What is the best way of removing bees from brood combs of combs in the honey supers?

You could either shake the bees off, use smoke, a bee brush, chemicals, a bee escape, or a bee blower. The method would depend upon your choice, how many combs must be handled, and other factors of your beekeeping operation.

If only a few combs are to be handled, shake the bees off. You probably have picked up the frame with your fingers under the projecting ends of the top bars, leaving the palms of your hands above the top-bar. Holding the frame in this manner, lower the frame rapidly and jerk it back up to the same level and you will probably shake off most of the bees. The remainder of the bees clinging to the combs may be easily brushed away without injury with a bee brush.

When removing bees from supers, use your smoker or place the bee escape in the center hole of the inner cover, thus converting it to an escape board. Place this escape board under the supers to be removed and recover the hive, making sure that there are no cracks in which robbing could get started as the bees will not be able to return to the supers to guard the honey. By morning most of the supers above the escape board should be free of bees. The few bees that may have remained behind with the honey can be brushed off the combs with the bee brush. A bee blower with its constant stream of air is also of tremendous help in clearing supers of bees if your beekeeping operation is large enough to justify the purchase of a bee blower. Chemicals have generally declined in use although beekeeping supply houses still carry chemicals used to drive bees from supers.