>
>Your switch to baling twine could be a bigger problem though and not
>because of creosote. It is not uncommon for baling twine to be
>chemically treated to resist rot and rodents. Using that for smoker fuel
>could be a problem to your bees. I don't know what the chemical is, but
>breathing the smoke might pose a health risk to you too.

        Having advised our govt on poisons for a dozen years, and been
involved in some legal actions regarding poisons, I heartily endorse that
warning.  There is no need to use any artificial matter that could emit any
particularly poisonous smoke.



> I have never found chemical contamination to be a
>problem

        is far less meaningful than we would like to suppose.
Considerable harm can be done, after various delays, but not traceable to
the poison from the synthetic materials.


 Just keep experimenting with your own local plant materials.


>The best fuel I've found is handful of damp white pine needles. Get a
>good blaze of crumpled newspaper going, shove the pine needles in and
>pump a few times. Some folks give high praise to dried sumac heads -
>haven't tried that one yet.

        Some priority should be given to standardising your smoke as much
as convenient, as a signal that it's the bees' main helper who is about to
disturb them.

        The different reactions of different colonies to a given smoke is
puzzling.

R

-
Robt Mann
consultant ecologist
P O Box 28878   Remuera, Auckland 1005, New Zealand
                (9) 524 2949