> Aw, c'mon Jim...
How many smilies must I use to avoid a beating? :)
Perhaps you'd prefer the much more kewl, modern, and
horizontal type of smilie, like this ^.^
> So I was looking forward to a discussion about bee
> repellants in general, and Bee Quick specifically.
For "Bee-Quick specific", see the other thread.
It may likely be more than you wanted to know, which
is why I did not want to write so much last night.
It was late, I was tired.
For "repellents in general", all I can do is try to
address them now.
> I've stated I'm a proponent of Canadian/Triangular escape boards,
My bees appear to be smarter than Canadian bees - they rarely
"obey" such escape boards unless it is cold enough to force
an afternoon clustering, which makes escape boards superfluous.
I got to the point where I was duct taping everything in sight
thinking that the bees were getting back in through tiny cracks.
It took a laptop and "web cam" to prove that the bees were
waltzing right back in through the triangle escape.
That said, I've never seen a bee sneak back through a cone - they
just can't bend while on the outside of the cone to get their heads
in the hole.
> I must admit that there are times the bees don't exit supers via
> escape boards for no apparent reason... there are times, albeit rare,
> when the conditions are PERFECT for escape boards, but they just don't
> work and I can only attribute it to "quirky bees in that hive."
I also wish I knew.
I don't.
I must admit that I gave up years ago on escape boards,
so I haven't tried recently.
> Generally I avoid Bee Go due to the smell.
> I kind of liked the smell of benzaldehyde, and
> may have considered its use, but EPA has removed that option.
The EPA also removed the option of using butyric anhydride back in 1998,
not that anyone selling it wants to admit it. Without an EPA tolerance
(or an "exemption from the requirement for a tolerance", which is what
beekeepers had for butyric anhydride in honey), one falls back to FDA
regulations, and the FDA's list of things that are "Generally Recognized
As Safe" in food ("GRAS"). Butyric anhydride is not on that list, nor is it
permitted in any aspect of food contact, food handling, etc.
So what part of "No Food Use" is unclear to those who continue to
expose food for human consumption (honey) to butyric? :)
The "good news" for beekeepers is that there is no EPA or FDA
enforcement to speak of under the current administration - the EPA is
too busy trying to justify drilling for oil in designated wilderness
areas, and trying to pretend that the "Clean Air Act" still means something.
The FDA is overloaded with reviewing the claims of drug ads, all which tell
you to "ask your doctor".
> Anyway, I would benefit from a discussion of bee repellants to clear honey
> supers. How do they work? I always assumed it was merely the offensive
> smell that drove bees away,
At risk of invoking the wrath of PETA, it would be accurate to describe
all bee repellents as "tear gas for bees". They are mostly an irritant,
and the bees simply don't like it one little bit. In the case of butyric,
the odor that is so repellent to humans may or may not be perceived as
"disgusting" to bees - even honey houses that reek of butyric will still
have bees buzzing about the screened windows, so bees appear to be able
to somehow smell the honey and wax, where humans might only smell the butyric.
> but now I wonder if there is oxygen deprivation at play, or is that just
> in some brands?
Butyric poses a serious risk in this area for some beekeepers, and the
label warns humans about both "respiratory depression" and "circulatory
shock", so like humans, bees can be affected by oxygen deprivation if
one is using too much butyric. I've never heard of anyone killing bees
outright with any repellent, but I have heard from several beekeepers
who reported being more than a little "short of breath" when exposed to
even minor amounts of butyric.
We had some fun explaining the technical terms used on the butyric warning
labels in an ad we ran a few years ago:
DANGER - These are the minimum warnings required by law.
CORROSIVE - It eats through skin, clothes, and lots more.
EYE DAMAGE - It can blind you.
SKIN IRRITATION - Yes, it is irritating when your skin burns off.
WEAR GOGGLES - Under, or on top of the bee veil?
RUBBER GLOVES - Just like workers at the toxic waste facility.
HARMFUL OR FATAL IF SWALLOWED - Its a deadly poison.
AVOID CONTAMINATION OF FOOD - It can poison your honey.
IMMEDIATELY FLUSH EYES - It could blind you.
CALL PHYSICIAN IMMEDIATELY - Physician? Immediately? Call 911.
MUCOSAL DAMAGE - It will burn soft tissues.
GASTRIC LAVAGE - Stomach pumping.
CIRCULATORY SHOCK - It stops your cells from getting oxygen.
RESPIRATORY DEPRESSION - You can't breathe, either.
CONVULSION - And you might thrash uncontrollably on the floor.
KEEP OUT OF LAKES - It kills lots of things that live in water.
DO NOT CONTAMINATE WATER - It contaminates the groundwater.
DO NOT REUSE CONTAINER - Even tiny trace amounts are dangerous.
DESTROY WHEN EMPTY - How? Launch it into the sun?
Bee-Quick can "stun" bees if too much is used, and we THINK it is due
to a lack of sufficient oxygen, but its hard to take any readings on the
metabolic processes in a bee, let alone real-time ones.
(Don't think we haven't tried...)
> And I'm very interested in Bob's experiments with Bee Quick and Sucracide.
> Can you tell us more Bob? In my ignorance I am not sure if the manufactures
> of Bee Go and Honey Robber participate on BEE-L.
The makers of "Bee-Go" are not even beekeepers. Mann Lake ("Honey Robber")
might subscribe, and if they do, perhaps they will say hello.
jim ("Healthy Forests" is a name for a bill that clear cuts forests.
It should has been named "Leave No Tree Behind".)
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