Beekeeping is an ancient practice, dating back thousands of years. Today, beekeepers use smoke for the same reasons they used it all those years ago–to calm bees down while attending to the beehive.
What does smoke do to bees?
Smoke “pacifies” or calms bees down, in effect. Researches believe there are two ways this happens. First, it impedes their sense of smell. This sense of smell is one of the main ways that bees communicate with each other. Beekeepers use smoke as a way to cloak or block this communication.
Hive Defense
There are guard bees who guard the entrance of the beehive. When they sense a threat like an intruder near the hive they will secrete pheromones from a gland near their stingers called ispentyl acetate, and 2-heptanone. These chemicals sound the alarm–or is that scent the alarm?–to the other bees, to be ready to attack.
The last thing a beekeeper wants is a hive full of honeybees ready to attack (and lose their lives by doing so if they use their stingers). Enter the beekeeper’s smoker.
Why Does Smoke Work on Bees?
One theory, which is probably the most likely to be true, is that smoke masks the smell of these pheromones, so the attack message doesn’t spread to the other bees in the hive.
Some beekeepers say there is distinctive smell of pheromone when they open their beehives. They say it smells similar to bananas.
Another theory is that the presence of smoke makes the bees think there is a fire nearby and that they will need to vacate the hive and go set up shop somewhere else.
In preparation for moving house, the bees will store as much honey as possible in their bodies, so they will have enough to build a new hive somewhere else.
It takes about 8 lbs. of honey to create 1 lb. of wax! That’s a whole lot of honey to create a new hive.
Imagine stuffing yourself so full, you are waddling around and lethargic. (Thanksgiving dinner, anyone?). This is how the bees are thought to feel. Being overly full on honey, the bees calm down long enough for beekeepers to work in the hive.
Also, just like us humans, smoke acts as a repellant to the bees. They will move away from smoke, and that works for the beekeeper, because they can put their hands where they need to in order to do the work in the hive that needs to be done.
Pheromones are responsible for so many functions and behaviors in bees. Here is an informative article about just how many things pheromones are responsible for in honeybee behavior.
How Long Do Bees Stay Calm After Beekeepers Use Smoke on Them?
Bees can detect the pheromone about 10-20 minutes after the smoke disappears. So you should plan accordingly for getting your work in the beehive done.
What is in a Beekeeper’s Smoker?
Most beekeepers use paper to light a fire and then add other materials, as will be discussed a little later in this post, to produce a lot of smoke and not so much fire.
Common burning fuels are natural products. Beekeepers should never use chemicals or non-natural materials to burn in their smokers.
This is a highly rated beekeeper’s smoker you could try for yourself.
How to Apply Smoke to a Beehive
When you are ready to work in the hive, like when you want to do a hive inspection, have your tools ready before opening the hive: a hive tool, smoker, bucket with extra smoker fuel.
- Not too much smoke, not too little–a light amount of cool smoke is ideal. Cool smoke is less harmful to the bees and it prevents scorching your smoker, which can promote rusting and decrease its useful life.
- Blow a small amount across the frames under the top cover, but not directly into the hive. Let the smoke work through the hive for a few moments.
- Add a couple of puffs toward the hive entrance too. Hold the spout/tip of the bee smoker about 8″-10″ away from the entrance. Set the smoker aside as you work so that the bees don’t land on it!
- You are not trying to drown the hive with smoke. You just need the honey bees to smell the smoke.
Here is a helpful and very simple video demonstrating how to add smoke to a beehive:
What to Use in a Bee Smoker
Beekeepers use a variety of different materials in a smoker, but the best bee smoker fuel will be natural and dry, and easily obtained.
Try to use materials you can find in your yard or garden. These might include dried plants containing oil, such as lavender, thyme, and mint.
Oil-based plants that are dried work well because the oil makes the smoke last longer, but keeps the plant material from burning too quickly.
Other natural materials for burning in a smoker could include pine needles, cedar chips, and corncobs, but there are many choices. Wood twigs are not ideal because they require too much eat to get burning.
If you’d like to see a lot more choices for materials to burn in a bee smoker, here is a much larger list of potential fuel choices for a beekeepers’ smoker.
