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Author Topic: bee escape screen  (Read 2158 times)

Offline zzzzzzzzpr

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bee escape screen
« on: August 31, 2013, 08:40:19 pm »
does any1 use these? im planning for next year and want to get everything I need.
cover wise I was thinking  migratory tops. if I go that route do I need an inner cover?
or would a telescoping cover w/ inner cover be better?

how does the escape work by the way?

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Re: bee escape screen
« Reply #1 on: September 01, 2013, 12:15:29 am »
ZPR,
I think you are referring to the bee escape used for extracting honey. If so, don't waste your money. They are designed to allow a bee to go through it one way but not the other. You have to put it on 24 hours before you want to remove the super. The bees exit but cannot return. Get some bee quick or beedun. Works in 5 minutes and you remove one super at a time. 
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline zzzzzzzzpr

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Re: bee escape screen
« Reply #2 on: September 01, 2013, 09:48:25 pm »
whats beedung or quick bee/?

Offline sc-bee

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Re: bee escape screen
« Reply #3 on: September 01, 2013, 10:37:34 pm »
whats beedung or quick bee/?

Used on fume board to clear bees from honey supers at harvest time.

Beequick:
http://www.dadant.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=483

Beedun (It is however different from beedung :) )
http://www.dadant.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1283

Honey Harvester:
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Natural-Honey-Harvester/productinfo/474/

Stay away from bee go and honey robber smells like puke.
John 3:16

Online BeeMaster2

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Re: bee escape screen
« Reply #4 on: September 01, 2013, 10:51:46 pm »
They are a liquid that you spray on a fume board which covered with cloth that its the size of a super. You spray it and put it on top of the super and wait 7 minutes. It drives the bees out of the super. Well most of them, most of the time. The super directly above the brood is the hardest one to get them to move out of. We just pulled 21 mediums from 13 hives.
Put the spray on a lid or a board and put the supers on the board and keep them covered. We shook each frame then put them in the super on the lid. We had previously screwed the lid to the bottom of a dolly so that we could carry 5 of them into my patio to extract them. It worked pretty well.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline capt44

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Re: bee escape screen
« Reply #5 on: September 03, 2013, 08:56:15 am »
Inner covers do not have to be used.
Bee Hives are like cars, there are more accessories out there than you actually need.
Richard Vardaman (capt44)

Offline Simon

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Re: bee escape screen
« Reply #6 on: September 03, 2013, 09:28:18 am »
If you go with migratory lids, you don't need the conventional inner cover.  Instead, you can use a "hive mat" to minimise burr comb sticking down the lid, shelter the cluster from moisture and help to maintain their subdued light etc.  Raid your local floor covering store for any of their unwanted floor vinyl sample books - I tried this today, but missed the shops' garbage run by a week or two  :'(   Cut yourself some pieces to cover the top bars of the top super, but leave a gap around the edges to allow airflow and give the bees access above the "mat".  The gap will also let them smell the smoke puffed in under the lid.  12mm or so all around should be good, but if you do a search for "hive mat" you should be able to find some pictures to get a better idea.  The mat will peel off nicely when you do an inspection and is easy to clean.  I have heard of some people using some clear plastic film instead of the floor vinyl (you could effectively spy on the bees through the clear plastic!), but I haven't tried this myself.

Simon

Offline zzzzzzzzpr

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Re: bee escape screen
« Reply #7 on: September 03, 2013, 02:44:22 pm »
next year ill have 10 hives. how much beedug or bee quick would I need?

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Re: bee escape screen
« Reply #8 on: September 04, 2013, 01:18:41 am »
With 10 hives, it will probably last this time and 1 or 2 more extractions.

We just pulled 51 gallons and I was using a bottle from the last time we pulled and there was still plenty left in it.  It wasn't working very well and the closer we got to the brood box the less bees left the super. My biggest hive got very defensive. We left one super above the brood because they were so bad. Went to an out apiary and pulled 2 supers off of 1 hive and had to shake off a lot of bees. We came back and I decided to try a new bottle on that last super on the biggest hive to see if there was a difference. Almost every bee left the super that was right on top of the brood and they were not defensive.
Don't make the mistake that I made and leave it in the tool box of the truck. It will get very weak.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline T Beek

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Re: bee escape screen
« Reply #9 on: September 05, 2013, 07:43:24 am »
Bee Escapes work well enough, are cheap and non-toxic to you and your bees.   I know of two types.  One has a triangled screen ($10-20.00) allowing 'one way' access and the other type is just pushed into the inner cover hole (about a dollar).  BOTH work 'about' the same.  Beeks may have their own preference but I use both.

Personally, I've never considered the bee-gone or quick kind of removal, not when other less intrusive methods are available.

If you've got 100 or more colonies it might get tiresome because they (bee escapes) must be inserted under the honey supers selected for removal, so it takes 2 trips to the bee yard.  But if you've got less than that they'll work just fine and it'll be likely that you won't mind the extra visit to remove them 24-48 hours after placing them, free of bees, ready to harvest.
"Trust those who seek the truth, doubt those who say they've found it."

 

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