On Sep 4, 2013, at 6:15 PM, <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
 wrote:

"a single puff of smoke. "

Why use all that smoke?

Say what? He said a single puff, not a billowing cloud!

I haven't lit a smoker for over a year now and have come to the conclusion that using a smoker is a placebo that calms the beekeeper so that he emits less stress-related pheromones that enrage the bees.

Yeah, well, the smoker is a time honored tool of millions of beekeepers. Yours is the minority viewpoint, to be sure.

The modern bee smoker was invented by New York's own Moses Quimby, and it accompanied the transition from beekeeping as an eccentric hobby to beekeeping as a business that could support families, hired help and elderly relatives.

Very few serious beekeepers doubt the value of smoke in managing bees. Working as a state bee inspector, we were instructed to always liberally smoke the bees to avoid getting them riled up. Smoke has a definite and profound effect on their consciousness, that much is certain.

I view smoke and bees the same as I view novocaine and having a tooth drilled. There are some people who pride themselves on "going without". They're nuts, and beekeepers that open hives without smoke are nuts too.

In my mind the question is not whether to use smoke, but what to use. I have found that the burlap sacks that coffee beans come in are the best smoker fuel, hands down. I was fortunate to acquire an enormous quantity of them from a kind friend who collected them for me.

Hardwood pellets are good too, especially if added after the smoker is well lit. When I worked at the Dyce Lab, we would store our smokers in a metal cabinet. If we loaded them up with hardwood pellets, they would stay lit for days. I prefer burlap, however, because these days as a hobbiest, I'd rather the smoker went out when I am done using it.

Pete

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