getting bees out of super

[doak]

When harvesting honey, I just wanted to hear some input on some different ways to get the bees out of the super. Right now I am using the fume board. Like to hear some different ways and how they work.
:)doak

[Robo]

bee brush
leaf blower
escape board

[Mici]

propane torch

[Mici]

just kiddin, don't worry :-D
only a bee-brush or a feather-brush,a regular brush is somewhat rough

[Moonshae]

When I did this in the past, I used an bee escape above the excluder, gave it 3 days, and had no bees in there. I've come to understand that the fume boards work in a few hours, so depending on how much of a rush it is, and you don't overdo the scent (driving the bees out of the whole hive), the fume board could be more ideal.

[pdmattox]

myself and my mentor use fume boards.

[Kathyp]

i liked the fume board.  i pulled the honey supers off first and set them with a cover, next to  hive on extra super and BB.  it only took a few min. and bees exited the bottom and went back home.  i learned that it takes very little stuff on the fume board to make them leave.  to much seems to make them move slower. 

[heaflaw]

I use a fume board which seems to get 80% of them out and then I take one frame out at a time & brush the rest off.  I have tried escapes & blower, but didn't like either as well.

KathyP: your quote is fantastic!  I believe that strongly.  It should be part of the swearing in ceremony for all political office holders.  Where does it come from?

[Understudy]

I take the hive body off, and then tap against a pair of upright 2x4s next to the hive. I brush off the rest.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

[doak]

Thanks all.
Kathyp, I havent thought about taking the super off like you said. It doesn't take long the way I was doing, but I always have a doz. or so left inside.

I have to be careful, My Wife is "HOSPITAL" responsive to any kind of insect sting.
I have to watch when I start extracting. Slung out one and1/2  5 gal. bucket tonight.
doak

[Robo]

I lean them against the side of the hive and use the leaf blower.  If they are really packed with bees you may have to pull a few frames to blow them out.  No nasty fumes for my honey :-D

[Kathyp]

heaflaw,

it comes from the "wheel of time" series of books written by Robert Jordan.  an absolutely fantastic fantasy/adventure/legend, type of story.  currently 12 book long if you count the prequel.  one more to go.  it's on CD as well, which is good because they are very long books  :-).

in fiction, for the type of story, i have not been so taken with a series since i was a little kid and picked up my first wizard of oz book. 

SOT series is good too.

doak, i still end up with a few.  i just found that this worked a little faster and didn't disturb the entire hive.  i ended up with fewer bees pee'd off.

[Michael Bush]

Abandonment method.
Triangular escape.
Brushing them off the combs.

[tillie]

I only have a couple of hives, but I take an empty super out to the hives and set it on a sheet.  I take the super which I am robbing and take one frame off, stand in front of the hive and give it a vigorous shake - most bees fall off on the landing.  Then I take the bee brush and vigorously brush the rest off of the frame and when it is bee-free, I put it in the empty super and cover with a sheet.  Then I move to the next frame.  The whole thing takes only a few minutes.

When all the frames are in the super, it is then covered with the sheet on all sides and I can take it in to the house without gathering bees as I go.

Linda T in Atlanta

[Brian D. Bray]

I use the one way escape with the inner tops.  I only have a few hives and the few extra days of waiting will the bees move down is no problem.  If I had more bees I might be moreinterested in using a fume board or some other method of clearing the hives from the supers.

[Jerrymac]

Didn't someone show a picture where they took the supers off the hives and stood them on the sides?

[doak]

I think standing them on the sides is for the blower.
doak

[Michael Bush]

>I think standing them on the sides is for the blower.

It also works with the abandonment method.

[tillie]

Michael,  I just did an "advanced search" for abandonment method on your site and it didn't come up.  Can you describe what that method is?

OOps - I just searched this site instead of bushfarms and found that what you mean is something you described on this site last year - taking the super off at dusk and leaving it behind the hive until dark and then moving it into the house - few stragglers because since the super was "abandoned" most if not all of the bees will have returned to the hive.

Thanks anyway,

Linda T

[Michael Bush]

>taking the super off at dusk and leaving it behind the hive until dark and then moving it into the house

That's it.