Comments on: Choosing the Best Bee Smoker Fuel

By: Maxus Manly

Maxus Manly — Mon, 05 Oct 2020 20:31:22 +0000

Once a friend developing some land here in Texas had a tree to remove with a beehive in the center.
We extracted the comb and the honey was fermented. Exciting times.

By: Johann

Johann — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 21:05:46 +0000

I use hay or straw or pine bedding or cedar chips, all work well and it takes seconds to light with a lighter and all burn cool. No need for a torch.
Just got to learn how to pack the smoker so it stays lit and for it to make cool smoke,
It takes me seconds to fire up a smoker and it stays lit for an hour giving me cool smoke. Just got to play with it and get used to it. Some can keep a smoker burning longer than I need to.

By: Darwin Jones

Darwin Jones — Sun, 07 Jul 2019 04:48:14 +0000

for smoker fuel also try second cut alfalfa or oat straw if you live in the west also try cedar bark it produces very dense smoke burns well but produces a lot of resin in your smoker.

By: Joel Rouse

Joel Rouse — Sat, 11 Aug 2018 22:26:20 +0000

A very useful article and very concise. Thanks for posting!

By: Name*Mark

Name*Mark — Fri, 10 Aug 2018 02:19:07 +0000

I’ve heard of burning dried shelf mushrooms. I wonder if all those spores would harm the hive? Anyone else heard anything on mushrooms?

By: Joe Romp

Joe Romp — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 21:18:32 +0000

Pine needles and pine cones together produce good smoke.

By: Robert Kendall

Robert Kendall — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 16:44:51 +0000

You sure got the smoker fuel wrong. The best way to make smoke that will burn for a long time is this. Fold about 7 thicknesses of newspaper make a tube and put in the smoker around the inside face. Put pine cones or similar in the annular space best lighter is a few seconds with a small propane flame you would use to solder Try it

By: Gary Lemke

Gary Lemke — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 15:06:12 +0000

I also use red sumac. It makes a nice cool smoke.

By: joanie t

joanie t — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 13:52:12 +0000

What a great post ! Thank you I have all this

By: Infidel

Infidel — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 20:19:24 +0000

One other natural thing to burn are the berry’s from a Sumac tree. They are the reddish berry cluster, at the end of the limb. They have been shown to knock down mites. In fact, many of the members of our bee group use them regularly, to keep the mite levels down.
You can find them everywhere. Urban alleys are loaded with them. They are those palmish looking trees, with the gray trunks.