# Removing bees from honey supers



## ABruce (Dec 27, 2013)

Last year I swept them off each frame, slow and a pain. This year I am using bee escapes, set the full supers on top of the escapes come back a day or two later and they are virtually empty.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

Bee escape boards.


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## WWW (Feb 6, 2011)

I use the triangle escape boards, they work great but remember that you must lift or remove the supers to place them under the supers which can be a lot work if you have a number of supers on the hive. I imagine a fume board would be dandy since they are placed on top but I have never tried one.


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## BeeMoose (Oct 19, 2013)

Currently using escape boards. Will be trying the fume boards in the future.


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## burns375 (Jul 15, 2013)

I tilt the box up on the hivestack 90 degrees so the frames are facing me. I smoke them out with a heavy smoke then hit it with a leaf blower. I usually get 95% or so. I don't remove the frames....to much work. 

I saw someone try a fumeboard once and it didn't work well. Not that they don't work just for somereason didn't work well for this individual.


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## dsquared (Mar 6, 2006)

Fume board with Bee Quick, over a triangle escape board for several minutes, then a battery powered leaf blower with the super on its side. The Black & Decker leaf blower isn't as strong as a gasoline powered one. Then I stack them on the tailgate with cover. As I add another super, I brush off the stragglers that emerge.


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## B52EW (Jun 3, 2013)

I use the manual method. Although I have 16 hives, I harvest by the frame and not the box. But I also harvest numerous times throughout the season. I remove a frame, shake in front of the hive, blow on the few remaining bees, then place the frame in boxes on the back of my pick-up. The boxes on the pick-up have a solid bottom and top to keep out foragers as I collect additional frames. I grab around 25-35 frames for each harvest across several hives. I then re-arrange honey frames that remain in the hive and add additional new or wet frames depending on my goal. Haven't used smoke during harvesting and rarely stung.

Not very efficient, but I enjoy it. I also only have a small extractor and storage capability so it works for me.


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## grozzie2 (Jun 3, 2011)

I tried two different methods for this spring extraction. For the hives here at the house, went out the day before and set things up with an empty super above the excluder, then the triangle escape board, then the full supers above that. The next morning, the supers had some bees still, so we put on a fume board. I took supers virtually free of bees back for extracting.

For the hives some distance away, I tried to do it in one trip. Went out with the triangle escape and the fume boards. We set it up with the escape in place, then put the fume board on, supers were FULL of bees to start. The problem I ran into, the escapes got plugged with bees, and they could no longer get out down below. We ended up removing the escape and using just the fume board, got most of the bees out. In the future, even for those that are a bit of a drive, we'll take the escapes out the day before.

Perspective, we were removing 3 supers from these colonies, and they were FULL of bees. It would be a lot easier if it was only one super, and all the bees could fit in the boxes below.


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## Orion7 (Jun 3, 2015)

I was actually surprised this year. I bought a triangle bee escape, even though I was skeptical. I didn't think with the temperatures in the 60s at night the bees would go down and cluster. But to my amazement they went down, don't know about the cluster part. Put it on in the evening went back the next evening and the magic had happened. I was warned not to leave it on to long, more than a day or two, 

because bad things can happen with unguarded honey.

Took the super off covered with a clean towel and was almost done. There were maybe a handful of bees still there, so I set the supper on it side and blew them out into the grass with an electric leaf blower. Didn't have to get to close except for one little stubborn bee. I think 24 hours was about the right amount of time. Any bees left after that can bee removed easy enough away from the hive.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

Fume board and bee quick waited about 5 min and pulled 2 supers and took inside maybe 4 bees in my house and I think a couple rode in on my jacket easy peas lemon breasy


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## philip.devos (Aug 10, 2013)

I wanted only a small number of frames to extract, so I first placed an empty deep box with a cover about 30 feet from where I pulled frames. One by one I pulled the frame, shook off then brushed off the bees, then walked to where I had placed the empty box, put the frame in and put the cover back on. I repeated until I got the number of frames I wanted to extract. Bees were not too thrilled with this method, but it only took about ten minutes to get it done. I then carried the box away and into the basement.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

leaf blower 45 years.


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## zhiv9 (Aug 3, 2012)

Abandonment - only if there is a flow on or leaf blower or both

If there is a bit of a flow on, on a sunny day tip all the supers up on end and go for lunch. Most of the bees will be gone when you get back. Blow the rest out with a blower.


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## tacomabees (May 2, 2013)

Frame by Frame and bee brush/goose wing- time consuming if you have more than a few hives
leaf blower - can be hard on bees, especially if you happen to have some capped brood on a frame or two and they really don't want to leave.
Fume board - best luck, but works better on warm days...can clear a box in about 10 minutes or so when it 75 degree's plus- my current practice


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## MTN-Bees (Jan 27, 2014)

I use fume boards with Honey- B-Gone and a leaf blower for stragglers.


