Alternative to traditional smoker....Liquid bee smoker????

[GavB]

Just wondered if there were any viable alternatives to the smoker. Ive seen the liquid smoker you put in a sprayer online, has anyone tried it? and is there any other methods people use?

 

[JazzJPH]

Definitely await confirmation from the more experienced beekeepers, but I'm sure I read someone was using a water spray bottle. I think it had sugar in it - made the wings sticky so they didn't fancy flying if I remember correctly.

 

[Adam Bee]

Definitely await confirmation from the more experienced beekeepers, but I'm sure I read someone was using a water spray bottle. I think it had sugar in it - made the wings sticky so they didn't fancy flying if I remember correctly.

I’ve tried water mist. Didn’t seem to do anything. I’m inspecting naked (as it were) with no smoke and these bees seem perfectly fine about it. Data point of one, so hard to draw a conclusion.

 

[enrico]

I always have a can of fabispray in my kit. It is a spray smoke. The bees hate it but for the times when they boil out and all you want to do is put the roof back on then it works wonders. Good for swarms too. Buy it from bee merchants

 

[Curly green fingers]

I use sugar water as much as I can but always have the smoker going at the same time .
I've found a hive cloth to work wonders and use one all the time it stops the flying bee's guard's etc..
You can cover and inspect a single frame as you go .
I've black bee's , no smoke or sugar water .
Locals both .
Buckfasts both
But I always use a hive cloth for all there quite simple to make .

 

[Angry_Mob]

A useful bit of kit I have is a muslin cloth covered in clove oil which I keep in a jam jar.

If doing inspections without a smoker which I do frequently I put the cloth over the frames; as they hate the smell it drives the bees down so it's easy to reassemble the hive.

 

[Adam Bee]

A useful bit of kit I have is a muslin cloth covered in clove oil which I keep in a jam jar.

If doing inspections without a smoker which I do frequently I put the cloth over the frames; as they hate the smell it drives the bees down so it's easy to reassemble the hive.

Is that the “hive cover” that Curly green fingers mentions?

{snip}
I've found a hive cloth to work wonders and use one all the time it stops the flying bee's guard's etc..
You can cover and inspect a single frame as you go .
{snap}
But I always use a hive cloth for all there quite simple to make .

 

[Curly green fingers]

Is that the “hive cover” that Curly green fingers mentions?

Hive cloth Adam that's what there called .
Have a look on one of the beekeeping equipment sites thornes and the like.

 

[Murox]

Is that the “hive cover” that Curly green fingers mentions?

Google "beehive manipulation cloth".

 

[Angry_Mob]

Is that the “hive cover” that Curly green fingers mentions?

The manipulation cloth stays on during the entire inspection and removed prior to reassembling the hive.

The clove cloth I use I guess could be left on during the whole inspection but I put it on shortly before closing the hive, the smell actively drives the bees down into the hive.

It's especially useful for top feeder nucs like the maisimore as you can set it on the top of the frames, wait a few seconds for the bees to clear and grab the feeder or lid, line it up, pull the cloth out and set the lid/feeder down without squishing lots of bees.

 

[Curly green fingers]

The manipulation cloth stays on during the entire inspection and removed prior to reassembling the hive.

The clove cloth I use I guess could be left on during the whole inspection but I put it on shortly before closing the hive, the smell actively drives the bees down into the hive.

It's especially useful for top feeder nucs like the maisimore as you can set it on the top of the frames, wait a few seconds for the bees to clear and grab the feeder or lid, line it up, pull the cloth out and set the lid/feeder down without squishing lots of bees.

Thanks for the idea with the cloves oil on the hive cloth with the maisimore nucs I'll give that a try
Cheers
Mark.

 

[citrus]

The manipulation cloth stays on during the entire inspection and removed prior to reassembling the hive.

The clove cloth I use I guess could be left on during the whole inspection but I put it on shortly before closing the hive, the smell actively drives the bees down into the hive.

It's especially useful for top feeder nucs like the maisimore as you can set it on the top of the frames, wait a few seconds for the bees to clear and grab the feeder or lid, line it up, pull the cloth out and set the lid/feeder down without squishing lots of bees.

can you also use benzaldehyde (almond smell) ?

 

[Angry_Mob]

can you also use benzaldehyde (almond smell) ?

I've never tried but it would be worth a go? It's not something that appears as readily available as clove oil.

 

[enrico]

can you also use benzaldehyde (almond smell) ?

Almond is the smell you get when bees are about to attack. When I knocked three hives over the smell of almonds before Armageddon was a smell I will never forget so......probably not a good idea!
E

 

[Angry_Mob]

I get more of a pear drop smell rather than almondss.

The benzaldehyde is used in some of those fume board sprays to clear bees out of the supers which they seem to do in a calm manner.

 

[Antipodes]

Having read these posts, I'm going to try benzaldehyde on a tea towel stored in a container and draped over the top of the box. If they become stupefied I'll reconsider. I'll use the cheap stuff from the supermarket (almond essence) that they make from peach kernels.

 

[B+.]

I'm going to try benzaldehyde on a tea towel stored in a container and draped over the top of the box.

You may want to reconsider that: it stinks and may taint your honey.

 

[citrus]

I get more of a pear drop smell rather than almondss.

The benzaldehyde is used in some of those fume board sprays to clear bees out of the supers which they seem to do in a calm manner.

yeah I saw that in some reading so bought some of it to use in a fume board ... but then decided to use a clearer board instead ...

i was thinking about trying these to help my issue with
https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=44515