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Kellay resenik wrote;
>I have ....... often wondered
>if the burning wax might not "scare" the bees ........
I doubt the bees know what burning wax smells like, i.e I doubt that they
ever experienced the smell of their wax burning.
In any case thought I'd mention that I use soft corrugated cardboard
cartons, preferably rained upon for a few days then dried out. I roll it
around dry spoilt hay or coarse straw - it burns continuously. I find thin
grass does not let enough air through. To get it to lit I enclose a piece
of newspaper in the center and sticking out a few inches below the roll. I
light it with a match or lighter, get it burning well then insert into the
smoker.
In very humid weather my smoker fodder often gets too damp to light easily
by this method so I have often dipped the bottom in liquid beeswax (the
newspaper piece and all. This ignites well and gets things going nicely. I
never noticed any different reaction by the bees when the waxed material is
used.
george fielder
15v years keeping bees and still learning.