What kind of smoke calms bees

She now studies the development and behavior of two juvenile humans in the high desert of western Colorado. When she is not handling her research subjects, she writes about science and nature. Find a sampling of her work at www. Enter your email address to subscribe to Entomology Today. You'll receive notifications of new posts by email. Email Address. We already knew that smoking bees reduced sting response. Seems like you found a good way to waste some money!

Any progress on WHY??? Hi Chimmy Chungy, thank you for asking why we performed this study. By studying what we know is effective smoke , we can better understand stinging behavior and develop ways to improve its control. As you know, bee stings result in fatalities every year. Main effect of bees is due to lupulin. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam.

Learn how your comment data is processed. Subscribe to Entomology Today via Email Enter your email address to receive an alert whenever a new post is published here at Entomology Today. Meredith Swett Walker. Research News. Using smoke is a safe, time honored, effective and inexpensive method when handling your bees. Making the decision on what fuel to use in your smoker will depend on several factors such as: cost, safety, practicality, and availability.

There is a wide variety of safe fuel options that you can buy from beekeeping supply companies or you can spend the time finding and drying your own materials. Some beekeepers and hobbyist prefer to locate and dry their own material, but this can be quite time consuming. If you prefer this option, the best materials will contain a high oil content which will keep the smoke billowing.

Natural materials such as pine needles, dried citrus peels, dried herbs mint, sage, basil, lavender, oregano mixed with brown paper, small twigs, cotton and straw work very well. You can also use dried sunflowers, daisies and zinnias. The only drawback is the amount of time it takes to prepare your material and it also tends to burn quickly. Some beekeepers believe using these materials is also medicinally beneficial for the bees.

Do not use any type of synthetic material or plastics in your bee smoker. Burning this type of material is not safe for humans or animals let alone your honeybees. Using lighter fluids, gasoline, kerosene or any other flammable liquid is a very bad idea since they produce noxious gasses and smoke.

These materials will not only harm your bees but likely kill them. Gathering your own fuel materials and preparing them is generally not a practical option for most beekeepers especially commercial operators.

I would recommend using untreated baler twine, untreated wood chips, untreated burlap or cotton fuel pellets for your smoker. They are an inexpensive option that create a nice light smoke, are safe for your bees and beekeeper, and burn slowly. Smoker Fuel Pellets — these usually contain high density cotton fibers which produce a nice cool, light smoke and burn for long time. It is recommended to use a starter such as newspaper to get your pellets smoldering.

Untreated Burlap — is one of the most popular smoker fuels used by beekeepers. It comes is a roll and produces a light cool smoke but does tend to burn quicker than pellets. If your going to be at your bee yard for a long time, make sure and bring extra. Wood Chips — is also a very popular option for beekeepers but be careful what type of wood you use. I have to take form to tuck around the lights.

When I was a teenager in the late 's and early 60's, I worked with the engineer at my father's woollen textile mill in the north of Scotland, during school and later university holidays. I would cut the linen threads with an eye in the middle from worn out Jacquard weaving frames in the looms called the heddles , with broken thread s.

If it was just one thread broken they could be repaired but a thread breaking is generally a sign the whole frame needs replacing. These threads were soaked in both natural and added Ragosine lanolin from the woollen threads on the weft.

This oil soaked linen thread was very sought after by local beekeepers, as being the very best material for gently smoking bees and I made a bit of extra cash selling the thread or swapped it for honey.

Limited availability due to high demand. Please see our Stock Availability page for more information. How To Smoke Your Bees You can use smoke as a simple way of calming your bees while you inspect them.

How To Use A Smoker You should puff a little smoke around the entrance to the hive about minutes before you open it. Traditional Smokers: A traditional smoker is simply a metal container with bellows attached in which you light a small fire.

Liquid Smoke: If you don't like using a traditional smoker - help is at hand in the form of liquid smoke. Prev Next. Upload your photo. Brent, 27 November Lawrence Jerry, 3 July Patricia If they are honeybees, look on Craigslist or Google beekeepers in your area.