BEEKEEPING 101 : STARTING YOUR SMOKER

So I thought it would be kinda fun to start adding a series of tutorials on how to do some of the various jobs I've either had or currently hold. For starters, it makes blogging about them MUCH easier, but also I tend to gravitate to really interesting and arcane jobs that I think you will enjoy learning about. I know I find most other people's jobs curious.

Today's entry deals with one of the basic tools of beekeeping, the smoker. When working with bees, it is important to remember that they communicate primarily by smell, and that subjecting them to a cloud of smoke gums up the receptors on their antennae. This effectively renders them deaf to alarms from other bees about your intrusion into the hive.

The construction is quite simple. Essentially, it is a tall cylinder with a bellows attached to it (on the right in the photo). As you work the bees, you fan the embers with the bellows to generate smoke from the material inside the cylinder. However, many novices end up with a smoker that constantly goes out. Here I explain an effective way to make sure you can smoke bees all day long.


STEP ONE : Add a Small Amount of Tinder

There are many schools of thought on what type of tinder to use. Here at UC Davis, we use pine shavings for our kindling, but many old time beekeepers use other materials, such as burlap, instead. The key is to find something that smokes, not burns. Do not add more than half an inch up the canister.


STEP TWO : IGNITE IT

Drop a couple of matches on the tinder and fan it with the bellows until all the material catches and bursts into flames. Try to get as much of the surface area burning as possible.



STEP THREE : SMOTHER IT

Slowly drop the in the rest of your tinder, so that you smother the flames. Fan the bellows to keep the embers beneath your kindling burning. Fill to about one inch below the lip of the smoker.



STEP FOUR : Add a Screen

Add it to the inside of the lid of your smoker. When it catches the embers your bees with thank you for it.



STEP FIVE : Top It With Grass

Smoker stopped smoking? How will you tell if the fire's gone out, or if you're just out of fuel? When the grass starts burning it will stop smelling like pine... Now close it up, and you're done.



A quick word about smoking bees, though. You want your smoke to be relatively cool, as a hot, dry smoke will harm them. Otherwise, go ahead and be liberal, it won't hurt them. So long as you add more kindling whenever you smell the grass burning, this should last you until you get tired of working.