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Date: | Mon, 7 Jun 2010 19:20:54 +0300 |
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"Pine needles work well in my small operation. They are free and
readily available."
Yes, two most important points that need considering (apart from the
production of cool smoke, too much tar and the chance that any material
used has been contaminated with anything that is harmful to bees). Here
in Greece many beekeepers use old hessian sacks which have been used
for olive transportation. By the time they are ready for apiary use
they are usually well patched after many years of service - nothing is
thrown away here by thrifty villagers. The sacks have been washed each
year, but evidence of oil is still apparent when the hessian is
burning, so its best to leave the sacks out in the open for a year or
so. I prefer to use whatever is around me - usually dry grass which is
tightly packed packed into the furnace or dried eucalyptus leaves
though these burn quite quickly. Best of all I prefer to use dried
sheep or cow dung. This material burns very slowly, but sometimes can
be the devil to get going - partly due to the fact that we have a lot
of wind here and the flame from matches and lighters soon go out.
Better by far to give the material a quick blast with a gas blow torch
- most beekeepers posses one of these for scorching hives. I did get
some cylindrical blocks of compressed sawdust made by a bee appliance
manufacturer in Italy, they worked well, but not sure what is used to
bind the sawdust together.
John Phipps
Greece
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