How to Harvest Honey from a Beehive

In this video, a professional beekeeper shows Roger Cook and a homeowner how to harvest honey from a beehive. He also explains how to keep a hive healthy and ways to maintain and grow your hive.

Steps for Harvesting Honey from a Beehive

1. Wear your protective beekeeping suit.
2. Remove the outer and inner tops of the beehive.
3. Use the smoker to add some smoke to the hive to calm the bees.
4. Use the hive tool to remove an upper frame and check the bees.
5. Remove the upper (or Super) bee box to expose the lower frames.
6. Remove a lower frame and check the brood for hive health.
7. Replace the Super bee box and remove the waxy-looking (Honey) frame.
8. Use the bee brush to gently brush the bees off that frame and back into the hive.
9. Place the honey frame onto a tray and move to an indoor space.
10. Replace the inner and outer tops of the beehive.
11. Spoon the beeswax and honey into a strainer and allow the honey to separate through the strainer into a bowl for 2-3 days.
12. If you want to use a Honey Extractor, remove the capping from the frame(s)
13. Place the frames into the extractor and spin the honey out.
14. Continually monitor the honey bee’s health in your hive, check for hive beetles, remove diseased parts, keep cover on for warmth, and don’t over harvest the honey.

Pro Tip: Don’t discard the beeswax after straining. As noted during the This Old House honey harvest, leftover beeswax can be put to great use around the house — from making candles and lip balm to creating wood furniture polish. And if you have drawn comb, place the empty frames back in the hive. It’s less work for the bees since all they have to do is fill them back up again, rather than rebuild the entire comb from scratch.