The honey is capped! The frames are full! It's time to get the honey!!! But what about all those bees in there???
Another excellent question! You want to remove the bees from the honey super before you remove the super from your hive, especially if you are taking the super to another location. There are a variety of ways to accomplish this task: smokers, fume products, leaf blowers, bee escapes, and brushes and feathers.
Leaf blowers are great, but a bit too loud for the bees. The sound and vibration are upsetting to the bees. The last thing you want, is mad bees! Smoking out the bees also works. It’s more gentle than the leaf blower, but is quite time consuming. You can use chemical products that work quickly, like Fisher’s Bee-Quick and Honey Robber, but some are so smelly, you may flee the hive too! A bee maze or a bee escape are a favorite among beekeepers. They don’t require chemicals or upsetting noises. Instead, they act like a one-way door, allowing the bees to exit and not return. These small tools take a few days to clear out the bees, but seem to be the least invasive means of clearing out your supers. One of the easiest methods is to shake off the bees, or brush them off. Many complain of getting stung when they use a bee brush, and lots of “old timers” overcome this by using a feather instead.
Another excellent question! You want to remove the bees from the honey super before you remove the super from your hive, especially if you are taking the super to another location. There are a variety of ways to accomplish this task: smokers, fume products, leaf blowers, bee escapes, and brushes and feathers.
Leaf blowers are great, but a bit too loud for the bees. The sound and vibration are upsetting to the bees. The last thing you want, is mad bees! Smoking out the bees also works. It’s more gentle than the leaf blower, but is quite time consuming. You can use chemical products that work quickly, like Fisher’s Bee-Quick and Honey Robber, but some are so smelly, you may flee the hive too! A bee maze or a bee escape are a favorite among beekeepers. They don’t require chemicals or upsetting noises. Instead, they act like a one-way door, allowing the bees to exit and not return. These small tools take a few days to clear out the bees, but seem to be the least invasive means of clearing out your supers. One of the easiest methods is to shake off the bees, or brush them off. Many complain of getting stung when they use a bee brush, and lots of “old timers” overcome this by using a feather instead.