when your transporter acts like part of your health plan instead of just a truck with straps, it’s a lot easier to keep those hitchhikers off the guest list.

If your bees are traveling more miles than your pickup these days, it might be time to treat varroa management and hauling as one integrated plan—not two separate problems.

About the Author:

Nick Loski
Nick’s been knee-deep in the buzzing world of commercial beekeeping for over a decade, hauling more hives than a Texas county fair has corn dogs.
As the go-to guy for safe, on-time bee transportation, he specializes in everything from cross-country hive migrations and pollination runs to hauling wooden ware, honey extractors, equipment, and even those specialized and oversized loads that make DOT inspectors raise an eyebrow.  A fierce advocate for healthy bees and real American honey, his efforts are focused on keeping our pollinators protected, our crops thriving, and beekeepers’ operations smoother than a fresh frame of comb. 

Need a haul handled right? Call Loop Logistics and ask for Nick—because every queen deserves a first-class ride.