# pulling honey ideas looking for feed back



## zhiv9 (Aug 3, 2012)

Stacking supers on an escape can work, but your boxes have to fit tight or you risk loosing the lot to robbing. There is also the problem of small hive beetle depending on the area and you need good flying weather for them to leave the supers to go back to the hives.


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## johnny2 (Feb 6, 2017)

temp shouldn't be an issue, flow is done in early August, and bee go dose not work well in the cooler temps either.
the boxes should be pretty sealed up by the bees and if there are any areas that are open tape or stretch wrap should help that.
I did not think of it before, why not put the escape on top and have the bottom sealed on the pallet?
The speed of lifting off all the suppers at once would pay off even with a few other little hassles,I would think


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## sakhoney (Apr 3, 2016)

a really good shot of smoke - and I mean a good shot will drive the bees right off sealed frames of honey - I try to run about 10/12 bee go pads - then everybody is ready for a water break. But I'm in SE Texas and in August/sept. its hot.


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## b2bnz (Apr 5, 2009)

Bee escapes do work but are a bit slow. The best way of flushing the bees out of the honey supers that I wish to extract is with 'Fischers Bee Quick' on a fume board and a good blast of smoke combined. This makes extraction day very easy and free of bees.
I can clear bees out of the honey supers quicker than I can take boxes off, brush last few bees off the combs and stack in my station wagon. Priceless!


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

Gotta use the escapes on the hive
The escapes work by manipulating the hives natural movements within the supers to brood chamber


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## b2bnz (Apr 5, 2009)

Ian said:


> Gotta use the escapes on the hive
> The escapes work by manipulating the hives natural movements within the supers to brood chamber


Try 'Fishers Bee Quick and a fume board and you will never use your bee escapes again.
The natural movement takes 24 to 36 hours and has limited success!
Bee Go stinks too much! But Bee Quick smells beautiful.
Only need one trip to the apiary.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

b2bnz said:


> Try 'Fishers Bee Quick and a fume board and you will never use your bee escapes again.
> The natural movement takes 24 to 36 hours and has limited success!
> Bee Go stinks too much! But Bee Quick smells beautiful.
> Only need one trip to the apiary.


Na, those escapes have their advantages, through all conditions, and when used with lifting devices, manual lifting is eliminated


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Once you are there get the work done. Often getting to the yard is the hardest part of the job.


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

Have you tried a Bee Blower? No need to wait for the chemicals, or to come back after the bee escapes do their job.

Crazy Roland


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## My-smokepole (Apr 14, 2008)

The fume board I made up has a hole cut into large enough for a personal fan that I place over the hole. Uses a USB cable to charge it. I all so use a leaf blower. To blow out what is left in the box.


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## johnny2 (Feb 6, 2017)

>Gotta use the escapes on the hive
The escapes work by manipulating the hives natural movements within the supers to brood chamber

That clears up if you can put them on a pallet and be ready for pick up the next trip in and feed when there the first time. I helped a commercial guy pull last fall and we handled every box, to me there is too much room for error and injury. We also went back the same day to feed , with one truck thats allot of running, he would only pull 3 yards in a day

>Have you tried a Bee Blower? No need to wait for the chemicals, or to come back after the bee escapes do their job.

I used a leaf blower on my own and also blew into my stove pipe elbows because it was so cool out the fume boards didn't work as they should have ( pulled a month and a half too late, my honey house wasn't done to pull sooner)
a true bee blower would more than likely wok better but you still handle every box by hand and I want to get away from that.

I will end up building my own version of the fancy ezy loader if I go that route, its a little to steep of a price tag for a start up.

thanks everyone for all the suggestions and help


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

>>escapes need to be used on the hive<<


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

If you are pulling honey during a nectar flow you can simply stand the supers on end in the yard and by the time you have the last supers off of the hives most of the bees will have left the supers that don't have brood in them.


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## Hiwire (Oct 19, 2014)

Johnny I think people overthink this process...Follow me here...Take an extra box and your replacement boxes of frames to the yard with you. As you remove a capped frame from the upper box and shake the bees back in to the hive (or brush them off if you prefer)put those capped frames in to the empty box, continue until the box is full. Pick up the box and take it to your vehicle. If you have uncapped frames don't take them off. Just replace the capped frames with empty frames. This way 1) You only remove capped frames, 2) you don't have to lift those boxes to install a bee escape 3) you don't have to wait while bees move out 4) you don't have to make multiple trips to the yard. Keep It Simple. You will be finished before you would otherwise have your bee escapes installed and bees removed.
Ray


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## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

Ray, he said that his goal is 300 hives.
Assuming 2 honey supers per hive that amounts to 6000 frames,
That seems like quite a few frames to individually shake to me.
Am I over thinking this?


