# Owens bee vac mixed review



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I find all bee vac kill a lot of bees and make a sticky mess... which is why I seldom if ever use them anymore... I know a lot of you swear by them, but I just can't see the point.


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## Brandy (Dec 3, 2005)

I found that if I had the vac going while I removed the hose that I left alll the bees inside the bucket vs. pulling out those left in the hose and closing the trap door a little easier. 

Just my .02 cents.


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## knpeterson (May 18, 2009)

I have the owens bee vac too and the door is my only problem with it. I'm going to modify mine like you did. Thanks for sharing that tip. I don't like to use it much for the same reason Micheal stated. I just use it when I have no other choice. I used it last week and had too many dead bees.


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## Jeffrey Todd (Mar 17, 2006)

The Scotchman inside of me won't let me spend money on something that can be so easily made with materials most of us have on hand already. 
My homemade beevac, made usingidea s from the design on this website, works exceedingly well, and will not kill bees unless I am careless and use too much suction. To me, the beevac is the single most useful innovation in beekeeping to come along in the last 30 years. I have some outstanding colonies populated by bees that have all made the journey through the hose. 
It makes me feel a little bad that Michael Bush, who spends so much time and effort helping other beekeepers, is not a beneficiary of this development.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I don't see the point of a bee vac. I can get the bees to go where I want without one, so why kill them and strees them and get them sticky when I can brush them into the box, put the brood in the box and not worry about it? I can see getting that last little clutser after dark, I guess, but I usually just brush them onto a dustpan and dump them in...


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## wolfpenfarm (Jan 13, 2009)

I built one where i vac them up and they go directly into the hivebody. No bees killed. 
Just drop the tied up comb into it and they are back to work.

Michael, brushing them is ok, but i find the vac does help get them out of the way while cutting comb out.


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## Beekeeper's hubby (Jun 5, 2009)

I glued a dense foam air filter for a lawn mower for a crash pad in the cage and the condition of the bees after vacuum is much better.
Its great for cleaning up swarms or removing bees from comb. If you try to vacuum up full swarms the bees tend to stick together and plug the hose.


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