At that point, you could have taken the totes 20 or so yards away from the hives and brushed them off again. That would have left you with just a few or more.
I estimate 150-200 bees were in both totes... couldn't work fast enough to keep them out.
David. Your only mistake was not sealing up the tote. That's a must. This method will sacrifice a dozen bees, but it is the quickest way to do things.
There are pieces of equipment that one can use over night to get the bees out of the supers. Fume boards and triangle escape boards work.
Brushing them off and placing the frames in a tote, is what most beekeepers do. SEAL the box up to avoid your dilemma. Here is a link to Mann Lake showing some ideas. Honey Extractors & Extracting Equipment | Beekeeping (mannlakeltd.com)
I recently pulled a few frames that I intended to extract. I brushed the frames as much as possible to remove as many bees as I could. Then I placed the frames in my plastic totes with lids not completely closed expecting the bees to return to the hive in the evening before sealing the totes as I have successfully done before. This usually leaves me with maybe a dozen or so bees in each tote.
When I went to seal up the hives after sundown I discovered that nearly half of the honey was gone with too many bees flying around and a couple of piles of bees with honey overload. I sealed up the hives expecting to regroup the next morning. There were still a large number of bees in one box but the other box of 3 frames was completely striped of honey... (my estimate of 6 fully capped frames and a super was about 40lbs of honey which was reduced to probably 15lbs the next morning)
Is there a repellent or method that might keep the number of bees minimal to make extraction easier??
I need to regroup with a better plan...