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

Escapes are nice if you have lots of hives and a lift or few hives which requires less lifting


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## Hiwire (Oct 19, 2014)

Harry You are right. I missed that part. I don't know how efficient that would be. You probably know that better than me. I like not handling them twice but I don't know if it transfers to 300 hives.
Ray


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## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

Several years ago, my mentor blew out his knee, so I offered to help his wife (also a mentor) pull honey for a couple of days to help out.
They have a large Kelly boom loader.
We drove to the first yard in which the hives were arranged in a horse shoe layout and backed the truck dead center in the key hole.
We attached the boom at the base of the sky-scraper high stacks of full honey supers and applied massive upward pressure. When we broke the stacks free, we pulled the queen excluders and placed escape boards.
We were done in no time.
Then we drove to the next yard that had had escape boards placed on them a day or two previously.
We lifted skyscraper high, stacks of supers off the hives and loaded the truck in no time.

One of our trucks has an Ezy-Loader and as I get older, I will have to take the time to make up a bunch of escape boards and get with the program.
If you have a boom, there is no easier way.
Otherwise, Bee-Quick and fume boards has been our method since the stuff was invented.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

HarryVanderpool said:


> Ray, he said that his goal is 300 hives.
> Assuming 2 honey supers per hive that amounts to 6000 frames,
> That seems like quite a few frames to individually shake to me.
> Am I over thinking this?


How do you spell carpel tunnel syndrome?


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

Or a lot of fun during a sunny late summer pull. ROBBING


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## johnny2 (Feb 6, 2017)

I love hearing all the different methods. like Ian reminded I plan on 300 hives this year and a final goal of 1000 to 1500, on my hives this last summer I was at 7 supers on a couple the majority had 5 and 7 hives where at 4 or less. there is a very strong nectar source here. 

besides all the time involved with shaking frames on that many supers all the wild comb packed with honey gets busted on you have it dripping every where you dont want want it, yea the bees will find it so it wont go to waste but I would rather have it in my tank.

The drawback I see with the lift is where the hook goes over the top of the load center isnt high enough to clear a large stack, an easy modification could make that adjust if it isnt able to already.

dont get me wrong on the bee go, it does work if the weather is warm but you still handle every box and have to walk with it on rough ground and bend over to get the lower ones ,bend to set the first couple on the drip pallet ect.
I have been around enough that I lift and lower properly but I dont want others helping to get an injury on my watch and my wife for one does not listen well when it comes to lifting, I tell her leave me the heavy ones all i hear is I GOT IT!! 

Thanks again for the feed back


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Ian said:


> Or a lot of fun during a sunny late summer pull. ROBBING


 If there is a flow on, there is no robbing. If there is robbing, there isn't a flow on. Plenty of robbing occurs taking honey off with fume boards if there isn't at least a mild flow on.


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## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

Butyric anhydride is not allowed in our trucks or on our property.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

I have always used blowers to pull my several ton crop. Gas is good for sites with no power, electric are easier to turn on and off and quieter. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AAkO_jkGyQ&t=98s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C3iJwh3lAI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72-wgA3BA-Q


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## johnny2 (Feb 6, 2017)

HarryVanderpool said:


> Butyric anhydride is not allowed in our trucks or on our property.


is that a state regulation?


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## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

johnny2 said:


> is that a state regulation?


No. It's a Vanderpool Farms, L.L.C. company policy.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

My friend spilled Beego in his truck iin the '80s......it was never the same. 
I still have a bottle out in a shed if I ever need it for retaliation vandalism.


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## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

Some years back, a stranded deer hunter came to my house looking to use a phone. Turns out he was from a large beekeeping family. He said he knew he would get help when he smelled the Beego as he was walking by.

Well, I still use the stuff for moving bees when making splits . But for pulling honey, Mann Lakes Honey Bandit works as well and smells infinitely better.


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

It saddens me that a real bee blower, with built in support for the super and a chute below, is no longer available. It is NOT the same as a wimpy leaf blower. The original embodiment had a 5 H.P. Chrysler 2 stroke engine, which is more powerful than any leaf blower I know of.

Harry, it was my father's dislike of the chemical repellents(It smelled like Almonds back then) that prompted the development of the first blower.

Crazy Roland


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## johnny2 (Feb 6, 2017)

would all the bees in the honey supers know how to find their way home if the super stack was removed all together and set on a pallet with a fume board on it to drive them out or are some to young to find their way?


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## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

Johnny, we run fume boards as fast as they can go and use a blower to remove the remainder.
Usually, it is just a small handful or less in a corner or two.
Once in a while you will pull a super that the fume board did not move. It is wise NOT to just blaze away with the blower until you have first checked for brood.
It's all too easy to lose a good queen that somehow made her way above the excluder.
I have made that mistake and actually went back to that pallet and saw a clump of bees on the ground, fished around and recovered the queen.
But to answer your question, they do seem to find their way back to a hive. Not necessarily theirs.


