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How to use smoke with bees

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Finman:
Nowadays I use smoke very carefully. I try to minimize it's use. Reason is that smoke gives bad aroma to the honey. Tar of smoke attaches to combs. If you taste the honey of comb covers (wax), you notice that aroma. If you use strong smoke, you will have "strong aroma" honey.

When you take honey away from hive, it is better do with emptying plate. So you need not to use the smoke.

When I start working with bees I do not push smoke first inside the hive. I have calm bees and they do not need that kind of handling.

About 15 years ago I had native "about killer bees". I had allways haircomb with me. If they attack to my hair , I can comb them away and run for my life through the bushes. Varroa mite came to district and it killed to extinction those "rural wild bees".

I had 10 years Krainian bees, but they was eager to swarm. Now I continue with Italians.
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Beth Kirkley:
I've found that I don't have to use near as much smoke since I put the hives on the screened bottom board stand. They seem so much more relaxed and happy. That's proven to me that it helps.
Only time I smoke now is to get them to move so I can get my hive tool in somewhere. And that's very little smoke compared to what I was doing.

Beth

Anonymous:
Mine don't take much. I've tried different amounts of smoke and about 3 or 4 good puffs has the same effect of much more. I also use the smoke to move them around, keeps the smushed number down. :shock:

But, this is my first season and I've only worked two hives so far.

SageBrush:

--- Quote from: Anonymous ---Mine don't take much. I've tried different amounts of smoke and about 3 or 4 good puffs has the same effect of much more. I also use the smoke to move them around, keeps the smushed number down. :shock:

But, this is my first season and I've only worked two hives so far.
--- End quote ---


I thought I was logged in.... second try.  :D

beefree:
i've stopped smoking the bees when i am just inspecting them.  i may use it when i harvest honey, or i may just break out the suit again (yeah, i've kind of given that up, too, it's just too darn hot, and the bees don't seem to care what i wear anyway).  the bee book said i would only do that (go without the smoker) once, but the bees have actually been calmer without the smoke...fewer fly up at me.  maybe they are just too busy to notice me now...or all the mean old field bees are out of the house since it's warmed up.  it's sure not my ham-handed handling of their frames.
beefree

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