# Removing honey supers from hives?



## sheeplady (Oct 31, 2003)

How do you all remove the honey supers from your hives. I have my hives at our other farm (we are relocating to next year) and I only get there a couple times a month for an overnight visit. I need to get the supers off during that 2 day time frame. 
Would the triangle bee escape board work if I removed the supers and put them in a stack several feet away with an escape board on top and bottom of the stack? 
I do not want to use a fume board. Have used it in the past and did not like the residual odor it left in the honey.
Tell me your methods and what works for you. Kate in New York


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## Queen Bee (Apr 7, 2004)

First year,(w/ only two hives) I just put an empty super on a stand w/ a top on the bottom and one on the top. I removed the frames from each hive, one at a time and brushed the bees off it. Placing it in the empty super, be sure that you cover the frames back up quickly and that you cover the hive up-to prevent robbing.. 

As my apiary has grown, I am using the a fume board and I find it works very well. With no after smell or taste. 

Good luck Debbie


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## brosil (Dec 15, 2003)

We've used Queen Bee's method the last few years. It works better for us. We've used the fume board in the past but don't like it as much.


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## Tana Mc (May 10, 2002)

I am wonering what you are using on your fume boards. I use them with out any problems. 
I do remove my supers and place them a short distance from the hives on top of an empty brood box. I put the fume board on long enough to get them going.That way when the bees leave the super, they go back to the hive away from me and the honey. I quickly place my supers or the frames in another bigger box ( like a big plastic tub with a lid) so that they don't come back to it. I still end up with a few bees in the kitchen.... 
I can get 3-4 hives done in a day but i amnot real eficient.
Tana Mc


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## Guest (Aug 10, 2004)

Sheeplady:
I have done it for years with a bee brush, one frame at a time. Very time consuming. 

Nowadays I use my gasoline powered lawn blower. Stand the super on end, blow from the bottom, aiming the blower so that the bees are blown out into the air rather than against the ground. Blow from bottom, then go around and blow from the top for a few secs, then from the bottom again and you generally have all the bees out and gone.

They do not get excited. Just cover the super as soon as you are done blowing or some of them will come back to it.

Be sure to wash the nozzle and impeller on your blower first if you have been vacuuming with it. Make sure it is clean. I've been thinking of gettin one especially for the bees when they go on clearance this fall. I've seen them for as little as $59. 
Ox


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## King Bee (Aug 13, 2004)

kate - 

i use the triangle board below the honey supers and above the brood chamber. You just have to close off all upper entrances above the triangle board, otherwise the bees get in and stay in the supers. I used a screen and stapled it across all upper entrances and across the hole in the inner cover. Last year, I had one bee in the supers when I went to take them.


MPK


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## beezzzzz (Jun 16, 2004)

Good ideas from all of you. I prefer the use of bee escapes. These are little plastic one-way outlets that fit into the hole of the inner cover. The bee escape and inner cover combination is placed below the supers of which you want to rid the bees. Unfortunately, they don't always work, and then its time to break out the bee brush and start clearing the frames one at at time. I don't use fume boards. Except for the minimum of drugs/chemicals to combat diseases, I do not introduce any chemicals into my beehives. I am curious about the triangle boards mentioned in earlier messages above. What are they exactly? How do they work? Are they effective? Where can I find them? or how can I make one? I'm always interested in trying something new. By the way, I have 18 hives in east central Wisconsin. Also, this is my first post!!!!


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