issue, page 540. The article is called "The 'Neglected' Smoker" and is by Carl J.
Wenning. The ABJ is a wonderful magazine and well worth reading every
month! the WebWitch
beekeeper needs to learn - it can also be the hardest! You
start by making sure your smoker is totally empty, the
little screen at the bottom must be clear so your smoker
can breathe. We use pine needles here, so that is how I
can explain the lighting process best.
1. Take a small handful of needles and hold them over
your smoker, light the bottom of the needles (I use a
glove, but you still have to be careful you don't burn your
hand. One of those long barbeque lighters works really
well for this too)
2. Put the lighted needles into your smoker loosely and
give the bellow a puff or two. You should see a thick
cloud of white smoke when you do this.
3. This is the tricky part. You have to put some more
needles in, but not too many and don't pack them tight
yet. Just put them loosely on top and gently push them
down a little bit. Give it a couple more puffs and let it it
begin to smolder for a minute or so.
4. You should see good, thick clouds of white smoke
when you puff the bellows now. I take a medium handful
of needles now and fold them in half twice, tucking in
stray needle tops and bottoms, then tuck it into the
smoker. Push it down gently and puff the bellows again.
5. How many handfuls you use depends on how big your
smoker is, just repeat number 4 until you have your
smoker as full as needed. Make sure you puff the bellows
to keep it smoldering!
It is very important to use a smoker, if you don't you just
make your bees mad and mean.
Hope this helps a little bit!
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