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

A REAL bee blower.

Crazy Roland

P.S. Hey Ollie, what brand was your leaf blower 45 tears ago?


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## schmism (Feb 7, 2009)

Ive done the leaf blower. - it works

ive done manual extraction more than once. It takes extra time but keeps me from having to lift 70lb supers when they are 5' in the air.

Im moving to fume boards for the future.


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## Charlie B (May 20, 2011)

odfrank said:


> leaf blower 45 years.


Did they even make leaf blowers back then?:scratch:


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

Leaf blowers been around since the 50s


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## Charlie B (May 20, 2011)

Roland said:


> Hey Ollie, what brand was your leaf blower 45 tears ago?


Probably something like this:


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## The Honey Householder (Nov 14, 2008)

We do the stack it all off the hives and go back in two hours and load it up. The bees just go home and get back to work.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

Roland said:


> P.S. Hey Ollie, what brand was your leaf blower 45 years ago?


The first leaf blowers I bought in the '70s were Solo brand. We did in the late '70s have one of the heavy red Dadant bee blowers with the three legs, but in the '80s when my buddy loaned it to a girlfriend it was stolen out of her garage in SF. I always wondered what the thieves could use it for. The girlfriend replaced it with an small Echo also sold by a bee supplier, Kelley?  That replacement Echo probably lasted 30 years with multiple repairs. The same `buddy' who loaned the Dadant to the girlfriend used the Echo as much as me over the next decades, and when it finally crashed on his watch he bought himself a new handheld Stihl and left me using my crews gardening blowers. And my current 'buddies' wonder why I won't loan them my stuff. Charlie offered me last week for him to use my extracting room with "all the cappings for payment". Yippee! I really need some new `buddies'...Why are beekeepers such cheapskates?


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## Hogback Honey (Oct 29, 2013)

Same as Grozzie2, I put the bee escapes under 3 supers, left it on for a day or so, still had plenty of bees in the supers, and clogged exits in the bee escape along with several dozen dead bees. I brushed off the rest of the bees, worked okay. 
I think next year I'll use the bee escape on one super at a time. I used the fume boards and honey robber today, to get the bees out of the supers I'd put back on for them to clean, that worked great.


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## jmgi (Jan 15, 2009)

The Honey Householder said:


> We do the stack it all off the hives and go back in two hours and load it up. The bees just go home and get back to work.


Just have to make sure that the flow is still going strong when you do this, or you'll end up with more bees (robbers) in the supers than when you started.


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## jmgi (Jan 15, 2009)

I've done a few different things, hand brushed each frame off (way too much work when you're running lots of hives), used a cheap leaf blower which worked ok, but could never seem to get the last 25 bees out no matter how hard you tried, I don't like taking bees back to the honey house and having to deal with them in there. I just bought a Dadant bee blower and although it works much better than the leaf blower I had, it weighs as least as much as a full medium of honey.


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## shinbone (Jul 5, 2011)

What minimum velocity and CFM should a leaf blower be to blow out any remaining bees after using an escape board?

What is the most effective chemical to put on a fume board?


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## dtinberg (Jan 26, 2009)

I grab the super and put it on the tailgate with a cover on the top and bottom. Then use a fume board and lift one side by sliding a screwdriver under it to let them escape.after five minutes I remove the frames one by one, brush off any remaining bees and put them in another container.I use a Rubbermaid box that holds about 6 framesor so. Super easy on me and the girls.


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## dweber85rc (Nov 25, 2013)

I used the leaf blower portion of my shop vac. It worked ok but it almost didn't have enough air movement to blow them off. It took a lot of blowing to get them cleared out enough. I had bought a bee escape and was going to try that but I had weather concerns and didn't think I had enough time to let the bee escape work.


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## Charlie B (May 20, 2011)

Ollie has a real narrow crevice tool that works well.


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

From my memory of the '60's, 200 MPH and 5 HP was required to do a GOOD job. You should be able to make the skin on the inside of your forearm make waves like the ocean.

Crazy Roland


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## grozzie2 (Jun 3, 2011)

I posted on Saturday regarding my experience with escapes, I had never seen or used a blower. On Sunday I had the pleasure of heading out into the fireweed patch with an old-timer who has been keeping bees in this area for 50+ years. While out there, we pulled a couple supers off of one of his hives. He had a blower, and I saw it in action to clear supers for the first time.

