Some tips for working with the Owen's Bee Vacuum

I do my fair share of cut outs and swarm captures.  For the last 3 years, I have used the Owen's Bee Vac to help get those tasks done.

Overall, I like this vacuum.  It's basically a 5 gallon pail with a vacuum placed into the lid and a pail shaped cage that fits inside.

Tip #1:  Suction

This is actually a powerful vacuum for the job of getting bees.  Take a look at the upper photo of the bee vac.  There is a honey gate located at the top of the pail that is screened.  This is the suction control.  The more you close that gate, the greater the suction power.  The more open you leave the gate, the lower the suction power.

I ALWAYS begin vacuuming bees with the suction control all the way open.  If the bees are on a surface that allows them to cling more, then very slightly close the suction control.  If the suction is too much, you will have bee butter inside the cage.  If you want to keep bees alive, use the lowest suction power that gets the bees while not hurting them.

I can't stress enough how important it is to make sure to begin vacuuming with the suction control all the way open and to only close it as little as necessary to get the bees off of the comb or branch, etc.  

Tip 2: Cage door

Notice the picture of the cage that fits inside the vacuum pail.  There is a piece of wood on a spring hinge that opens to the top of the cage which will snap shut when you pull the hose insert out when it's time to remove the cage.

I found in my own use that the door spring opens upward but is so long that if you don't have the hose end inserted all the way, it will block bees coming into the cage.  I have two cages and I switched things so that the door opens toward the bottom.  This leaves the upper part of the cage totally unblocked.  The tube end of the hose that gets inserted into the cage has a notch cut into it that I make sure points up to the top of the cage.  That is the direction incoming bees will encounter the least obstruction, thus less chance of being turned into bee butter.

Tip 3: The Hose

Notice the hose is ribbed and has a crevice attachment on the end.   The inside of the hose can get very dirty from debris that gets suctioned up with the bees, especially from a cutout. 

Something else to keep in mind is that if for any reason you stop vacuuming to take a break or let them re-group a bit to get better results, you need to use something to stop up the end of the hose.  The bees can and will get out of the cage via the open hose when the suction power is off if the hose end is not covered.  I use a piece of vinyl window screen wrapped around the hose end with a rubber band.

Make sure to get a firm grip on the tube end of the hose as you pull it out.  It doesn't seem to be glued to the hose end and sometimes the hose will pull out leaving the tube end still in the side of the pail and cage.  This results in bees from the cage being able to escape en masse.

Tip 4: The Pail

The pail is plastic.  Plastic pails sweat with heat.  The accumulation of bees into the cage inside the pail gets very warm, very fast.  You don't want to keep bees inside the pail any longer than absolutely necessary or it can kill the bees inside.

Tip 5: Removing the cage with bees


When you are ready to remove the cage from the vac, you need to remove the hose tube from the side first. In my experience, it is best to keep the vac running when you remove the hose.  Tap the vac on the ground in the opposite direction of the hose side so bees fall away from opening and pull the tube out, snapping the wooden door shut with no bees escaping.