BUILDING YOUR OWN “BUCKETHEAD-STYLE” BEE VACUUM
Please feel free to pass along this design plan so that it may be an open-source guide model free to any interested parties. We make these on commission with new or old Langstroth hive boxes of various sizes for $200- $240.
This bee vac design is a simplified composite interpretation of several plans for DIY-style bee vacuum models widely available on the internet. This model is ideal for catching swarms as well as using during established colony cutouts. The following information may be used as a general guide, and like any DIY project there is room for interpretation and improvement. You will need to decide if you want to build your vac to fit either 10-frame or 8-frame Langstroth hives. The top and bottom parts of the vac are made from standard Langstroth hive components and will fit above and below your new colony’s brood box. The vac motor sits on top of the unit and pulls the bees into a screened area below. This means the bees get vacuumed straight into their new home with minimal transfers and you can take it straight to your apiary. You can also remove the motor housing and leave the top and/or bottom pieces on the hive for extended periods of time, even outdoors, and it will fit with Langstroth top covers and bottom boards.
Please feel free to pass along this design plan so that it may be an open-source guide model free to any interested parties. We make these on commission with new or old Langstroth hive boxes of various sizes for $200- $240.
This bee vac design is a simplified composite interpretation of several plans for DIY-style bee vacuum models widely available on the internet. This model is ideal for catching swarms as well as using during established colony cutouts. The following information may be used as a general guide, and like any DIY project there is room for interpretation and improvement. You will need to decide if you want to build your vac to fit either 10-frame or 8-frame Langstroth hives. The top and bottom parts of the vac are made from standard Langstroth hive components and will fit above and below your new colony’s brood box. The vac motor sits on top of the unit and pulls the bees into a screened area below. This means the bees get vacuumed straight into their new home with minimal transfers and you can take it straight to your apiary. You can also remove the motor housing and leave the top and/or bottom pieces on the hive for extended periods of time, even outdoors, and it will fit with Langstroth top covers and bottom boards.
Complete vac pictured without middle hive deep box.
This bee vac facilitates swarm captures with relative ease, and should prove effective even for a beginning beekeeper wrangling colonies on the wing during swarm season. Cutouts of established beehives, however, are vastly more complex and painstaking. Before undertaking this endeavor, watch some instructional videos and read about colony cutouts and decide if it is something you want to commit to... seek out other beekeepers who will let you tag along to observe a cutout and lend a hand. It is not for everyone. Some prior beekeeping experience is essential. Keep in mind that transplanted bees become easily distressed and queens often panic and abscond during or after moving, resulting in a disappointing loss of bees despite one’s best efforts. Many colonies do not survive the move-- especially when they have taken up residency in a tree. The queen will almost always retreat to the most remote caverns of the tree's unique and tiny interior recesses, making her difficult or impossible to reach. Tree cutouts should almost always be left to the professionals. Beehive cutouts are stressful on the bees (and sometimes the beekeepers!) and should only be attempted if people, pets, property, or the bees are in danger. If an established feral hive is not bothering anyone, it should not be moved.
Large Hive Cutout on a hot day in an abandoned trailer in Buda, Texas. Only about a quarter of this hive is visible in the photo.
RECOMMENDED MATERIALS YOU WILL NEED
*One new or used shallow honey super box from a Langstroth hive (or a box built to same size).
*One new or used deep super box from a Langstroth hive (or a box built to same size).
These will be modified and may either be 8-frame or 10-frame sized boxes. Once modified they are no longer usable on your colonized hives.
Also:
*Buckethead Shop Vac
*Two packages White weatherseal Weather Stripping
*Two Adjustable rubber straps (bungee cords)
*1-1/4” Female coupler (both sides female)
*1-1/4” PVC Ball Valve
*Wet/Dry-Vac hose with a two-and-a-half inch hose base--(Note: can be any length you want, as long as it has a 2.5” base. Two seven-foot hoses will cover most situations.)