I spent a bit of time yesterday looking at leaf blowers on the Canadian Tire website. Between now and when we do our fall honey pull, I will purchase a decent blower. I have a sneaking suspicion that after I buy a good blower, the escapes and fume boards will become garage ornaments.


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## zhiv9 (Aug 3, 2012)

grozzie2 said:


> Between now and when we do our fall honey pull, I will purchase a decent blower. I have a sneaking suspicion that after I buy a good blower, the escapes and fume boards will become garage ornaments.


Just a heads up that blowing bees in the summer when there is a flow on is a very different thing than blowing them in the fall when bees are robbing. In the fall you can only tip up a couple of supers at a time and by the time you get to the end of the yard it sometimes seems like they are flying back into the supers as fast as you blow them out. If it's really bad, after loading up the truck I will drive about a 1km from the yard and take the covers off the supers and wait for about 10 minutes to let the robbers load up and fly back to their hives so you aren't bringing so many home.


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## rolftonbees (Jul 10, 2014)

I used plastic queen excluders with paper towels taped between them as a fume board. Sprayed towels with the almond cherry smelling stuff. Lifted lids, placed the QE-fume board, covered with a different top and waited 2 or 3 minutes. Removed super then placed QE/Fumeboard on next super and repeated. 

There were one or two stragglers in each super and I bushed them off before entering basement door. 

Glad I got to use the QE's for something. 

I used a separate cover because I did not want to keep pissing the bees off if the fumes were strong on the telescoping or inner cover from close contact with the fume board.

The hives stayed calm and it all went down nicely.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

zhiv9 said:


> Just a heads up that blowing bees in the summer when there is a flow on is a very different thing than blowing them in the fall when bees are robbing.


That is the big problem with blowing in robbing season. After a few hives the robbers figure it out and can fly in as fast as you blow bees out.


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## grozzie2 (Jun 3, 2011)

zhiv9 said:


> Just a heads up that blowing bees in the summer when there is a flow on is a very different thing than blowing them in the fall when bees are robbing.


Point taken. Timing for us is driven by the moving schedule, so the goldenrod will still be flowing when the supers come off. We pull everything when the bees up in fireweed come home, that way we only have to set up to extract once, and it leaves us a couple weeks of good weather to do a mite control round. The bees will be topping up a bit on the goldenrod at that time. The nature of our schedules means it likely wont be a big deal, but I'll keep this in mind.


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## jmgi (Jan 15, 2009)

Roland said:


> From my memory of the '60's, 200 MPH and 5 HP was required to do a GOOD job. You should be able to make the skin on the inside of your forearm make waves like the ocean.
> 
> Crazy Roland


Yep, about 200 MPH is about what you need. CFM is actually more important than MPH, at first thought you would think that it would be the other way around, but it isn't.


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## D Coates (Jan 6, 2006)

Fume board and Bee quick. To get rid of the stragglers who don't leave the supers I followed it up with this blower http://www.billygoat.com/Product-Categories/Detail/f6-small-property-residential#specs with the hose kit. My wife even commented how there were dramatically fewer stragglers than prior years. It's light, quiet (relatively), and on wheels so it's mobile and so powerful it makes back packs and hand held blowers look silly.


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## drtoddh (Mar 31, 2013)

So do you all inspect those supers for a wayward queen?


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## zhiv9 (Aug 3, 2012)

drtoddh said:


> So do you all inspect those supers for a wayward queen?


Queen excluders


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## D Coates (Jan 6, 2006)

drtoddh said:


> So do you all inspect those supers for a wayward queen?


Nah. The Fume board and Bee Quick push the queen out consistently to this point on the 30 hives I pulled supers off of. I'm certain I'll find otherwise eventually. However, when I had 5-10 hives I used only a handheld blower to clear supers a few years ago. I did end up finding a queen in the stragglers while extracting. Still no idea what hive it came out of. I saved her and put her in a nuc that had a weak queen. 

To this point I only use queen excluders when I'm trying to encourage the raising grafted queens in a queen right hive. Make sure they're using a super and have an upper entrance/exit and put the excluder under it. Remove one of the center frames and put in a frame with grafted queens. The lack of queen activity/pheromones above the excluder and larva of the right age and they'll turn them into queens with little manipulation by the beekeeper.


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## Colobee (May 15, 2014)

WWW said:


> I use the triangle escape boards, they work great but remember that you must lift or remove the supers to place them under the supers which can be a lot work if you have a number of supers on the hive.


I built some of these when they were first reported in Gleanings or ABJ. They are phenomenal. A kind of one way bee maze. I tilt the supers up, slide one in/on & lower the supers back down. Square up & walk away. Usually 99%+ of the bees are gone overnight.

