The nectar flow is winding down, the supers are heavy, and the bees have done their job. Now it’s time to do yours — and rob them.
Pulling honey supers is one of the easiest and most satisfying parts of beekeeping, as long as you keep a few simple things in mind.
🎥 Watch How It’s Done
I shot a quick video in the bee yard to show you how I pull honey frames step-by-step.
Check it out below — you’ll see how easy and calm it can be.
📺
🕒 When to Pull Honey
You know the honey is ready when:
✅ The frames are at least 80% capped with wax.
✅ The spring nectar flow has slowed and you see bees starting to focus more on brood.
✅ The boxes are full — heavy with honey and buzzing with workers.
Here in Texas, that usually means late June through mid-July, just before the summer dearth really kicks in.
🔧 Tools of the Trade
You don’t need a ton of fancy gear to rob your bees. Here are the basics:
- Smoker (cool smoke calms the bees)
- Bee brush or soft bristle brush
- Empty box, tote, or super to hold pulled frames
- Lid or towel to cover your full boxes (and keep bees/robbers out)
- Optional: a fume board or bee escape to clear supers ahead of time
🐝 How to Rob the Bees
Suit up, light your smoker, and move calmly:
🐝 Give a few puffs of smoke at the entrance and under the lid.
🐝 Remove frames one by one, gently brushing or shaking bees back into the hive.
🐝 Or, if you’ve set a bee escape or fume board beforehand, most of the bees will already be out of the super.
As you pull frames, place them immediately into your empty box or tote and cover them — honey is like a magnet for robbers.
💡 Pro Tips
🕒 Work quickly but calmly — you don’t want to trigger robbing.
🌬 Use just enough smoke to move the bees, not drive them crazy.
🚗 Get your honey boxes away from the yard as soon as possible.
Once You Pull Your Frames …
…it’s time to uncap, extract, and get that liquid gold into jars.
If you want to see it done live, join us this Saturday at 9 AM for our hands-on honey harvest workshop.
We’ll show you the ropes — and then put you to work.
Questions? Give us a call, shoot us an email, or just stop by.
See you soon — and happy robbing!
📞 Reach Charlie: 830.708.8797
📧 Email: info@charliebee.com