*2-1/2" Blast Gate or other hose connector to mount to box
*2-1/2” Dusting brush attachment for hose
AND/OR
2-1/2” Crevice Tool attachment for hose
*Charcoal Fiberglass Insect Screen (Note: if you already have any metal or plastic rolls of screen, any size or kind will work, as long as worker bees cannot fit through it, if it can cover the bottom of either an 8-frame or 10-frame deep super box)
*5 gallon bucket
*A small piece of scrap rubber roughly 6” x 6”
*Three Thin wood panels big enough to fit the top of either an 8-frame or 10-frame deep super box
*Three large, thick rubber bands
*Four pipe clips
*Wood glue—Seal all interior cracks between panels to create an airtight seal.
*PVC Pipe cement
*Construction adheisive
*Block of beeswax (optional)
*Nails, screws, staples
*Power sander or sandpaper—Sand and smooth all rough edges of every piece.
Successful ground cable hole extraction in Round Rock, Texas
BOTTOM BOX
The bottom component of the bee vac is a shallow super that you will modify.
Step 1: Cut a 2.5” hole in the front panel of the box. Make sure it is on the flat part and not over the handle depression. This is where the hose will connect into the vac.
Step 2: Attach a panel to the bottom of the box. Panel should be the same size as the bottom of the box with all corners flush.
Step 3: Screw the pipe clips into outer sides of the box, low and close to the bottom. The pipe clips are to hold the bungee cord hooks. Two clips on each side means more stability but one on each side is sufficient.
Step 4: Attach a panel to the interior of the box at an angle, sloping down from the top of the rear sheer
panel of the box to the bottom of the front panel. The angle will direct the airflow and bees up into the deep super where the frames are.
Step 5: Wheels or skids may also be attached to the bottom as well. Skids offer more stability than wheels and keep vac bottom off of ground or floor.
Step 6: Create an airtight seal inside the vac bottom by sealing all cracks between panels with wood glue and/or beeswax. Beeswax can be applied on the top face of the slanted panel as well to give the bees a surface to stand on. Wax seals invisible air leaks and minimizes chemical exposure from glues and is more naturally accommodating for the bees.
Step 7: Cut the weather stripping to fit along the top rim of the box and secure with staples.
Step 8: Attach the blast gate (or other 2.5" hose connector) to outside of hole in front of box. The sliding blast gate allows you to shut the bees inside the box and disconnect the hose without losing any bees.
Front view of bottom box, photo taken before weather stripping attached to rim and before blast gate attached to hole
Bottom Box with weather stripping attached
Bottom box with weather stripping and blast gate (attached with construction adhesive)
TOP BOX
The top component of the vac is a modified deep super with a top panel that surrounds the motor in a 5-gallon bucket with the bottom cut out.
Step 1: Attach screen to the bottom of the deep super with flat tacks or staples. Make sure it covers the entire bottom and is taut. Once the screen is fastened, add weather stripping around the bottom rim of the box. Weather stripping may be stapled over the screen, adding to its stability. Cut the screen flush with the ends of the box, making sure it is taut. Next, attach weather stripping along the top rim of the super. When finished, the super should have weather stripping around the entire top and bottom rims, with a screen on the bottom and the top open. When in use, the top panel may be removed from this top box and the bees will be visible under the screen but unable to get out. This screen also serves as a ventilated barrier during transport that keeps the bees inside with air circulation. NOTE: When finished vacuuming, remove top panel and motor but leave top box in place. Ventilation is crucial and can mean life or death for the colony--too long in a hot vehicle is certain doom.
TOP BOX
The top component of the vac is a modified deep super with a top panel that surrounds the motor in a 5-gallon bucket with the bottom cut out.
Step 1: Attach screen to the bottom of the deep super with flat tacks or staples. Make sure it covers the entire bottom and is taut. Once the screen is fastened, add weather stripping around the bottom rim of the box. Weather stripping may be stapled over the screen, adding to its stability. Cut the screen flush with the ends of the box, making sure it is taut. Next, attach weather stripping along the top rim of the super. When finished, the super should have weather stripping around the entire top and bottom rims, with a screen on the bottom and the top open. When in use, the top panel may be removed from this top box and the bees will be visible under the screen but unable to get out. This screen also serves as a ventilated barrier during transport that keeps the bees inside with air circulation. NOTE: When finished vacuuming, remove top panel and motor but leave top box in place. Ventilation is crucial and can mean life or death for the colony--too long in a hot vehicle is certain doom.