You should definitely NOT use anything that is chemically based as an ignition material, and really, there is just no need for chemical-based materials to ignite the bee smoker, because there are so many natural products available in our surroundings or for sale. Chemicals are toxic for bees and beekeepers alike.
Plants that are used in natural skin care and home made products that can be eaten are better choices. But even these products can make a person sick–a lot of people like the smell of eucalyptus oil, and it’s oil is very pungent and it sticks around for a long time.
For me, that’s a problem. I’m one of the few people who has an intolerance for very much eucalyptus scent, so this is one I will avoid.
Keep in mind that excessive smoking can contaminate the honey stores and wax in the hive, whether using chemical or natural igniter fuels.
Some native plants are still toxic to burn! Keep this in mind when making your choices.
Precautions to Take With a Beekeeper’s Smoker
When it comes to the amount of smoke to use, less is better. Once you smoke started, feel the smoke with your hand to feel if the smoke is cool or hot. If it’s too hot for your hand, it’s too hot for your bees!
How to Light a Bee Smoker
The most common recommendation for starter fuel is paper. Newspaper or any regular paper. One tip is to lightly crumple the paper and put it down into the smoker, but leave the tip of the paper near the top of the “can.” This makes it easier to light.
Lots of beekeepers say that a small, hand-held propane torch seems to work the best for lighting the paper starter fuel in the smoker. As with anything that starts fires, use caution!
Most standard beekeepers smokers come with a metal cage around them, but you still need to be very cautious. Bee smokers get really hot.
A hook can be attached to the smoker to carry it, or always use the bellows to carry the bee smoker.
After you light your initial material (again, the most recommended is paper), if you are going to add additional materials to the smoker, one tip is to use your hive tool to smash the material down into the “can” instead of using your fingers, so that they don’t get burnt.
If you are going to use the smoker for 20 minutes or more, make sure you pack it with lots of fuel material so that it doesn’t go out, and again, take a bucket containing extra fuel with you.
How to Use a Beekeepers Smoker When it’s Lit
Check the smoker every 5 or so minutes to make sure it is still smoking. Pump the bellows every 5-10 minutes even if you don’t need the smoke, just to make sure it is still lit.
When You are Finished With the Smoker
Open the lid and pump the bellows quite a few times. Close the lid, then use a bottle/wine cork to cap the spout of the smoker to stop the oxygen going into the can as fuel for the fire.
You can also use a bunch of green (not dry) grass you tear from the ground. Bundle it up, bend it into a “U” shape and then twist. Screw that twisted bundle of grass into the spout hole of the bee smoker.
Lay the smoker on its side, ensuring the lid stays closed. This will prevent airflow from moving through the smoker.
This method allows you to make “charcoal” out of the existing fuel and use it again another time.
When you are transporting the stopped up smoker MAKE SURE it’s not going to tip over. Leaving it in the bed of the truck while you drive away (or even if you’re not driving is a bad idea). If so, the lid can open and ignite something nearby.
Don’t put it on the lid of a beehive, you can start a fire there too or even just burn a ring onto the outside of the lid.
You don’t want to leave it in the shed or barn. A concrete slab is an ideal place, where you can lay the smoker down on its side, but the caveat is to make sure the lid is closed firmly.
Once the body of the bee smoker is cool to the touch, you can bring it inside.
You can dump the contents out in a safe spot like a fire pit, stomp on it and douse it with water. Make sure it’s all the way out!! Just like you would with a campfire.
Beekeeping Without Smoke
There are non-smoke methods to beekeeping where you can work with beehives smoke free. Here is a video of someone showing how they do it:
Check out this blog post on how to work your beehive without using smoke.
In Conclusion
Beekeepers use smoke to calm their bees and work in their hives as efficiently as possible without harming the bees. Some form of the bee smoker has been used for centuries for beekeeping. Beginner beekeepers should definitely learn how to use smoke and experiment with different types of natural fuels. The list of fuels that will work is almost endless and can be found in the surrounding area, usually for free. It’s important to use non-toxic fuels that won’t be harmful to the bees or the beekeeper. It’s also very important to use caution with a bee smoker due to fire danger. Use best practices as outlined above for safely using smoke in your hives.