# Bummer from a removal last night



## imthedude (Jan 28, 2013)

Got home about 9:15 last night and unloaded the two deeps from a removal that I did yesterday afternoon/evening. Beautiful queen bee BTW.

Anyway took them out to the yard and combined the vacuumed bees with the brood, other bees, and queen. I could hear the hose humming a little bit. In the past I've had a problem getting every last bee out of the hose, so this time I laid the hose right at the entrance to the hive hoping they would eventually walk out and into the box. When I retrieved the hose this morning, I shook out probably a half pound of bees from the hose. Some were still alive, but most were dead. I feel like a turd now and have to do something about the hose I'm using for removals.

Just thought I'd vent to a group that might understand.


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## JakeDatc (Apr 19, 2010)

for the future maybe put a fishing weight on the end of a long string and a rag tied to the other end. drop the weight through and pull the rag through and the bees will come with it.


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## imthedude (Jan 28, 2013)

JakeDatc said:


> for the future maybe put a fishing weight on the end of a long string and a rag tied to the other end. drop the weight through and pull the rag through and the bees will come with it.


good idea. i'll give that a try, though i'm going to move to a bigger hose in hopes of this not happening anymore.


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## KPeacock (Jan 29, 2013)

i've got a cutout coming up next week and just ordered a 30' hose so i can leave my vacuum in one location. eBay had it for $30. it is a poolvacuum hose, so has a smooth interior, which should be a bit more gentle on the bees as well.


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## imthedude (Jan 28, 2013)

KPeacock said:


> i've got a cutout coming up next week and just ordered a 30' hose so i can leave my vacuum in one location. eBay had it for $30. it is a poolvacuum hose, so has a smooth interior, which should be a bit more gentle on the bees as well.


i started with a 25' or 35' hose. it was too long, so i cut it in thirds. the +/- 10' length is more manageable.


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## imthedude (Jan 28, 2013)

update: either the birds had a feast, or those bees were still alive but lethargic. went out to grab the bottom of my bee vac (where i dumped all of the bees out of the hose), and they were almost all gone. there were maybe 10 dead bees. i feel much better now (assuming a bird didn't feast on them).


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## Russ (Sep 9, 2001)

imthedude said:


> Got home about 9:15 last night and unloaded the two deeps from a removal that I did yesterday afternoon/evening. Beautiful queen bee BTW.
> 
> Anyway took them out to the yard and combined the vacuumed bees with the brood, other bees, and queen. I could hear the hose humming a little bit. In the past I've had a problem getting every last bee out of the hose, so this time I laid the hose right at the entrance to the hive hoping they would eventually walk out and into the box. When I retrieved the hose this morning, I shook out probably a half pound of bees from the hose. Some were still alive, but most were dead. I feel like a turd now and have to do something about the hose I'm using for removals.
> 
> Just thought I'd vent to a group that might understand.


I don't understand why the Bee's were still in the HOSE. Just turn the Vacuum on and suck them into the box. Fix the Vacuum so that you can take the hose out of the hole and close the hole. Even a Rag could do that. You need to fix the hose so it is removable.


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## D Semple (Jun 18, 2010)

Rinse hoses out with hot water in between jobs, they get sticky from nectar and honey.

Always clear the hose of bees every 10 minutes or so by shaking the hose and adjusting the suction up.

If you're using Rob's Robovac it works best with an empty box on the bottom to keep the bees from getting clogged at the entrance.


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## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

You can also turn a robovac on the side to keep the entrance from getting clogged.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

I was going to ask the same question as to why there were bees in the hose in the first place. 
A word of CAUTION to long hose users: You will have a higher mortality rate with the longer hoses from the bees to the bee vac. Trust me... I speak from experience. 
You are better of lengthening the hose between the vac and bee vac. It is sooo much nicer (quieter and cooler) to have the vac in a seperate room (or area) from the cutout. Those vacs give off some serious heat even after a short while.


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## Erik (May 1, 2012)

I've gone to using a larger diameter and longer hose. The larger diameter allows the bees a bigger column of air to move with and seems to result in fewer bee deaths. I can only guess with the greater diameter they're not bouncing off the sides as much. 

My shop vac has far more suction power than I need so I still adjust suction to just slightly more than required to suck a bee off comb or other holding point. 

Agree with other poster to occasionally slap, shake, or whip the hose to knock loose any bees hanging along the inside. I've noticed that if you don't, you'll eventually loose suction power. When done vacuuming I aggressively shake, whip, slap, drop the hose to dislodge any bees holding onto the inside. 

Remember bees like to climb, so I do try to hang my hose with both open ends up, kind of like a big U-shape. Any bees remaining will climb up and out. A day or so later I may drain used bathwater and wash the hose inside and out. (I have a lot of aquarium pumps, rolling 30-gallon garbage cans for water changes, etc). If you have a secure place to hold the ends up even a foot, you can lay out the hose and hold both ends up on the side of a spare deep hive body with clamps and fill the whole tube with water. Let is soak a couple hours in the sun then dump the water out and rinse.


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## marshmasterpat (Jun 26, 2013)

Russ said:


> I don't understand why the Bee's were still in the HOSE. Just turn the Vacuum on and suck them into the box. Fix the Vacuum so that you can take the hose out of the hole and close the hole. Even a Rag could do that. You need to fix the hose so it is removable.


Russ - My thoughts exactly. I try to increase the sucking power just for a few seconds each time I band up another piece of comb to help keep the hose clean. I have also noted that with my home made system, when I shut off the power, the bees immediately start back up the hose. So now when done, I remove my hose and plug the hole in the container with a rag, or cover with a piece of magic (duct tape), then turn things off. It has stopped the problem with bees in the hose. 

I killed a bunch on my first cut out, likely more than half the hive. Too much suction, got too hot... lots of ignorance. But got a lot to learn so folks keep sharing the tips. They all help.


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