Oil of Cloves

[itma]

Oil of Cloves, does anyone use it?


A hint on a course the other week was that a trace of Oil of Cloves encourages bees to keep clear of your hands.
The suggestion was to put a few drops onto a clean cloth, and then store the rag in a plastic bag (personally, I'd have thought a lidded jar or box might be even better) in your kit box. Then, before opening the hive, wipe your hands (gloved or not) on the scented cloth. The result is supposedly that the bees move away from your fingers, making most things easier.
Oh, and the cloth can be spread over the top bars to encourage the bees to go down below ...

Anybody tried anything like this?
Does it upset the bees? Do the effects linger?

/ Before I lash out another few quid on something else to linger at the back of the cupboard... !

 

[Iang]

Good for toothache, yours not the bees, too!
And less than a couple of quid if my not wholly reliable memory serves me correctly.
So not much to lose and, like smoke detector batteries, usually needed in the wee small hours so having it lingering at the back of the cupboard no bad thing either

 

[drstitson]

recommended in american bee lining literature as useful to add to syrup bait as the strong smell rapidly permeates the hive that foragers return to, increasing the number of bees returning to new food source in shorter time period.

 

[jackbee]

So, so far - a deterrent and an incentive, useful substance !!!!

 

[Ruary]

Handy for clearing slide preparations.