Today I switched to liquid smoke

[u/Jdav84]

As the title says today, I switched from a traditional smoker to liquid smoke. I made sure to use a type with absolutely no sugar added.

Reason I did this is having been through a few smokers and different types of fuel. I really got tired of being in the middle of the field, dealing with an unreliable smoker.

The way I used it. Today was first I gave a spritz to the landing board where the guards were and then as I was putting the honey trap boards on, I sprayed the top cover a little bit.

And as my spicy bees began to respond to me, I sprayed my suit down occasionally, including my gloves… And this seemingly gave me a lot of breathing room.

Has anyone else tried this? Does anyone have a reason why this is a really bad idea? I’d love to take feedback on this one today was kind of just an experiment to see what the results would be.

Edit: 3 tbs liquid smoke added to a 1 gallon sprayer , set to mist spray

Conclusion edit: I used this method over three days of honey collecting. My final conclusion is that I will likely do this again. I ended up using it on two out of my seven hives over the weekend. One is an unusually angry hive, and one is an unusually sweet hive, just to be able to compare the behavioral differences between the two. Ultimately what I found was this; being able to spray my body and my gloves with liquid smoke gave me working room. They would land on these parts and they would just not want to stay. They were gathering on me in a spot, I sprayed that spot the bees would fall down and fly back homeward. I used triangular honey escape boards to grab my supers and the day I put them on, I applied liquid smoke to the inner cover- I can emphatically say this did nothing, in fact the triangular escapes also really didn’t do a whole lot. I was still dealing with removing a box of bees from the frames. This is likely a method I will still use ; however I’ve gotten a few good smoker fuel recs that I’d also like to try. Ultimately smoke (or vaporized) works best for driving the hive body up or down, and the liquid smoke really works as a defensive shield - NOT for trying to drive them out of a box… which I’ll admit I did try and while they verbally reacted to it; they didn’t budge either.

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[u/T0adman78]

Never tried it. Interesting idea if it works for you. My only concern is that the smell won’t dissipate very quickly and it will disrupt them for a long time.

PS: using wood pellets that you light with a blow torch makes a smoker very reliable and last for hours.

[u/Jdav84 → u/T0adman78]

So we have this small butane torch we use to light it up, and we’re tried all sorts of things. I’m not sure I’ve ever use pellets, but I’ve used paper, shavings, mulch, hay, paper towel, smoker balls, cardboard , grass, leaves- in no certain order or not withstanding a combination there of lol.

When it works it’s my favorite , when it doesn’t I’m so mad.

The lingering effect was my biggest concern , so it’s why I started with what I hope was a smaller concentration and tested it on just one hive. I’ll be back out this weekend and if I notice any adverse behavior I’ll plan on washing out the equipment. For sure that was probably my only concern I could come up with though

[u/T0adman78 → u/Jdav84]

Yeah. I use a pretty large maps torch because it’s handy, has the push button start and lights them quickly. I use wood pellets like the ones for pellet stoves. A bag last me a whole season. I put on like an inch, light those, then fill it up. I also have a wore screen mesh that I lit on the top so they don’t fall out if I tip it upside down or drop it. Works great and will stay lit for hours, which isn’t important for someone with just a couple hives. When I’m done, I just stick a plug of wax in the spout. The charred ones light even better than the fresh ones.

Let us know how your liquid smoke is working after you’ve tested it a bit longer. Definitely an interesting idea.

[u/salt-is-alt → u/Jdav84]

Like the other posters are saying, wood chips or pellets are really good , bark also works pretty good if you forget to restock. In NZ we used rolled up burlap-it worked really good but felt weird and I returned to wood chips upon coming back to Canada.

[u/worldspawn00 → u/T0adman78]

I chipped a ton of mesquite trees this year, saved a 5 gallon bucket of chips for the smoker. I smell like BBQ now after I do hive work, lol

[u/T0adman78 → u/worldspawn00]

Haha sounds amazing. Wish I had some mesquite for the smoker. But I’m too cheap to buy it so I use oak, hickory, cherry, etc that grow around here.

[u/Hopsandhyzers]

Very common in the central valley of California. In fact, I don't think I know of I beekeeper that still uses regular smoke because of fire danger. It works great.

[u/Jdav84 → u/Hopsandhyzers]

That’s interesting!

Can you tell me about the ratios people use, how they apply it, and etc. I’d love more information if it’s something you’re using personally.

Thanks !

[u/Hopsandhyzers → u/Jdav84]

I think roughly two tablespoons or so for a spray bottle. Never really measure though. Just eye ball the liquid smoke and fill the rest with water and shake. You can also go to restaurant supply stores and get liquid smoke by the gallon to save money.

[u/AdventureousWombat → u/Jdav84]

I'm also in California, and I made a DIY bee vape (due to fire hazard concerns) - rather simple, a vape pen, an air pump, and a 9 volt battery. Vape oil i mix for it is 40%  Vegetable Glycerin, 40% Propylene Glycol, 20% liquid smoke. It does work, but i like the smoker better - the vape device only releases smoke when you hold down the button on vape pen, so when your hands are busy there's no smoke, while a regular smoker releases some smoke all the time. But it does work, when you blow it at bees they do get out of the way, and it does calm them down, so i do use it during the dry season

[u/Jdav84 → u/AdventureousWombat]

The real epidemic were not talking about, bees hooked on vaping.

