Practical beekeeping

Using the Smoker

There is nothing more frustrating than a smoker which keeps going out! In the following article F A Shah gives some helpful ideas on how to use a smoker to the best advantage.

Smoke is an important aid when carrying out many beekeeping operations. It not only makes working with bees easier but also minimises unwanted bee mortality. However, it is important to know how bees respond to smoke, how it affects them, how much smoke to use, what type of smoker fuel to use and how to light a smoker. All these things account for judicious use of smoke to subdue bees to make working quick and pleasant.

How bees respond to disturbance

A few guard bees patrol every hive entrance against possible intruders. If the hive is disturbed you will notice an additional bee force rushing to the hive entrance. They look very likely to attack. As soon as a hive is disturbed the bees release an alarm pheromone (Isopentyl acetate) produced by the Nasonov gland located at the tip of the bee’s abdomen, to alert the inmates about the possible danger. When a hive is opened bees respond to this disturbance in a similar way, and pounce upon the person operating. Application of smoke at this stage has almost no merit because infuriated bees in flight have hardly any response to smoke.

How smoke works

Before opening a colony for inspection direct a few puffs of smoke through the entrance. The smoke puffed in works in two ways. Firstly it obscures the alarm pheromone, and secondly it causes bees to fill their honey sacs with honey. Thus bees find it difficult to bend their abdomen to sting. They are thus subdued, enabling the beekeeper to work with them with a minimum of stings.

How much smoke to use

Use smoke judiciously. Using a little smoke will not affect the bees adversely, but excessive smoke will not only tell upon the longevity of the bee itself but can be detrimental to the overall welfare of the colony: over-smoked bees take several hours (perhaps days) to resume their normal activities. Because of this factor try to keep colony manipulation and use of smoke to a minimum during a honey flow. In addition, a heavily smoked colony may fall prey to robber bees, probably because excessive smoke obscures the hive odour.

Smoker fuel

The best smoker fuel is one that is readily available, cheap, once burned continues smouldering without problems of going out, and above all does not injure the bees’ or beekeeper’s health. A variety of material such as gunny cloth, dry leaves, rotten wood, old rags, pine needles, sawdust, straw, cardboard or paper may be used. There is one or the other difficulty with these materials as smoker fuels. Some are hard to burn, while some burn quickly and become hot, some do not produce adequate smoke and above all these go out very often. The best smoker fuel that we have been using for 50 years is dried cow dung. It gives out a cloud of cool smoke. Once it has been ignited thoroughly in the smoker it continues smouldering even if the smoker bellows are not worked periodically. I worked out that a standard size smoker tightly packed with chips of cow dung lasts long enough to work with 14 bee colonies during the peak of the working season. Packing cases of fertilizers or pesticides, and plastic material must not be used as smoker fuel.

How to light a smoker

Accomplish this process steadily otherwise your smoker will go out soon. First ensure that the hearth is in the proper position inside the smoker. Put in a little charcoal. If charcoal is not available, use pieces of dry twig. Light the fire and keep working the bellows until the charcoal or twigs are red hot. At this stage put in a few chips of dried cow dung, and work the bellows until these chips ignite thoroughly. Then pack the smoker tightly with chips. Close the lid. Keep on pumping the bellows for a minute or two. The smoker is now ready for use. During the course of working remove the lid of the smoker and press the chips down. Before all the chips in the smoker have burned remove the lid of the smoker and empty it. Check that the hearth is in the proper position in the smoker. Put back the smouldering chips which will now serve as starter fuel. Pack the smoker in the aforementioned way. In this way you can keep your smoker ever-ready to your liking. Always keep your smoker in the upright position, otherwise it will go out.

by F A Shah, Shah Beekeepers, Kursu, Rajbagh, Kashmir, India.