smokeless

[FRAMEshift]

I started off using pine needles in my smoker since they are everywhere and tend to stay dry if they are in a deep stack.  But it takes lots of time to get it lit well. 

And lots of folks don't like having to breathe smoke. 

Recently I've been using a dilute mixture of vanilla extract and Liquid Smoke in a spray bottle.  This works as well as smoke, it's quicker to prepare, you use only what you need and the rest is still there for next time.

Vanilla is often used to reduce fighting during a combine.  Liquid Smoke is used by Fatbeeman as a general smoke substitute.  The mixture seems to work in just about any situation.

Has anyone tried this?

[VolunteerK9]

No but ive entertained the idea. Ive got one of the small, entry level smokers thats virtually impossible to keep lit. How many drops of each to how much water?

[mikecva]

I tried it several years ago but it did not work for me except as a calming agent. It did not 'confuse' the bees enough to do work for more then 3-5 min. in the hive.  -Mike

[FRAMEshift]

No but ive entertained the idea. Ive got one of the small, entry level smokers thats virtually impossible to keep lit. How many drops of each to how much water?

In a quart bottle I use one or two drops of vanilla extract and 5 drops of liquid smoke.  I just kept adding drops until I got a strong scent with one spritz.

[FRAMEshift]

I tried it several years ago but it did not work for me except as a calming agent. It did not 'confuse' the bees enough to do work for more then 3-5 min. in the hive.  -Mike

Did you try liquid smoke and vanilla together?  The bees seem pretty confused to me.  The effects of smoke last for at least one day.  You are right that the effects of spray don't last that long, but certainly more than a few minutes.

With smoke you can do a puff in the entrance, wait a while, and a puff as you remove the top.  The smoke penetrates the entire hive.  With the spray you have to spritz as you go, making sure each frame gets some of the scent.  It does not penetrate the entire hive.  On the other hand, it doesn't penetrate your lungs the way smoke does.

[sc-bee]

I would think liquid smoke would leave a taste in the honey in the supers??

[FRAMEshift]

I would think liquid smoke would leave a taste in the honey in the supers??

More than real smoke?  I'm using very dilute solutions, but you could be right.

[BlueBee]

I like your idea FrameShift!  I’m going to give it a try.  Thanks for sharing.

Smoke has all kinds of toxins in it, not good for man nor bee.

[sc-bee]

I would think since the spay is liquid it would penetrate the comb. I have heard of folks getin ash from smoker in honey but not a smell or taste?

[Yappy]

Why use any smoke OR fake smoke at all??
I quit using Smoke last year.
I feel the bees Do Not Like smoke, I know I don't!
As far as stings go I get less stings now.
My bees are almost always calm and pretty much ignore me.
If they are not calm I sometimes put on a Vail or spray with pure water only.
 

[iddee]

Fireguy, one day you will regret your decision. There will come the day you have 100 plus stings in the face, head, and shoulders within 10 seconds of opening the hive. It's not if, but when, it will happen. Smoke is a safety net and should always be used.

[Jim134]

Fireguy, one day you will regret your decision. There will come the day you have 100 plus stings in the face, head, and shoulders within 10 seconds of opening the hive. It's not if, but when, it will happen. Smoke is a safety net and should always be used.

If you keep bees long enough it will happen you can bet on it.


    BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)

[Yappy]

Fireguy, one day you will regret your decision. There will come the day you have 100 plus stings in the face, head, and shoulders within 10 seconds of opening the hive. It's not if, but when, it will happen. Smoke is a safety net and should always be used.

Thanks Iddee,  If Bees are in a "mood" than I do wear a Veil to stop face stings- True!
BUT "Smoke" does not stop stings. It would stop me < retired firefighter with bad lungs >.
I have and everyone I talked to admitted to getting stings while using smoke too!
So where is this "safety-net"

[AllenF]

Just a little dab will do with the smoke.   A little works wonders.  Smoke is your friend when working with bees. 

[FRAMEshift]

Smoke is a safety net and should always be used.

Smoke is your friend when working with bees. 

iddee and Allen,  do you guys have any thoughts on using Liquid Smoke and/or vanilla in place of smoke?

[AllenF]

Never tried it.   Just stick with the good old smoker.  I heard about liquid smoke.   Heard about spraying them with syrup.  Heard about doing nothing and having bees chase them 300 feet.   I just think smoke works just fine. 

[joebrown]

I believe I saw a video of BjornBee trying to rob a hive without smoke and that would be enough for me. I got stung 30 times this week by an ill hive. I would have been stung more without the smoke. Smoke was the only thing that slowed them down. Have fun not using smoke. I personally sit the smoker to the side when not in use. The smoke stays away from me, but I can grab it and give the bees a few puffs if needed. Smoker smoke is not cigarette smoke and I do not think inhaling a little will make a big difference. Does the smokeless society also not burn brush or light a campfire?

[BlueBee]

If you have stoichiometric combustion and perfect mixing of fuel (wood, pine needles, whatever) and air, you can minimize pollutants.  But when you’re burning something solid, you never have perfect mixing and that means you get all kind of compounds out of burning other than just CO2 and H2O.  The basic pollutants are carbon monoxide from burning too lean, nitric-oxides from burning too hot, nasty complex hydrocarbon pollutants, and particulates. 

According to this site, “wood smoke is chemically active in the body 40 times longer than tobacco”, and it kills 30,000 people in the US per year.  http://burningissues.org/car-www/index.html

I take iddees advice when it comes to bees, and I do use a smoker, but I would love an alternative that works. 

I also set my smoker down next to the hive when not in use.  I don’t use much smoke, unless they start coming after me. 

[Michael Bush]

I've tried about everything that has been touted as being as effective as smoke.  Nothing I tried was as effective as smoke and most were harder on the bees.

The most common smoking mistakes:

•   People have the smoker too hot and burn the bees with the flame thrower they are wielding
•   People use far too much smoke causing a general panic instead of simply interfering with the alarm pheromone. One puff in the door is enough. Another on the top if they look excited is ok and after that having it lit and setting nearby is usually sufficient.
•   People don't light the smoker because they think smoke upsets the bees, probably because of one of the above reasons.
•   People blow the smoke in and immediately open the hive. If you wait a minute the reaction will be completely different. If you’re doing something not too time consuming, like filling frame feeders or something, it’s a good plan to smoke the next hive before you open this one. That way the minute will be up when you open that one.
•   People don’t smoke because they have the idea that it is either bad for the bees or somehow unnatural. Their exposure is only a puff or two once every week or two. People have been smoking bees for at least 8,000 years that we have documented for one very good reason. Nothing does not work at all at calming bees and Smoke works better than anything else at calming them.

[joebrown]

I would rather breathe in a little wood smoke every now and then as opposed to living in some of the cities around the world and breathing in their smog. Personally, I think worrying about breathing in smoke from a smoker is a little crazy, but to each his own!