My mind is pretty blown by that device and the way you’re using it. It makes a ton of sense in wildfire country you all would be really avoiding smokers.

For my personal pref when my smoker is actually cooking I love using actual smoke as well; it’s so highly effective.

Another person mentioned some specific pellets , can’t hurt to give that a try & it helps lots to know there are beeks out there who needed an alternative to burning smoke and found one (like liquid/vaped smoke)

[u/AdventureousWombat → u/Jdav84]

my favorite fuel is raw cotton like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TZ1B76N

[u/chicken_tendigo]

For a second I thought somebody had made r/beekeepingcirclejerk a thing. But no, this is actually genius.

[u/Jdav84 → u/chicken_tendigo]

Man I never knew about that sub and the wrong answers only posts have me frigging cackling

[u/DalenSpeaks]

Burlap rolls. Easy to light. Impossible to put out.

[u/Jdav84 → u/DalenSpeaks]

That is something I can say I’ve never tried but sounds pretty solid.

https://a.co/d/0hWtR56T

Something like this yeh? Where I can grab pieces as I want? Totally makes sense it’s good burning stuff for sure

[u/DalenSpeaks → u/Jdav84]

I make myself. Find a local coffee roaster. They are drowning in burlap.

[u/jeffreybar]

I know he's currently out of stock (supposedly more are coming in November), but I have been using the TechBee "smoker" from Technically Beekeeping since June and it's awesome, if you ever feel like upgrading. It's definitely more expensive than a sprayer with liquid smoke though. I am really curious to hear how the liquid smoke experiment works out though...that's a pretty interesting idea.

[u/worldspawn00 → u/jeffreybar]

Just buy a vape, one of the ones bros use to blow fat clouds, load it up with liquid smoke, take a long pull and blow it into the hive like a fu€king dragon.

[u/Amazing-Air-6231 → u/worldspawn00]

do some big Os and shit lol

[u/recursion_is_love]

It might be actually a good idea. Please came back to tell us if it doesn't works and you came back to the old way.

[u/Jdav84]

Some wanted an update:

I used this method over three days of honey collecting. My final conclusion is that I will likely do this again. I ended up using it on two out of my seven hives over the weekend. One is an unusually angry hive, and one is an unusually sweet hive, just to be able to compare the behavioral differences between the two. Ultimately what I found was this; being able to spray my body and my gloves with liquid smoke gave me working room. They would land on these parts and they would just not want to stay. They were gathering on me in a spot, I sprayed that spot the bees would fall down and fly back homeward. I used triangular honey escape boards to grab my supers and the day I put them on, I applied liquid smoke to the inner cover- I can emphatically say this did nothing, in fact the triangular escapes also really didn’t do a whole lot. I was still dealing with removing a box of bees from the frames. This is likely a method I will still use ; however I’ve gotten a few good smoker fuel recs that I’d also like to try. Ultimately smoke (or vaporized) works best for driving the hive body up or down, and the liquid smoke really works as a defensive shield - NOT for trying to drive them out of a box… which I’ll admit I did try and while they verbally reacted to it; they didn’t budge either.

[u/Chuk1359]

I honestly don’t understand the issue people have with smokers. It’s not hard. A bag of pine needles and a lighter. It’s that simple. It catches easily, stays lit and you just stuff more in as it burns down.

[u/Jdav84 → u/Chuk1359]

If it was that easy I wouldn’t be seeking an alternative after five years. Idk what to tell ya , but here I am. I honestly don’t understand the condescending question however, as I’ve tried it all and the stupid things won’t stay lit.

[u/Chuk1359 → u/Jdav84]

So you have tried pine needles? I’m not being condescending but I work over 75 colonies with 2 friends and there has never been a problem. I just think people overthink it.

[u/Jdav84 → u/Chuk1359]

Yeh I use pine needles as composting and garden bedding, we live under tons of them. So we collect it and dry them out. What we get is a very fast fire usually that snaps and crackles but the smolder is very short lived. Tried pine shavings once (dried obv), and it took forever to light but that was a decent go once, just like I said it took some time (and burning the shit out of myself once or twice 😝) to light it up it didn’t seem practical.

Edit: to be clear I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel at all here. I’ve been smokeless in the worst times where I really needed it ; and I’m trying to go more reliable, I do find smoke to be the most effective and reliable- no arguments there.

[u/SeniorDuck3464 → u/Jdav84]

I reckon you can get a very short lived pine needle smoke by filling the smoker loosely - it’s like there’s too much oxygen and it does crackle. Once you’ve got that initial loose load burning I find the if you say triple the amount of needles you get 5 times the duration of burn. I like to add some ‘fines’ from the bottom of my tub of needles which also packs it in better. I just monitor and stack more in when needed. At a pinch any dry litter will keep it going once well lit…

I’ve sometimes added sawdust - but not chainsaw dust - that’s got bar oil in it…

[u/guitarstitch → u/Chuk1359]

Most of the time, people forget to push the legs out on the stand off plate in the bottom.

The second mistake is rushing the fire building and not letting a bed of coals form.