Tina Sebestyen 2020-09-17 00:44:59
Someone once asked me if I smoke. My first response was to feel a little offended. I thought, “Do I look like a person who smokes?” Then I wondered if I stank. Then, I remembered that I am a beekeeper, as was the questioner, and that they were asking about whether I use a smoker, not whether I am a smoker. Now it always makes me grin a little when I am asked if I smoke.
Some beekeepers do not use a smoker as a general rule out of principle, thinking that smoking the colony is disruptive to them, while forgetting the fact that opening and inspecting a colony is also disruptive. Other beekeepers do not use a smoker because they either cannot light one, or the darn thing refuses to stay lit. It can be very frustrating to reach for the smoker when it is really needed because of defensive bees, and find that it won’t produce any smoke. I have an almost fool-proof method of preparing the smoker fuel that means it doesn’t easily go out, and will run a long time.
The smoker itself is what we need to compensate for, in a way. It is designed to limit the amount of oxygen our little embers receive. If we pack it too tightly, we constrict the amount of oxygen even more, and without constant working of the bellows, it goes out. If we pack it too loosely, the fuel burns up quickly, producing hot smoke and then going out. We need a way to make sure that our fuel is not too tight, and not too loose, and will keep smoldering and produce cool smoke. The way most of us use our smokers is to briefly smoke the entrance, then set the smoker down and not think about it again until we are ready to move on to the next colony. It could be 20 minutes, or an hour. This method is the perfect answer. We will make a roll of smoker fuel that will not be too tight or too loose, and will sit there smoldering for a long time without bellows, and run for a couple of hours total.
Start with a strip of burlap about 2 inches narrower than your smoker is tall, and about 11 inches long (the distance from my knuckles to my elbow). It doesn’t need to be exact. The burlap should come from an organic source, since it is often treated with pesticides for shipping of things like coffee. Next comes a piece of corrugated cardboard, similar width, slightly shorter. Then we’ll add a couple of handfuls of something else. It could be about anything; dry grass, crumbled cow pies, pine needles. I use juniper bark. It is shreddy, burns easily, and most importantly, has the potential to knock mites off bees, as do grapefruit leaves and creosote bush (https://agresearchmag. ars.usda.gov/1997/aug/mitesmoke).
By the way, pine needles contain turpentine, which suggests they might not be great for bees, but an awful lot of people use them in their smokers without ever noticing a negative effect, though they might notice the build-up in their smokers.
Roll this whole thing up fairly tightly so that it will just fit into the smoker. These can be made in advance and tied with cotton string, or even held together with a rubber band, which will let loose almost immediately. I’m not that organized, which is why I end up cutting my pieces as I need them. I roll my fuel up and hold it between my knees while I light the smoker.
To light the smoker, crumple about ¼ of a page of a newspaper into a loose ball, light the bottom of it, and place it in the smoker barrel. Push it down a bit with your hand or hive tool. The flames can help sterilize the hive tool, too. Now, take the roll of goodies and put them into the smoker barrel just far enough that it keeps it rolled, about ⅓ of the way. Work the bellows to really get the paper burning. In your mind’s eye, imagine that paper burning and getting a bit smaller a little at a time, and push the roll in accordingly while working the bellows. This is where a lot of people make a mistake. As soon as there is smoke coming, they stop working the bellows. Keep at it for a while longer. If you only spend two minutes lighting the smoker, it will only keep working for another two minutes. You need to get the bottom part of that roll burning enough that it is really hot with a lot of red embers that will keep smoldering for a long time without constant work from the bellows. Leave the roll sticking up a couple of inches with the top open while you zip your hood and walk into the apiary.
Once you are standing beside the hive, push the roll in the rest of the way, close the top, and work the bellows so that you see good smoke coming out. Give three little puffs in the entrance, then two under the inner cover, and wait 30 seconds for the bees to start filling their honey stomachs with honey. Now, you can set the smoker to the side and leave it alone until you need it again. Twenty minutes is a good amount of time, and if you can remember to work the bellows again after that length of time, that will be helpful. If you forget, and end up spending longer than you thought, you should be able to revive the smoke just by working the bellows. If not, then open the top and work the bellows quite a bit. You can almost always revive it, even after a very long time. If you know you are going to be longer, because you always are, open the top when you set it down, right after using it. This might mean that your fuel roll will burn a little faster because of the access to oxygen, so it will only be enough for two hours instead of three.
Usually, the smoke initially used in the entrance and under the inner cover will be all that is needed. If the bees’ volume rises, lay a puff or two of smoke over the frames. More than that may irritate the bees and have the unwanted effect of making them more aggressive. When re-stacking Langstroth hive bodies, I usually set one corner down and pivot the hive body into position so that not too many bees are crushed. If the box is too heavy to finesse that way, smoke can be used to drive the bees off of the hive body edges.
It is a good idea to keep a cork attached to the smoker so that it is easy to extinguish it. Not everyone needs the smoker for two or three hours, but it sure is great to have it run that long, just in case. If you finish your work in only an hour, or even less, there is no need to waste all of that fuel, or risk catching the bee truck on fire. Even with the cork in the neck of the smoker, such as between apiaries, there will still be enough life in it to revive it after 10 or 20 minutes. Open the top and work the bellows, and you are back in business. Or, leave the cork in, and it will completely extinguish the embers, and you can use the fuel roll again. Just pull it out, put a fresh piece of burning newspaper under it, and proceed as before.
Tina Sebestyen has been keeping bees since 2007 in top bar, Langstroth, and more recently the long Langstroth hive. She is founder of the Four Corners Beekeepers Assoc, and is Vice President of the Colorado State Beekeepers Association. She is currently working to produce the Master Beekeeper Program for the state of Colorado. She helps with large scale queen production for commercial operations, raises locally adapted queens for NW New Mexico and SW Colorado, helps produce nucs, does structural removals of bee colonies, and writes and speaks about bees everywhere she gets the chance. She can be reached at bee.seeking@gmail.com
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