Honey Bee Research Centre Smoke Use Descriptive Transcript

Summary: Paul Kelly, research and apiary manager, discusses how to properly use a bee smoker. 

00:03 - 00:26
[The video opens with Paul Kelly puffing smoke from a smoker with the words “Smoke Use” fading in and out. The video transitions to a montage of seven shots showcasing honey bees and different elements of the research centre, ending with footage of a bee taking off from a yellow flower as the logo for the Honey Bee Research Centre fades in.]

00:26 - 00:40
[Wide shot of Paul Kelly in an outdoor setting holding a bee smoker.]

Paul Kelly: In this video I want to talk about using a bee smoker. We'll explain the parts of the smoker, how to operate it, and a bit about the safety, and how it actually works to keep bees calm and easy to work with.

00:40 - 00:57
Paul: So the smoker is made up of two main parts. The bellows, this part here, [Camera zooms into the bellows part of the smoker, a yellow, accordion-like attachment that Paul squeezes causing a woofing sound as the air passes through] when we squeeze that it forces air through into the can. [Paul points to the can part of the smoker, a metal can with a funnel-shaped lid. Paul continues his explanation as the camera remains focused on the smoker.] We get a fire going inside the can and then when we puff that the air moves up and through and out this funnel part here.

00:57 - 01:11
Paul: So inside the smoker [Paul opens the smoker and turns the empty can towards the camera showing its interior and well as the inside of the lid.] we have a grate at the bottom and you can see the inside of the funnel there as well. So what we'll do is we'll get started and light that up.

01:11 - 01:14
Paul: My preference is to use wood shavings. [Camera zooms in to Paul opening up a large white bucket containing newspaper and wood shavings.] They're sold at agricultural supply locations as animal bedding. So we start the fire with newspaper [Paul removes the newspaper from the bucket and sets it on the table with the bucket and smoker.] just like starting a campfire and then we add in the wood shavings. [Camera pans back to Paul.] Other people use dried cow manure, sumac bobs, quite a variety of materials, but I would caution that you don't want to be using any man made materials that may have chemicals in them because you do end up breathing quite a bit of smoke.

01:43 - 02:55.000
[Camera zooms into Paul’s hands as he crumples up a piece of newspaper into a ball.] 

Paul: So we'll get this started to get a sheet of newspaper like that crumple it up into a loose ball and then we have a lighter attached to a string here [lighter is attached to the white bucket with the shavings] so we don't lose track of that, but I'll light that right inside the pail so that it's out of the wind, fire moves up so we start at the bottom and then once it's going we transfer it into the smoker and as you transfer it in you puff away at the smoker [Paul squeezes the bellows as he adds the newspaper and wood shavings to the smoker]. We get flames coming out you can hear it go woof woof woof so you know it's going well. There's that woof woof woof. And we pump away at the smoker. We've got flames, we've got a bit of smoke. Big handfuls of shavings going in there. And ideally you stand a bit up wind from this. So we just keep adding the shavings in there and then what we do is take another sheet of newspaper crumple it up into a ball and add it on top. So that consolidates all the fuel within there, so that when we tip the smoker over, the fuel all stays in place.

02:55 - 03:59
Paul: I'll just close that lid up there, so you can see now we can tip it like this [Paul tips the closed smoker forward and puffs the bellow.] and the shavings aren't blowing out because of that little newspaper plug we put on the top. When we are lighting a smoker we make sure we don't leave it sitting on top of where the debris will be falling [Paul places the smoker on top of the table] because as you puff the smoker the air will pick up that debris and blow it into this tube and clog it. [Paul points to the tube located between the can and bellow.] So we hold it up in the air while we are lighting it, and you just keep puffing away for a few minutes until it is going nicely there and you can see that smoke is nice and white and if I blow it on my arm it's quite cool. If it gets blue or you have any sparks or certainly flames coming out of there then that means it's time to add more fuel. Using it in about fifteen minutes or so we'll need to add more fuel and to do that we just open it up, [Paul opens up the can, removes the newspaper, adds more shavings and returns the newspaper] take out the plug and add more fuel as need be.

03:59 - 04:45
Paul: So it's good to practice doing this so you make sure you're confident in getting a smoker going and keeping it going. When you're done using it in the bee yard it is a bit of a safety issue, you've got a fire going in here, and so you can either take the fuel out, dump it on the ground  [Paul opens the smoker can like he is going to dump the fuel on the ground.] and stomp it out, you have to be very careful if you're 
going to be doing that or you can grab up some grass [Paul reaches down to the grass to grab a handful] bend it in two, give it a bit of a twist and then screw that in there [Paul twists the grass into the lid opening] and that will plug up the smoker and so it won't continue to burn.

04:45 - 05:01
Paul: When you're transporting it, it needs to be transported in a way that it's not going to fall over and open up [Paul opens the smoker] or it could start a vehicle on fire, so we do have to be pretty careful with these when we're transporting them, but that is basically how you get it going.

05:01 - 06:07
Paul: Now to use the smoker we puff the smoke at the entrance to the colony [Paul puffs the smoker and walks over to a beehive.] so we'll just puff smoke at the entrance there and that gets the guard bees to go in and they eat honey. So while they are eating honey they are not defending the hive. The smoke works in three different ways, that's one. It is also a bit of a repellent so the bees move away from the smoke it makes it easier to put your hands where you want within the hive. The other thing that the smoke does is it interrupts their communication, their scent communication. If one bee becomes agitated it produces alarm pheromone and that basically tells all the other bees to respond aggressively. When we puff smoke inside the hive we can short circuit that communication, all they smell is smoke and they can't communicate in that manner, but the bees that go in and eat honey, they are busy gorging and filling up on honey and so that gives them something else to do so they are not defending the hive.

06:07 - 06:26
Paul: That's about it for the smoker. Just a word of caution: Make sure that you take good care because you do create fires and that's it for now.

[Paul continues to puff the bellow, making a drumming sound. The camera zooms into the smoker as he does this until the end of the video.]