Smoking your hive masks yours and your bees pheromones:
- Guard bees excrete pheromones when they smell your pheromones as you approach
- Bees excrete pheromones when they are inadvertently killed during an inspection
- A bee will excrete pheromones if you are stung
Smoke evokes a natural reaction within the bee by making them believe the hive is on fire and could be destroyed. The bees will begin collecting honey and preparing to vacate. This will provide you ample time to inspect the hive. Once you have closed up the hive and the smoke has dissipated, the hive will see the threat no longer exists and re-deposit the honey. The hive will then resume normal activity.
The best types of smoker fuel are items that can be found in nature. There are different types of smoker fuel that we recommend: smoker pellets, pine needles, cow poop, burlap, grass clippings and wood sticks.
We recommend igniting the smoker prior to a hive check a little ways away from the hive. Always use caution especially in areas where wildfires are a concern. We recommend having a fire extinguisher handy to put out any rouge embers. Also remember that the smoker metal will be hot and can cause burns, so use appropriate judgment.
Lighting a bee smoker
- Open the top of the smoker.
- Place inside the smoker the item that you are going to ignite.
- Ignite the item, leaving the top open until you have embers glowing.
- After the embers are burning, replace the top of the smoker.
- Once the top is in place, begin pumping the bellows vigorously until you have a steady plume of smoke.
The smoker will stay lit, provided it has enough fuel. As you approach the hive begin pumping the bellows vigorously to emit a steady plume of smoke. At the hive before your inspection, smoke the entrance first and then open the lid partially and smoke between the inner cover and frames. 2-3 plumes of smoke in each area should be a good start. During your inspection, if you notice the hive is more aggressive, use additional smoke. Throughout, leave the smoker handy and accessible, using caution where it is placed, the smoker will be very hot and could ignite dry grasses and foliage.
Extinguishing a bee smoker
When you are done with the hive check, make sure and extinguish the embers by: smoothing it by stopping up the pipe with a wet rag. You can also douse the embers with water, or let the flame burn out. In any case make sure that you use care.
Get all this information and more in our Free Beginner Beekeeping Guide!