I just put 4 on yesterday afternoon. I'll be extracting today. It helps to go ahead & crack all the supers apart - that leaves less honey mess from the ladder comb between the supers (the bees clean it up as they are leaving).

I just bought another half dozen new ones when I saw them on sale. The old ones are a bit tired after 20-30 years of very successful use.


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## dsegrest (May 15, 2014)

Fume board with Honey Robber, but don't buy a fume board. use a shim or a super with a piece of cardboard or a TTC. Put a rag in it with a little of the honey robber, set it diagonally on the top super in the hot sun and wait a few minutes. If you see the bees running out the entrance, you've got too much honey robber.


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## Colobee (May 15, 2014)

I pulled the supers this morning. The escape boards were on overnight - for ~16 hours. There were maybe a dozen bees left between 3 supers. 3 were completely empty. There was almost no leaking honey.


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## bentonbee (Jan 31, 2007)

Roland said:


> From my memory of the '60's, 200 MPH and 5 HP was required to do a GOOD job. You should be able to make the skin on the inside of your forearm make waves like the ocean.
> 
> Crazy Roland


Crazy Roland,
Do you still use a bee blower to get bees out of supers?
Mike


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

Yes. Did you need to borrow it?

Crazy Roland


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

shinbone said:


> What is the most effective chemical to put on a fume board?


I've used benzaldehyde, Bee-Quick, and Bee-Go/Honey Robber which are butyric anhydride. The first two work but are slow. The last works like a charm. Smells real nice, too.


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## bentonbee (Jan 31, 2007)

I would like to build one! Or find a used one Roland.



Roland said:


> Yes. Did you need to borrow it?
> 
> Crazy Roland


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

When things slow down, why don't you wander over and look at a few options.

Crazy Roland


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## minz (Jan 15, 2011)

The brush does not work at all for me. I put a cover on the ground with an empty super, pull a frame, and give it a sharp downward shove; a good snap at the bottom leaves 95% of the bees on the ground. The second clears the frame. I put the frame in the box and the son covers it. I pull all of the fully capped frames, put the open ones in a box and just keep digging. The super with the uncapped goes back on the hive. It moves pretty quick and I do not have to make multiple trips. The full super goes into the truck and with luck the son remembers to close the topper. I am small time though, no more than 5 hives in a location in 4 locations. I shoot for about 6 supers at a time, any more my wife starts to pitch a fit.


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## bentonbee (Jan 31, 2007)

Roland said:


> When things slow down, why don't you wander over and look at a few options.
> 
> Crazy Roland


I will try to do that Rolland. It has been a while since I have seen your Museum there too.
Thanks
Mike Townsley


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

Give me little warning. I can find some examples.


Roland Diehnelt
Linden Apiary


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## janellesHoneyRockets (Sep 6, 2013)

does anyone know a home remedy to move bees out of supers real quick, so I can take off my honey before I treat. also can I leave supers on while treating with formic acid. please someone out there help me I don't want to ruin my honey cause I left it on . and should have taken it off. and also what home remedie will help the bees move faster out of the honey supers so I can take


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## bentonbee (Jan 31, 2007)

Roland said:


> Give me little warning. I can find some examples.
> 
> 
> Roland Diehnelt
> Linden Apiary


Ok. When do things slow down for you Roland? 
Thanks
Mike


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

Early October?

Roland


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## blamb61 (Apr 24, 2014)

Did 3 med supers this eve manual way. Shook them into hive, brushed rest off, then put in empty super and put lid on quick after each frame was put in. Only got 3 or 4 bees left on frames.


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## bentonbee (Jan 31, 2007)

Roland said:


> Early October?
> 
> Roland


will shoot for that!
Mike


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

OK

Roland


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## msc (Aug 9, 2015)

You don't have problems with blowing your queen out with blowers? I know she's not normally in super but I've seen her there from time to time. I thought about trying it with a cheap electric one and inverter hooked to battery.


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## Biermann (May 31, 2015)

My plan: I have an old super and I will cut a hole to fit my leaf blower snout and I will set the full super on top and blow. Should/could work with several supers if no brood is in any frame or not?

H-day is coming, Joerg


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## zhiv9 (Aug 3, 2012)

msc said:


> You don't have problems with blowing your queen out with blowers?


Queen excluders here


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## zhiv9 (Aug 3, 2012)

Biermann said:


> My plan: I have an old super and I will cut a hole to fit my leaf blower snout and I will set the full super on top and blow. Should/could work with several supers if no brood is in any frame or not?
> 
> H-day is coming, Joerg


Joerg, you won't have enough air velocity. You need high velocity and volume to blow the bees out.


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