Best Way to get Bees out of a honey super?

BeeMaster2 · March 07, 2017, 05:15:04 PM

At 43 degrees a lot of my bees/scouts are flying.
I have used a beebrush. Took 3 weeks for the bees to calm down enough to let anyone else walk in the back yard.
I like bee quick and a fume board. Works pretty well on supers to move the bees down.
Jim

Acebird · March 07, 2017, 05:36:53 PM

Quote from: bwallace23350 on March 07, 2017, 04:51:28 PM
I will probably do the brush off and just pull a few frames at a time or the smell bad stuff.

Shake first to get most of them off before you brush.

Acebird · March 07, 2017, 05:41:30 PM

Quote from: sawdstmakr on March 07, 2017, 05:15:04 PM
I have used a beebrush. Took 3 weeks for the bees to calm down enough to let anyone else walk in the back yard.

There is a technique to flinging that brush so it doesn't just roll over the bees. BW check out some videos before you try and practice a little in the air.

bwallace23350 · March 08, 2017, 07:40:22 AM

Thanks everyone.

bwallace23350 · March 08, 2017, 07:57:23 AM

I am thinking I will also use the fume board and looking it up will use bee quick because it is non toxic. Do bees always get so angry when they are robbed of their honey? I only ask because my bees are also in my garden area and I will be robbing at the same time that I am probably planting

BeeMaster2 · March 08, 2017, 12:53:56 PM

I often remove honey in a t-shirt and trousers. With the Bee Quick and shaking the hang ons back over the hive they do not mind.
What they do not like is doing it during a dearth because within minutes of opening the hive, the robbing starts and they all get very pissy.
Jim

Oldbeavo · March 08, 2017, 05:42:12 PM

After reading heaps of posts, and being a believer in bee escapes I have finally worked out why they work for us in Australia and not so well for the US.
It is in the technique or process of honey removal. It is not temp as 50-60f would be fine.
OK, we run 8 frame full depth, hives and supers. If we have a hive with a Qx and a full super of honey on top and we want to take the honey off.
Take lid off, take super of honey off, add new super with empty frames (stickies or new), place bee escape on the new super then put the super with honey on the bee escape, shake bees out of lid in front of entrance (less to go through bee escape) and put lid back.
Next day go back and take super of honey, little squirt of smoke down bee escape holes and remove bee escape and add lid.
The difference is we what we call undersuper with space for the bees to go to.

Acebird · March 08, 2017, 08:52:46 PM

Interesting ... I have not tried that. If I should want to harvest in warmer weather I will try that.
What is your plan for the second super?

Oldbeavo · March 09, 2017, 07:02:49 AM

The plan for the second super is for the bees to fill it with honey.
if we are on a good honey flow and the bees start with stickies, they should fill the second super in couple of weeks, then repeat the honey removal process.
We extract at home and shift our bees to follow the blossom, which may require many shifts.
For US BK's reverse the season, late July,take bees to almond pollination, 340k's, bring back to canola, 340k's, take to salvation Jane, 80k's, take to blackberries 140k's, take to Red Gum 130k's (failed to get much honey), take to Grey Box 90k's. All that in 7-8 months.
Need a big yield off the Grey box to finish the season and carry some honey into the winter.
We wonder if we are bee keepers or bee truckies.

Acebird · March 09, 2017, 09:06:58 PM

OK I didn't realize that this was during a massive flow. It is quite common here that the bees don't cap the honey in a massive flow. Do you take the honey anyway and wave you magic wand for moisture content?

Oldbeavo · March 10, 2017, 06:07:18 AM

We still wait for them to cap the honey, this will occur as the frames fill'
Our eucalypt honey can be taken with a few frames 75% capped, it tends to dry any way as we have day time temp of 90f.
We put bee escapes on today (Friday) to take the honey off Sunday, early. We did about 40 supers.

BeeMaster2 · March 11, 2017, 07:03:23 AM

Quote from: Oldbeavo on March 10, 2017, 06:07:18 AM
We still wait for them to cap the honey, this will occur as the frames fill'
Our eucalypt honey can be taken with a few frames 75% capped, it tends to dry any way as we have day time temp of 90f.
We put bee escapes on today (Friday) to take the honey off Sunday, early. We did about 40 supers.

If I did that here and started extracting on Monday, all of the supers so be starting to ooz slime and the honey would bee un usable.
Jim

divemaster1963 · March 11, 2017, 09:08:21 AM

ditto here. SHB are quick to move into unguard supers. you can't even store supers in hot houses unless they are sealed up so the SHB can't get to them.

john

Oldbeavo · March 11, 2017, 03:59:17 PM

WE don't have SHB issues bad as that,we would only see 2 or 3 per hive if we take a hive apart looking for the queen. Plus we do no control at all, squash if seen is the only management.
Some hives have none.....but if a super is neglected they seem to know and will accumulate.
May be our climate is too dry big SHB problems, or our vented hives are not liked by SHB.