SMOKING BEES

[papabear]

I went in on Tues. to put some suger water in the hive. I smoked the bees lightly to get them off the top of the frames. My lid was leaking so I left with the feed. I went back at 5:00 pm today but I didn't want to smoke them again. When I opened the top I blew on them lightly and it worked great. The ? is how often is too often to smoke the bees? Thanks.

[Understudy]

I try to keep mine down to 3 packs a day.

I usually smoke mine if I am opening the hive. Doesn't matter how long it has been. But I try to restrict going into the hive to once during the day and I check the hives about once a week maybe a little less.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

[Michael Bush]

I think the real question is how much is too much smoke.  :)  I usually smoke a strong hive when I open it.  If I don't, they tend to get more upset rather than less.  I think most people smoke them too heavily.

[Zoot]

Someone - either Brian or Michael B. - posted some great advice on smoking here last summer: direct a couple of puffs under the inner cover and, if there is a bottom entrance, a couple in there and wait a full minute (or was it a single puff in each and wait 2 minutes?) Anyway, it has served me superbly, and is standand procedure now. I have tried to minimize inspections, hence minimized smoking, minimized disruption.

[Cindi]

Zoot, my procedure is very similar, smoke entrance and under inner cover.  Then I wait at least one minute.  Then I go in. works for me.  I am going to try to use less smoke (maybe even none), but we will have to see about that one.  I will always have the smoker ready and lit, just in case.  Best of days.  Cindi

[Zoot]

Cindi,

The best of luck to you with regard to tyring to minimize smoking. I went through a phase last summer where I didn't smoke my hives (I still won't if it's a quick change of a pail feeder or something simple) and I ended up with a lot of angry off bees. I learned to work my hives and not be distracted by the angry swarms but the bad thing was that they weren't inclined to be nice again once i started using smoke again. They started going after our horses which they'd not done previously. I'm curious to see how they act this spring. May have some re-queening to do.

[Cindi]

Zoot!!  EEEK.  Smoke?  Maybe I should not stop using it?  That would be dreadful.

Tell about the horses.  How many do you have?  How badly did they go after the horses?  How close are the horses.  Curiosity never got this cat.  Best of days. Cindi

[Jerrymac]

I seldom use smoke. I find when the are calm I really don't need it, but when they are mad they don't do what the books say they do, that is calm down with smoke.

[Zoot]

Yes, I've also noticed the same thing, that when my bees are angry, smoke will not calm them. Sometimes it seems to actually incite them further.


We are down to 2 older morgans and 2 ponies. We used to raise hunter/jumpers, throughbreds mostly back then. My partner's daughter has gone off to college so the horse focus is minimizing (Zoots vocabulary word for the night). We're starting to dabble with sheep.

Quite bad with the bees. As bad as you can imagine...neighbor's (lawyer) kids riding near hives, angry bees everywhere, bucking, screaming, crying. There is only a fence between the beeyard and pasture. we are considering moving the hives to a neighbor's orchard, about a thousand yards away.

[Greg Peck]

I would thing that a case of over smoking was depicted on the TV show Apprentice. There was a beekeeping segment and I remember thinking that they were going crazy with the smoke. One person would pickup the inner cover while one or two others blasted the hive with smoke.

I use the puff or two under the inner cover and a puff or two in the entrance as described above. It works fine for me. I also have changed out pail feeders with out smoking with out much problem (Did get stung one time though).

[Michael Bush]

>direct a couple of puffs under the inner cover and, if there is a bottom entrance, a couple in there and wait a full minute (or was it a single puff in each and wait 2 minutes?)

If it wasn't me it's what I would have said.  Either one works fine.  :)

[papabear]

If I would have to for any reason, can I smoke them twice or more in one week? Would that hurt my bees?

[Mici]

think there is no problem at all!
the only problem someone presented could be the taste of honey, due to smoke residue, but i HIGHLY doubt anyone would notice it/it would be strong enough.
just think of the queen breeders, how often they have to smoke them., it's safe

[Michael Bush]

>Would that hurt my bees?

Anytime you open a hive you disrupt things.  For optimum production, you should leave them alone more.  For optimum education, you should open them up more.  You need to find a happy medium.  Maybe you need an observation hive:

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesobservationhives.htm

[Brian D. Bray]

The mood of a hive of bees have a temperment like the weather and the corrolation is direct--good weather=gentle bees; bad weather=hot bees.  A little smoke under the inner cover and 1 or 2 puffs at the entrance will cause the bees to gorge on honey that is what inhibits their stinging.  In cooler weather they are less likely to gorge and are therefore hotter.  Too much smoke is worse than too little.  When smoking bees its is best to do it as little as possible.  I smoke like Zoot described ( I might have told him that) and then don't smoke again unless there is a large mass of bees I want to move that doesn't move with being blown on by mouth. 

The more you use the smoker the more likely you'll be using hotter air and less smoke.  The hot air aggitates the bees.

[papabear]

 ;)Thanks for the help