To the rest of us beekeepers of few years:
 
When I started keeping bees, there seemed to be two main problems--
finding the queen, and keeping the damn smoker going. Then, along came
mites, so I had three.
 
Queens are more obvious now (always when I'm not looking); most of the
recommended smoker fuels were tried, with poor to fairly good results,
until recently, when EUREKA!, an outstanding breakthrough came.
 
A bit of paper, a match, then poke in some kindling material-- hay bale
twine, wood shavings, whatever. When these get going, add a handful or
two of wood pellets-- you know, the kind made for those new patent
stoves. Puff things into action, add a balled-up wad of green grass to
filter and cool, and go work the bees!
 
The pellets are cheap; a bag lasts forever; burns cleaner than most
things I've tried. One fueling of the smoker goes on and on, like the
Energizer bunny.
 
But remember to test the smoke against the bare hand before smoking the
bees, renewing the cooling filter now and then.
 
As for the mites, I'm reading this forum closely, and learning more from
the experience and wisdom of the contributors.
 
Hervey            [log in to unmask]  607-565-3651
 
--six hives, upstate New York--