# Sticky  Bee vac/plans



## alleyyooper

Talking to my friend Tom J last week and he asked if I had plans for a bee vac. I had thought I had posted the ones on my build here some years back but couldn't find it so will do it now.

If you start retrieving swarms you will find times you wished you could reach 25 to 30 feet up a tree, or even had a way to get the ones wrapped around limbs.

Well with a bee vac you can do most of that.
They are also handy when removing bees from a building where you can remove things to get to the comb.

Here is a box in a box design. It works but you have to dump the bees from the box to empty it and you should have more than one catch box if the swarm is a large one.

http://www.beesource.com/build-it-yourself/bee-vac/

Here is one that I like a lot. The bees go right into the hive where they are going to stay.

http://robo.bushkillfarms.com/beekeeping/bee-vac/


My vac is a box in a box. The 3 pound package boxes modified are what I use the most. Once you transport the bees to the new home you open the box just like installing a 3 pound package. *See my post the gentile install.* I still plan on doing the robo one this fall or winter.

Now you want to know how to reach up to 30 feet in a tree.

Using a extension ladder of at least 20 feet you can add enough suction hose to the bee vac which you fasten to one of those telescoping painters poles that extent to well over 10 feet. I believe mine goes over 18 feet.

A belt with a pocket like a fishing fighting belt would be nice to help hold that pole and hose.

 Al


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## alleyyooper

I captured this swarm that was about 35 feet up by useing a bee vac box inside a box design.

I had sat my folding ladder at 10 feet inside the box of the land owners pickup and the vac was on the roof.

You can see the use of the painting extention pole and the recycled modified use of 3 pound package boxes. The mods to the package box are carpet padding on the end away from the hose outlet to soften the landing. The removal of the center brace the syrup can fits on too.




























 Al


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## alleyyooper

Have been thinking for some time about building a different type of bee vac. Finally found plans of one that would do what I was wanting, suck the bees right into the hive their going to end up in.

Started a few days ago by going thru my stack of shallow and medium extra boxes. Found a medium for the bottom sanded it down and installed the ramp inside. The shallow I had grabbed for the top, when I inspected it closer it turned out to have a crack running thru the handle area. Decided to build the top from scratch. Finished it and was so proud of my work, but the sliding cover over the screen still needed the hole for the vac tube and the vent hole that regulates the suction drilled out.

Should have removed it to do the drilling. Have two real pretty holes in the ventilation screen. Just going to patch those holes for now.






































 Al


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## alleyyooper

All finished and a quick trial run, I found way to big of air leak between the hive bodies and the bottom and top. easy fix was to install some weather stripping. To fix it properly would be to use a plane on the edges of the hive to level them out but then you would have to do it every time or use the same hive bodies.

I also got an adaptor so I could use a small 2hp shop vac or use my bigger 5hp model. I tend to use the 5hp vac mostly.

Some pictures of my old box in a box design vac.







 Al


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## barnbilder

You should fork out the money for a bushkill. You will be impressed and you will see a key design feature that makes the difference between having a bunch of damaged bees when you get done sucking them up.


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## barnbilder

Wait, it looks like you have made a rough facsimile of a Bushkill bee vac, I see how you worked out the slanted bottom. But you didn't give them a plug. You know, as thanks for designing the thing you copied, so that if maybe somebody wasn't handy and wanted to buy such a device ready made, they might perhaps buy one from them.


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## alleyyooper

I didn't copy the bushkill bee vac. There was not one bee vac that I used every thing the way they build it nor the hoses.
My hose I spent some money on and are smooth as a babies butt.



No bees rolling thru the corrugated pool vac hoses, and a soft landing inside, adjustable vacuum port too.

 Al


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## indios

i made one and had to go to the smooth wall tubing, the corrugated one was to rough on the bees.


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## Peter Jensen

What have you done then?


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