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## johnny2 (Feb 6, 2017)

There is a good possibility I blew a Queen or 2 to the ground pulling this year, I had 2 hives that died out after we pulled and fuming wasnt working the best cuz it was too cold out. but I never saw any brood in the honey.


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

Our blowers have a chute on them so that you blow the bees onto the ground in front of their hive. If there was a Queen "Upstairs", she will now be "Downstairs", and since one is clipped, they will sort it out if there are two.

Crazy Roland


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## dgl1948 (Oct 5, 2005)

The real big producers around us all use a crew with blowers and a rack for the supers with a chute..


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

Can you or Roland send us a picture of that rack and chute?


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

The rack and chute that I saw reminded me of a tubular steel set of legs like a tall tv tray stand with one set of legs taller than the other so when you set the super of honey on it the super was at an angle. The chute was a tray of sheet metal suspended below so it could be aimed at the entrance of the hive from which the honey super had been taken. A picture would be more illustrative.


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## Maybee Apiaries (Jun 23, 2016)

Hiwire said:


> Johnny I think people overthink this process...Follow me here...Take an extra box and your replacement boxes of frames to the yard with you. As you remove a capped frame from the upper box and shake the bees back in to the hive (or brush them off if you prefer)put those capped frames in to the empty box, continue until the box is full. Pick up the box and take it to your vehicle. If you have uncapped frames don't take them off. Just replace the capped frames with empty frames. This way 1) You only remove capped frames, 2) you don't have to lift those boxes to install a bee escape 3) you don't have to wait while bees move out 4) you don't have to make multiple trips to the yard. Keep It Simple. You will be finished before you would otherwise have your bee escapes installed and bees removed.
> Ray


This is great for a small number of supers, and we often resort to this method towards the end of the season when there is only 1 super on each hive. But during the busy time, when they are stacked with 3 or 4 supers, not very efficient. It is handling a box at a time vs a frame at a time


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## GoodyFarms (Jul 10, 2016)

odfrank said:


> Can you or Roland send us a picture of that rack and chute?


Perhaps not the ones that commercial guys use, but Dadant does sell one:

https://www.dadant.com/catalog/honey-harvesting/m00785-collapsible-chute-for-bee-blower

Edit, here's another model that I think might work better:
https://www.ceracell.co.nz/shop/Ext...+Tools/Super+Stand+Classic?sku=SSTANDCLA.html

Here's one that allows one to tilt the boxes, kind of like it. Also several pictures of it in use.
https://www.ceracell.co.nz/shop/Ext...ols/Super+Stand+Box+Tilt/x_sku/SSTANDTLT.html


A collapsible model similar to the one above:
https://www.ceracell.co.nz/shop/Ext...ols/Super+Stand+Foldaway/x_sku/SSTANDFLD.html


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## Aaronm (Oct 2, 2016)

Ian said:


> Gotta use the escapes on the hive
> The escapes work by manipulating the hives natural movements within the supers to brood chamber


What type of escapes do you use? I tried using the ones sold by Dadant that fit into the inner cover, but didn't have too much success with them.


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## johnny2 (Feb 6, 2017)

I have seen the double delta board the most. I myself haven't used an escape yet but plan on giving 1 yard a shot at it this year.


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

On the original units, the engine and fan are below the chute, all one unit. Yes, SQKCRK, you can make the frame out of electrical conduit. The first prototypes where. I am not close to our blower, but I do have a picture of it somewhere.

Crazy Roland


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

Aaronm said:


> What type of escapes do you use? I tried using the ones sold by Dadant that fit into the inner cover, but didn't have too much success with them.


Check this out
Just for you;

https://youtu.be/uEs_6qG2hGA


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## Aaronm (Oct 2, 2016)

Ian said:


> Check this out
> Just for you;
> 
> https://youtu.be/uEs_6qG2hGA


Awesome, thanks Ian! :applause:


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## gww (Feb 14, 2015)

Ian
You always impress me with the little inovations that you share that solve little problims in the easiest way.
Cheers
gww


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

I’ve had many laugh,
But at the end of the day I’m sipping wine smelling of propolis and energy to burn


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## johnny2 (Feb 6, 2017)

that is exactly the info I was looking for ,the how and why


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## mbc (Mar 22, 2014)

Ian said:


> Check this out
> Just for you;
> 
> https://youtu.be/uEs_6qG2hGA


"May look a little goofy but it works"
Love your presentations, thanks for sharing.


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

Ian, I can see how your set up works well for you, but our yards are in heavily wooded areas the farmer did not use. The boom would get snagged.

I will attempt to find the copy of a 1966 ABJ article.


Crazy Roland


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

Man your yards must be in shadows all day
How do you get them up and going every morning??


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

The yards have blue sky above and to the south. The path in and surrounds are ussually thick woods.

Crazy Roland


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