Completed Top Box turned on its side to show screened bottom
TOP PANEL/MOTOR HOUSING
The top panel houses the bucket and motor and is easily removable. The edges and corners of the panel should line up flush with the top of the top box. WORTH REPEATING: When finished vacuuming, remove top panel and motor but leave top box in place. Do not let your bees suffocate or overheat by forgetting to remove the top panel when transporting!
Step 1: Cut out a large hole in center of the panel slightly larger than the circumference of the bottom of the bucket. If you place the bucket on the panel and draw a circle around the bottom in pencil, add a quarter of a centimeter to circumference when cutting. This extra space allows the bucket to sink down into the box while still holding it in place about midway down the length of the bucket.
Step 2: Cut three 1” holes close to each other. You will need a piece of scrap rubber big enough to cover all of the holes at the same time.
Step 3: Attach the scrap rubber with a bolt through the panel so that it can swivel to cover and uncover the 1” holes. Covering the holes makes the suction stronger and uncovering them makes it weaker.
THE MOTOR
Step 1: Cut out the bottom of the 5-gallon bucket.
Step 2: Take the flush ends of the combined tubes and cement them into one end of the PVC ball valve. Be careful not to let the wet pipe cement drip into the ball valve or it will glue shut! Once dried, you should have the ball valve with a female coupler coming out of one end and a male hose piece coming out of the other end of the coupler glued together by the cement. This is your air intake valve that fits into the intake hole on the buckethead vac and is removable for convenience, and so you can use your buckethead vacuum outside of beekeeping applications. When plugged in to electricity, your vac should now be ready to use.
Bee vac motor housing and air intake valve. Valve unit may be removed so shop vac can be used for applications other than beekeeping.
THE HOSE
Step 1: Cut the male end off of the air hose that is included with the Buckethead shop-vac. You will not use the small hose that is included with the package, but rather a larger 2.5” hose. This thicker hose reduces the chances of bees balling up and clogging and also reduces bee deaths. Two 7' hoses connected will cover most situations.
Step 2: Take the cut male end of the small hose, apply pipe glue and glue it inside the female coupler. One end of the cut male hose end should be flush with the end of the coupler, with an inch or so of the male hose piece extending past the rim of the female coupler.
Step 3: Cut the center out of the bathtub suction stopper and insert the female end of the 2.5 inch hose through the stopper. The stopper acts as a gasket for the hose. Push the female end of the hose into the 2.5” hole of the bottom box and adjust the stopper to be flush with the outside of the box, and secure the stopper in place with large rubber band. You might need to twist it a little to get into place. When the hose is in place, take the connector (with the red clip) that comes in the package with the 2.5” hose and connect it, inside the bottom box so that the hose is held in place in the hole.
Step 1: Cut the male end off of the air hose that is included with the Buckethead shop-vac. You will not use the small hose that is included with the package, but rather a larger 2.5” hose. This thicker hose reduces the chances of bees balling up and clogging and also reduces bee deaths. Two 7' hoses connected will cover most situations.
Step 2: Take the cut male end of the small hose, apply pipe glue and glue it inside the female coupler. One end of the cut male hose end should be flush with the end of the coupler, with an inch or so of the male hose piece extending past the rim of the female coupler.
Step 3: Cut the center out of the bathtub suction stopper and insert the female end of the 2.5 inch hose through the stopper. The stopper acts as a gasket for the hose. Push the female end of the hose into the 2.5” hole of the bottom box and adjust the stopper to be flush with the outside of the box, and secure the stopper in place with large rubber band. You might need to twist it a little to get into place. When the hose is in place, take the connector (with the red clip) that comes in the package with the 2.5” hose and connect it, inside the bottom box so that the hose is held in place in the hole.
