How to Collect Beeswax Humanely

Gather your equipment before you set out to collect your beeswax. You have a much greater chance of being stung if you are not fully prepared. Don your beekeeper suit, including gloves and headgear. Have your smoker filled and ready to light, and grab a basket or box to hold the honey-filled frames, a cloth to cover them and a bee brush or twig with leaves to corral the bees.

Fill your smoker with dried grass, leaves and wood chippings, and light them on fire. Puff the bellows of the smoker a few times to get the smoke rolling. Apply a small puff or two of smoke to the entrance of the hive. The smoke will mask the alarm pheromones of the guard bees so they don't signal the bees inside the hive to attack. Wait several seconds and lift the top cover of the hive. Insert your smoker tip into the hive and give two short puffs. The bees will calm almost instantly.

Remove the frames of honey one by one. Place them in the basket or box, and cover the honey-filled frames with the cloth to discourage bees and other insects from landing on them. Using a bee brush or a twig with leaves attached, brush any lingering bees into the hive from the edges of the hive box. Gently replace the top of the hive, making sure not to smash any bees.

Slice the cappings from the honeycomb with a warm, thin knife. The knife can be either an electric capping knife or a manual one. The honey can be extricated any number of ways, such as through a centrifuge or by hand. Once the combs are drained of honey, return them to the bee hive. Melt the cappings in sterile pots or with a commercial beeswax-melting machine. The pure, clean cappings will rise to the top, and the heavier honey will remain at the bottom.