Punished harshly for a school boy mistake.

[Rosti]

smoker use ...... I mutter something rude and kick it far away,

Ah! so it's your impetuous boot that's responsible for all those southern heath fires we've heard about this year ... shame on you!

 

[drstitson]

smoker fuel- i've now settled on a couple of scraps of old egg box plus a bundle of dried lavander prunings. Smokes reliably for long enough to manipulate my hives plus doesn't keep going when i leave the UK apiary.

use of smoke - even my aggressive bees need very little if any if i gently but swiftly remove the crown board and replace immediately with a pillowcase. both super and brood get one. just uncover what i need whilst working and remove just before replacing super/CB.

 

[richardbees]

drstitson,

It's taken me a few minutes to work out what you're doing with those pillow cases - I had some idea of BA Business class hives!

Presumably what you mean is covering the top of the frames with a piece of cloth, after removing the cover board, and moving it around so the frames you aren't looking at are covered?

imho that is excellent advice and I don't recall seeing it mentioned here before....it also applies to covering supers when you remove them while checking the brood during "swarming season"

richard

 

[Hivemaker.]

drstitson,

It's taken me a few minutes to work out what you're doing with those pillow cases - I had some idea of BA Business class hives!

Presumably what you mean is covering the top of the frames with a piece of cloth, after removing the cover board, and moving it around so the frames you aren't looking at are covered?

imho that is excellent advice and I don't recall seeing it mentioned here before....it also applies to covering supers when you remove them while checking the brood during "swarming season"

richard

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5828&highlight=cover+cloth

 

[Black Comb]

Manipulation cloths - Thornes sell them - look under hive tools.
It'a a lot cheaper making your own.

 

[Heather]

I must have written a dozen times on threads -

I always use old towels. Rarely smoke- IT WORKS. Bees calm- bees warmer- inspection easier.
Always a clean towel per hive... So dont throw those tatty towels away- save them. Dont buy anything special from a supplier. Ask around. People do throw out old towels- you can use

 

[victor meldrew]

I gave up manipulating cloths years ago (something else to lug around or forget to bring .
The cloth is either blowing off, getting stuck to the propolis, soaking up honey/nectar from frame tops/damaged brace comb, (what a palaver ).
Still if it makes you feel better and keeps you occupied with the washing etc.
Go for it

John Wilkinson

 

[drstitson]

pillowcases/teatowels

"Presumably what you mean is covering the top of the frames with a piece of cloth, after removing the cover board, and moving it around so the frames you aren't looking at are covered?

imho that is excellent advice and I don't recall seeing it mentioned here before....it also applies to covering supers when you remove them while checking the brood during "swarming season""


Exactly - cloth over brood box while inspecting it and likewise a cloth laid over super before removal keeps that load of bees happy.

 

[Rosti]

I gave up manipulating cloths years ago (something else to lug around or forget to bring .
The cloth is either blowing off, getting stuck to the propolis, soaking up honey/nectar from frame tops/damaged brace comb, (what a palaver ).
Still if it makes you feel better and keeps you occupied with the washing etc.
Go for it

John Wilkinson

Oooooh, harsh John! Surely they have their place just like smoke? Not for use all the time but if you know you have a colony of kamkazees then restricting flight access is a valid option. Also great for covering removed full supers after clearing while stacking.

I have some, old linen tea towels, ends sewn into loose lateral pockets so that wood strips can be slid in, the weight stops them blowing off and allows them to be rolled. Never say never, like most beek equipment to be used tactically and with fore thought.

 

[Black Comb]

I must admit I don't like them but do find them useful.
Washing them is another chore.
Useful if the colony is a bit feisty and also when I'm putting the supers or crownboard back as my bees seem to bleed over the edges. I always start at an angle but even so if they are all over the edge it's difficult not to crush a few bees. A minute or so with a cover on and most of them are between the frames.
Beats smoking them down.

I sometimes use the end frame or dummy board (as suggested by John in a thread a few months) ago but neither quite as good as a cloth but useful nevertheless.

 

[psafloyd]

As I was late getting my bees, I did not have any dry grass for fuel, which is what I had been using when getting trained.
Having seen corrugated cardboard rolls being sold somewhere, I thought I would fashion my own by taking a length of about 12 to 15 inches by 6 folding it in half along the long axis and rolling tightly to fit in the smoker once lit with newspaper.
I have to say that it smoulders beautifully and will smoke away for ages, with but a few hefty pumps on the bellows.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

As I was late getting my bees, I did not have any dry grass for fuel, which is what I had been using when getting trained.
Having seen corrugated cardboard rolls being sold somewhere, I thought I would fashion my own by taking a length of about 12 to 15 inches by 6 folding it in half along the long axis and rolling tightly to fit in the smoker once lit with newspaper.
I have to say that it smoulders beautifully and will smoke away for ages, with but a few hefty pumps on the bellows.

You want to check that the smoke isn't too acrid - some cardboard is treated with nasty things. Some of course is fire retarded as well which cna make burning tricky!

 

[psafloyd]

As I was late getting my bees, I did not have any dry grass for fuel, which is what I had been using when getting trained.
Having seen corrugated cardboard rolls being sold somewhere, I thought I would fashion my own by taking a length of about 12 to 15 inches by 6 folding it in half along the long axis and rolling tightly to fit in the smoker once lit with newspaper.
I have to say that it smoulders beautifully and will smoke away for ages, with but a few hefty pumps on the bellows.

That said, I don't use very much of it. Mine seem to be fairly quiet and I don't want them to get all aerated because of the smoke.
Not much to do at the moment in any case.

 

[richardbees]

drstitson.

--that is truly Persil white, and with not a trace of brown from wax or propolis!

I used squares cut from a big piece of heavy weave navy blue cotton fabric (think 'black-out curtain') I found on a skip.....

Richard

ps
- and especially ironed for the photo, how nice!

 

[drstitson]

"and especially ironed for the photo, how nice!"

NO - next time you're in Tesco check what shape packets their cheapest pillow cases come in! Photo was of first outing!

 

[tonybloke]

I just always keep the crownboard on the supers whilst inspecting, and use the dummy board to cover the top of the brood frames. *simples*

 

[Stephenw]

Something like that happened me today. I had got suited up an everything and went down to the bees, got roof and crown board off and flicked through a couple of brood frames, then somehow 3 bees found their way into my veil and stung me on the neck and head. Sooo sore lol. So I quickly put crown board and roof back on and went to the house making sure no bee followed me so then I got the stings out. I went back down again to bees making sure I was tightly sealed up and finished what I was doing (putting another brood frame with foundation in, putting on queen excluder and super.



Steve