# Owens Bee Vac Killed Bees



## Brent Bean (Jun 30, 2005)

I made one myself a few years ago, one difference between yours and mine is. I have a separate chamber in the form of a bucket below the wet vac I used, that way I can switch bucket chamber if it starts to get full or I have to run it for a prolonged time. So far bee mortality as been low. 
I have found out by experience that if you run the vac for a long time it will kill a lot more bees and at the very least make them sick enough where they start defecating.
You also mentioned you had the suction dialed down, that good, I set my to the lowest possible suction, just enough to pull them in.


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## dixiebooks (Jun 21, 2010)

If it was only 15' up why did you not simply cut down the branch they were on or else shake them out. Isn't the bee vac considered a method of last resort for collecting swarms and cutouts? -James


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## spieker (Jun 26, 2009)

> If it was only 15' up why did you not simply cut down the branch they were on or else shake them out. Isn't the bee vac considered a method of last resort for collecting swarms and cutouts? -James


There were several branches in the way going up. The tree was too young to put a ladder against. This is my 3rd summer with bees, and still lack experience. I had read other posts where people collected swarms in their bee vac, so I thought that was considered kosher. I was not aware that the bee vac is considered a method of last resort for collecting swarms and cutouts. Right now, I am very upset, so will be using it only as a last resort in the future.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

If the bees are getting beat by too high of air velocity then close down the exhaust to control the flow. You can also decrease velocity by using a larger hose if the vac will accommodate.


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## wadehump (Sep 30, 2007)

swarms gourge on honey before they leave the hive. i would say if the temp was right they puked all over each other that is what caused the kill


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

A ten foot water slide without the water is pretty far in bee feet! You might want to search for attaching a bucket or bag to a pole. There are few places a pole trap will not reach. Some of the suppliers sell the attachment too. It is just a 5 gallon bucket with a string to pull the cover back on or a bag with a way to close the top.


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## spieker (Jun 26, 2009)

I want to thank everyone for their helpful responses. I hope that this post will save other people from making the mistake I made.


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## mac (May 1, 2005)

Well if you added an extension with diameter smaller than the original hose it will increase the suction like a large diameter water hose, if you add one with a smaller diameter the water pressure will increase


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

technically the pressure decreases but the velocity increases.
Lets say you have a vac that has a 3 inch inlet. You use a three inch hose for say 20 feet and then put a short section of 1 1/2 for no more than 3 feet long at the end. that will give you high velocity in the 1 1/2 in section to draw off the bees but the minute the bees go into the 3 inch section of hose they will slow down by more than half speed. They might even be capable of flying against the suction in the 3 inch section. It would be good to have a window in the 3 in section near the vac. Just use a clear PVC pipe about 12 inch long for this window.

I would not use a vac that has a 1 1/2 inlet directly. You could use it on the exit air of a container but reverse the hose sizes.


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## Batman (Jun 7, 2009)

spieker said:


> The bees are a big wet mess as the suction squashed their bodies.


I don't think it was the suction, I think it was the sudden stop.

Joking aside, I built my vac and used a light dimmer switch in line on the extension cord so that i could control the motor directly. I start out with it on low and gradually spool up the motor til it just starts to suck up the bees.

C2


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

All the bee vacs I've seen kill bees. More or less depends on how long you leave them in, how hot the weather is and how well it's adjusted. I have several. I don't like bee vacs.


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## Nabber86 (Apr 15, 2009)

Acebird (and Bernoulli) has it right. Velocity is inversely proportional to pressure (the lower the pressure the higher the the velocity, and vice versa). The pressure (or in this case vacuum) in the hose doesn't hurt the bees, it's the increase in velocity. You want to use the largest diameter hose that you can (and still make sure that you have just enough vacum to suck the bees in).


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## davel (Jan 29, 2011)

I made my own based on the Owens vac and it works fine and doesn't kill the bees. I kill more by squashing them trying to vacuum them up than the vacuum does.
You should only use enough suction to barely suck them into the hose. You also need to make sure your container is well ventilated. I had my vacuum off and on for almost 4 hours and they didn't overheat. I think the air passing through the container keeps them ventilated because I have screening on my container. If you shut it off and they are overcrowded they will get hot and die.
I wouldn't use a bee vac for a swarm unless I had to. It's easier to just cut the branch or shake them into a bucket.


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