Two seven-foot hoses made it to this rooftop swarm in South Austin
FRAMES
If capturing a swarm: Use frames in the middle box, clean, drawn comb is preferable, frames with foundation are suitable. Do not use foundationless frames for swarm captures.
If performing a cutout: As you proceed, cut and fit the comb into empty frames, secure with twine or rubber bands, and place into the hive box that will go between the top and bottom of the vac. Be sure to keep the cut comb in the same position inside the box when you transfer! Remove excess honeycomb that will not fit in the box and place in a separate container. This can be crushed, strained, and fed back to the colony as it reestablishes in its new location.
If there is any room left inside the box after transferring the comb into the frames, fill empty space with frames, either with clean, drawn comb or foundations. This helps brace the inside of the hive for transfer and also gives the bees a place to stand.
This hive had taken over an abandoned camper, along with a rattlesnake and a family of possums in Hayes County, Texas.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER & OPERATING
When you place all of the parts together, looking from the bottom-up, you should have the bottom box with the 2.5” hose coming out of the front, attached to the blast gate.
On top of the bottom box is the deep super (with frames) that the bees will go into. You can place a queen excluder here if desired. However, the top box is screened and if left on, the bees cannot escape.
On top of the deep super is the top box with the screen on its bottom.
The top panel sits on top of the top box with the bottomless bucket held in the large hole partway down into the open area of the top box, above the screen. Position the large rubber band around the bucket so that it holds the bucket into place and creates a seal between the bucket and the panel. The buckethead shop-vac fits onto the top of the bucket, and the air intake valve is attached to the vac’s intake.
Hook the bungee cords into the pipe clips on the bottom box and attach them together across the top of the top panel. This should hold everything together snugly. If it feels wobbly you may need to switch to shorter bungee cords or tie a knot in the existing ones.
Fire up the motor on the vac. Start with the air intake valve all the way open and all three of the 1” holes on the top board uncovered by the rubber piece. This is the bee vac’s weakest setting. Conversely, all holes covered on the top panel and the intake valve closed is the bee vac’s strongest setting. You will likely never need to set the vac to the highest setting for honeybees, as the suction power would kill them in the box. Familiarize yourself with this concept and how to control it before using it on live bees.
Rooftop bee wrangling in South Austin
POWERING YOUR BEE VAC
The motor of the bee vac draws about 4 amps of current and runs on a standard 110 V socket, but you could also power it in a portable situation with a marine battery and (at least) a 400-watt inverter. Generators are generally not desirable unless placed far enough away with an extension cord from the hive so as not to disturb it with noise, vibration, or exhaust. If you don’t have a marine battery, you can also connect your bee vac to a 400-watt inverter and then to your your car battery for power as well. The same caution should be used for your car if you plan to keep the engine on—park far enough away so as not to disturb the bees. You can power the bee vac with your engine off but be careful not to drain your battery. Although the shop vac does not use much energy, you should limit continuous usage to about 45 minutes before starting your engine again.
The motor of the bee vac draws about 4 amps of current and runs on a standard 110 V socket, but you could also power it in a portable situation with a marine battery and (at least) a 400-watt inverter. Generators are generally not desirable unless placed far enough away with an extension cord from the hive so as not to disturb it with noise, vibration, or exhaust. If you don’t have a marine battery, you can also connect your bee vac to a 400-watt inverter and then to your your car battery for power as well. The same caution should be used for your car if you plan to keep the engine on—park far enough away so as not to disturb the bees. You can power the bee vac with your engine off but be careful not to drain your battery. Although the shop vac does not use much energy, you should limit continuous usage to about 45 minutes before starting your engine again.
Hayes County, Texas cutout
USING YOUR BEE VAC ON LIVE BEES
DON’T FORGET TO BRING
*One or two deep boxes, a bottom board, and inner + outer cover. Bring two if you are cutting out a large colony.
*A ventilated queen cage
*A queen excluder
*A rag to stuff into either the hose or the hole where hose plugs into to keep your bees in!
*Extension cord and possibly a protable power source.
