[taxonomy]

We run about 30 hives and I expect to take a few hundred pounds off soon.

We don't have any really good options where extracting is concerned. We wont do it in out house for obvious reasons. There are a few sheds and outbuildings we have access to but they are all very tight where room in concered. We spend about as much time maneuvering as we do extracting. I've thought about just doing an overnight session in our driveway when bees are in the hive. we just have one nuc in our home yard.

Anyone done this?

 

[Michael Bush]

>We wont do it in out house for obvious reasons.

I've extracted in my house for 42 years... what are the obvious reasons?

 

[taxonomy]

We have a high level of finish, cork floors etc. The basement is too tight etc. It just cannot happen.

So, simply interested if anyone has done this.

 

[UTvolshype]

May get buggy outside at night, bugs in the extractor will make for bug parts in the honey and wax moths in the cappings. Maybe buy a large mosquito canopy and extract in that (day or night)?

 

[schmism]

We don't have any really good options where extracting is concerned. We wont do it in out house for obvious reasons.\

Can't say the reasons are obvious no.

We extract ours in our kitchen. A room already designed for food prep. We stage full supers on the screened in back porch and usually just carry frames in a few at a time to uncap an put in the extractor. Our uncapping tank sits on our kitchen table (again a surface already used to bearing food stuffs) and puts everything at a good working height. Plenty of light, available water for easy cleanup and keep sticky mess to a minimum.

 

[taxonomy]

Can't say the reasons are obvious no.

We extract ours in our kitchen. A room already designed for food prep. We stage full supers on the screened in back porch and usually just carry frames in a few at a time to uncap an put in the extractor. Our uncapping tank sits on our kitchen table (again a surface already used to bearing food stuffs) and puts everything at a good working height. Plenty of light, available water for easy cleanup and keep sticky mess to a minimum.

Uncapping and extracting in the house will not work. The work space is too tight and there level of finish is too high. You cannot mop cork floors. Every surface you look at is expensive, new or expensive and new. In my experience there is no way to keep this operation clean.

So, I am not looking for anecdotes about other people using their kitchens. I'd like to know if anyone has tried extracting outdoors, at night or has alternatives. We live in a town house. There just isn't room.

 

[taxonomy]

May get buggy outside at night, bugs in the extractor will make for bug parts in the honey and wax moths in the cappings. Maybe buy a large mosquito canopy and extract in that (day or night)?

I am not sure how we'd wind up with wax moths from this operation but the buggy thought is a good caution. We may try and borrow a greenhouse from a farm we supply services. '

Has water, is as big as a hanger.

 

[Tim KS]

Extracting at night.....? Around here, it never fails to get dark at night. An absents of light could be a big problem for me.

 

[schmism]

I'd like to know if anyone has tried extracting outdoors, at night or has alternatives. We live in a town house. There just isn't room.

I have not extracted at night, although I have worked the bees at night. It is not a process which i would recommend.

Attracting bugs with the lighting required at night would seem to be a significant draw back to trying to do this at night and or outdoors.

There are several videos of people on youtube that have used a garage that normally serves as a garage as an extraction area. Some even detail how they go about moping floors etc to cleanup before they start.

As I find it highly unlikely that you keep 30 hives around a townhouse setting, it is somewhat implied then that you will be transferring your several hundred pounds of honey to your extraction location (ie its not just a few yards across the bee yard to the extraction point). IF that is in fact the case, I would much prefer to call in a favor with a friend with a larger kitchen and or garage or other suitable indoor space to do the extraction than to try to do it outside at night.

 

[Santa Caras]

I am not sure how we'd wind up with wax moths from this operation.

Becasue they fly at night and the smell of that wax and honey will bring them in from miles away. In a strong hive....the bees keep them at bay and wont let them in but a weak hive or open supers are an open invatation.
It's been mentioned before about a screen room. I read (not on this thread, but another) of how a beek set up a large screen room in the apiary and took the supers in there...extracted and then put them right back on the hives. All this was done in the middle of the day. Is that an option???

 

[ordy28]

Ok, so you run 30 hives and no where with adequate space to extract? Really??......

Did you just grow too fast or never thought you'd have that many?

 

[waynesgarden]

I think if I extracted outdoors, every mosquito & moth (of all types) would be in the mix. It would also likely attract the attentions of every raccoon in the area, as well as the local coyotes who seem to be very curious and perhaps a passing bear.

Before I left Maine, I had a plan in place to use a local business's commercial kitchen to extract in. It had everything in place to be approved by the State bee inspector so I could legally sell my honey. Know any businesses w/ a kitchen you could use?

Wayne

 

[jmgi]

Uncapping and extracting in the house will not work. The work space is too tight and there level of finish is too high. You cannot mop cork floors. Every surface you look at is expensive, new or expensive and new. In my experience there is no way to keep this operation clean.

So, I am not looking for anecdotes about other people using their kitchens. I'd like to know if anyone has tried extracting outdoors, at night or has alternatives. We live in a town house. There just isn't room.

Surely then, you know someone who has the space that you could use for several hours to get it done, like a garage, shed, shop, walk out basement, something of that sort. Doesn't sound like you have a whole lot of honey to extract anyways so you should be able to find somewhere to do it.

 

[taxonomy]

Surely then, you know someone who has the space that you could use for several hours to get it done, like a garage, shed, shop, walk out basement, something of that sort. Doesn't sound like you have a whole lot of honey to extract anyways so you should be able to find somewhere to do it.

We looking at 30-35 supers I would imagine. It makes a big pile, there may be more. Not sure, it's been a good year here. Had I been on top of swarms it'd be a lot bigger.

I think we're going to use a greenhouse at the farm. I stopped bye and looked at today. It looks really good.

 

[BernhardHeuvel]

Put a strong foil or tarp on the floor of the kitchen. After extracting, simply fold the foil and you're done.

 

[Wolfer]

I extract outside, I have never extracted in the house. I could extract in the house I live in now but before there wasn't room to sling a cat.

If there's a flow on I can extract near the hives. Dearth on I would be afraid to try it. There's a pretty good dearth on here right now and I extracted a couple supers on the front porch. Had a pretty good crowd of admirers before I got done but only had one bee in the bottom of the extractor when finished.

35 supers would be an entirely different story. I would check into a screened portable canopy if I didn't find someplace else.

 

[taxonomy]

Every surface is expensive, new or expensive and new.

If we wind up with forty supers that's 360 frames. Extracting in the house isn't going to happen.

 

[Luv2beekeep]

I have tried this. Last year in fact. I guess if you have all your supers ready to go and no bees in them then it will probably work. I did not have mine prepared prior to extracting. I found out that the bees didn't fly to much at night in the dark. Rather they crawled on the ground, up my pant legs that I didn't close off and then you can only imagine what happened from there. Needless to say my wife says she wishes she would have had a video running. We could have easily won the funniest home video show. So she says. I guess what I am saying is my night time extracting is over with. It was not a fun experience for me. Good luck with what ever you decide.

 

[WBVC]

We have a high level of finish, cork floors etc. The basement is too tight etc. It just cannot happen.

So, simply interested if anyone has done this.

Simply put a rubber mat on you floor or pond liner...we just put heavy bath towels under ours when we extract indoors. I prefer extracting in our sun room as it has a floor drain but have done it on the imported hardwood without incident.

I have seen bees zone into open honey in warm weather and would not want to be extracting in that frenzie.

 

[beeeee]

U haul rents a nice size truck for cheap if you don't put on any miles. Very handy and no mess after you hose it out.