How to Extract Honey Without An Extractor

There’s no need to purchase or even borrow a honey extractor for just a few frames of honey or even a box or two. Depending on how many you have, here are some very easy and inexpensive ways to do it.

Cookie Sheet Method

Remove the top layer of wax from both sides of the frame with an uncapping knife and turn the frame upside down (top bar down) on a large, flat cookie sheet. Gently lay a couple of crisscrossed layers of plastic wrap over it, creating a tent to prevent lint and contaminants from getting into it while it sits overnight. One deep frame will yield almost a quart of fresh honey! Note: The reason you have to turn the frame upside down is that bees build the honey cells tilted upward at a 17-degree angle to prevent their contents from spilling out. Setting it upside down allows it to drain effectively.

Comb Capper

This is a super handy tool! It allows you to do small amounts and not have to do anything but decap the frame and walk off. This device sits on top of a five-gallon bucket and utilizes gravity to drain the frame. Place the frame on top of a cookie sheet and remove the top layer of wax with an uncapping knife from both sides. Place it in the groove of the Combcapper and let gravity do the work! Twenty-four hours later, you have nice clean honey inside the bucket. Tip: Place this setup in a spare bedroom or closet where household people and pet movement won’t add lint and contaminants to the honey.

Filter out all of those unwanted particles from your honey Available in 200, 400, and 600 micron

Sits perfectly on top of standard 5-gallon bucket

• Fits any standard five- gallon bucket
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Crush and Strain

This is probably the most common method of extracting when you don’t have an extractor (also used by Top Bar beekeepers). Unfortunately, its name implies the biggest downfall of the method — crush. Not being able to maintain your honeycomb on the frame for reuse is unfortunate and sets you back for next year, but it’s not the end of the world! Simply use a tool of your choice (uncapping knife, hive tool, spatula, etc.) to remove all of the comb from the foundation and put it into a bowl or bucket. Then, take handfuls of the comb and squeeze as much honey out of it as you can. This method does require you to filter the honey afterward because a great deal of wax and debris will be in it. This method also leaves a lot of air bubbles in the honey. Allow it to sit for several days before bottling.