One of the obvious reason to setup, maintain, and stock a beehive is so you can harvest great honey You will know that it is time to harvest the honey when taking a look at one super hives and find that the frames are full of honey combs resulting from your bees covering the frame with wax caps.
Now all you have to do is remove the honey combs.
It shouldn't be a problem harvesting you're honey as long as your put on all your beekeeping gear, like very light colored bee clothes (beekeepers swear that lighter colored clothes have a soothing affect on bees) and stay calm.
When the super is full of capped honey combs this is the time to remove the bees. There are chemicals available on the market that will make this easier. One popular chemical used to remove the bees is Bee-Go. The Bee-Go is applied to a fumer board.
The moment the bees smell this Bee-Go they move to the bottom of their hive, leaving the super full of capped honeycombs empty for you to harvest. Another product beekeepers use to clear out supers is one called Fishers Bee Quick. Non of these products are of harm to the bees, the scent is just offensive to the bees which is why they move away.
Once you have the honey comb you need to prepare it to be extracted. The first step in this preparation is removing the wax caps. The bees have used it to seal the honey into the honey comb. A majority of beekeepers like or prefer using nine frames not ten for their supers. By using nine frames they give the bees enough room to draw the comb out, placing the cap right on the very edge of the comb. The wax caps are removed easier this way.
Beekeepers use a metal knife to remove the caps, the knife works best if the knife blade is warmed, after all its easier to cut warm wax then it is to cut cold wax. You can keep the knife blade warm with frequent dunking in a basin that is full of hot water. A lot of beekeepers prefer using bread knifes when removing wax caps while other beekeepers use specially designed beekeeping knifes. What do you think bee's wax candles are made out of. Removing the caps from the dripping honey is easy, a cheese cloth is used for this process, the cheesecloth drains the honey and the top collects the bee wax.
Once the caps are removed from the honey comb the honey is ready to be extracted.
As you remove the caps, you should allow them to drop into a pot do not just through them away. You will notice that lots of honey will stick on these caps, honey that can be processed and used. There is a large market for wax caps. Once the caps have been removed from the honeycombs you can now extract the honey.
Now all you have to do is remove the honey combs.
It shouldn't be a problem harvesting you're honey as long as your put on all your beekeeping gear, like very light colored bee clothes (beekeepers swear that lighter colored clothes have a soothing affect on bees) and stay calm.
When the super is full of capped honey combs this is the time to remove the bees. There are chemicals available on the market that will make this easier. One popular chemical used to remove the bees is Bee-Go. The Bee-Go is applied to a fumer board.
The moment the bees smell this Bee-Go they move to the bottom of their hive, leaving the super full of capped honeycombs empty for you to harvest. Another product beekeepers use to clear out supers is one called Fishers Bee Quick. Non of these products are of harm to the bees, the scent is just offensive to the bees which is why they move away.
Once you have the honey comb you need to prepare it to be extracted. The first step in this preparation is removing the wax caps. The bees have used it to seal the honey into the honey comb. A majority of beekeepers like or prefer using nine frames not ten for their supers. By using nine frames they give the bees enough room to draw the comb out, placing the cap right on the very edge of the comb. The wax caps are removed easier this way.
Beekeepers use a metal knife to remove the caps, the knife works best if the knife blade is warmed, after all its easier to cut warm wax then it is to cut cold wax. You can keep the knife blade warm with frequent dunking in a basin that is full of hot water. A lot of beekeepers prefer using bread knifes when removing wax caps while other beekeepers use specially designed beekeeping knifes. What do you think bee's wax candles are made out of. Removing the caps from the dripping honey is easy, a cheese cloth is used for this process, the cheesecloth drains the honey and the top collects the bee wax.
Once the caps are removed from the honey comb the honey is ready to be extracted.
As you remove the caps, you should allow them to drop into a pot do not just through them away. You will notice that lots of honey will stick on these caps, honey that can be processed and used. There is a large market for wax caps. Once the caps have been removed from the honeycombs you can now extract the honey.
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