DON’T FORGET TO BRING
*One or two deep boxes, a bottom board, and inner + outer cover. Bring two if you are cutting out a large colony.
*A ventilated queen cage
*A queen excluder
*A rag to stuff into either the hose or the hole where hose plugs into to keep your bees in!
*Extension cord and possibly a protable power source.
This colony in Westlake Hills, Texas was literally bursting out of an owlhouse.
Examine the size and complexity of the colony. It might be a good idea to bring an extra hive deep (full of frames with either drawn comb or foundation) along with a hive bottom, inner & outer covers, and and entrance reducer. You can vacuum as many bees as possible into the first box, and making sure it stays ventilated, and not too hot or cold, secure covers and entrance so that they cannot escape, and set it off to the side. You may then proceed to cut out the rest of the comb without so many worker bees in the way. You may then combine the two boxes either on site or at the apiary where they are to be transplanted. Do not keep these boxes separated for long periods of time.
When ready to use on live bees, Always start vacuuming bees on the weakest setting and gradually work up to a level that is pulling in the bees gently. Use a bee brush or a brush extension on the hose to lightly push them into the hose. Periodically, shake the hose gently to reduce clustering in the middle of the hose and at the point where it connects to the box. You can quickly take the top panel off & on (while keeping the top box on!) and look in and see through the screen at how many bees you have in there.
Always be on the lookout for the queen and either vacuum her gently or capture her in a queen cage. She will likely try to get away from you by retreating deeper into the hive or other small spaces in the structure. If you are able to get her into your hive in a queen cage, stop vacuuming and leave her in there in the cage near the original hive location--the workers will have a better chance at finding her without your interference at this point. Leave the unit there for a long time, until dusk if you can, with a space for the workers to get into the hive where the queen is, either by a queen excluder or other means, so it will attract loose workers and returning foragers.
When ready to use on live bees, Always start vacuuming bees on the weakest setting and gradually work up to a level that is pulling in the bees gently. Use a bee brush or a brush extension on the hose to lightly push them into the hose. Periodically, shake the hose gently to reduce clustering in the middle of the hose and at the point where it connects to the box. You can quickly take the top panel off & on (while keeping the top box on!) and look in and see through the screen at how many bees you have in there.
Always be on the lookout for the queen and either vacuum her gently or capture her in a queen cage. She will likely try to get away from you by retreating deeper into the hive or other small spaces in the structure. If you are able to get her into your hive in a queen cage, stop vacuuming and leave her in there in the cage near the original hive location--the workers will have a better chance at finding her without your interference at this point. Leave the unit there for a long time, until dusk if you can, with a space for the workers to get into the hive where the queen is, either by a queen excluder or other means, so it will attract loose workers and returning foragers.
This was a swarm that took over an abandoned nest in North Austin that had been poisoned in the past. The vacuum was instrumental in relocating them to a new, clean hive.
Move slowly when operating the bee vac. Avoid jerky movements and tripping over your equipment. Make sure your entire bee vac stack unit is snug with the bungee cords, that all of the corners of the 3 boxes remain flush, and when moving, pick up the entire unit from the bottom. You might need to duct tape the pieces together temporarily during transport.
Always remove the top panel and motor bucket when finished vacuuming. The screen will keep the bees inside and allows for ventilation. Cutouts and transit can cause great stress on a colony and bees must have ventilation; additionally, the motor can add heat stress on the colony on a hot day so always remove motor and top panel when not using the vac. Bees can die from heat exposure in a very short time. If bees remain in the hose and you cannot get them out, you can cap the end and leave the blast gate open and wait for them to make their way into the box.
This guide was developed January 2016 by Ryan Murray, Austin Area Beekeepers Association & Texas Beekeepers Association member. Please direct any requests for clarification, construction tips, troubleshooting, requests for videos or photos, questions, criticisms, or suggestions for improvement to Ryan at info@cloudhollow.com.
Planning out the first move in Martinale, Texas
Every cutout is different. Good luck, plan ALL of your moves out beforehand, and keep calm! Save the bees!
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