Welcome!
7LESSON
No smoker without fire (featuring Emily Grace PhD)
Suiting up
Tool of the trade
Flow Hive assembly guide [TEXT ONLY]
Sealing your hive [TEXT ONLY]
Extinguishing your smoker (featuring Chuck Rou)
ASSESMENT (Optional)
Tool of the trade
2: Tips & Tricks Before You Get Your Bees
The J-tool is a really useful and versatile piece of equipment – here are some basic tips on how to use one:
- The tool has a sharpened chisel end and a levering end. You can use it to clean, scrape, lever and lift the various parts of your hive.
- Make sure you keep your hive tool clean to avoid spreading pathogens from one hive to another. You can use a disinfectant wipe when going from hive to hive, or use soap and hot water for a deeper clean.
- Before you open a hive, put your bee suit and veil on. It’s safest to wear gloves, especially if you’re new to beekeeping.
- The inner cover of the hive may be stuck on with propolis, the bees’ natural glue. You can use the sharpened chisel end to separate it from the bee box. The propolis can be quite strong, so get in under each corner of the cover to break it, then gently lift off the cover.
- Before you take out any frames you’ll need to break any substances that are holding them together, which could be wax, burr comb or propolis.
- Use your smoker to clear some space to work in. This can help you avoid crushing any bees on the frames.
- Check for anything that’s holding frames together, and gently cut it away on both sides using the chisel end. If you don’t cut these bits away, you might damage the comb when you lift out the frame.
- Once the frames are clear, use the J-shaped end of the tool to lift the frame. Put the J underneath the end bar of the frame, and use the next frame as leverage to gently lift the end of the frame out of the box. Hold it up with your fingers, and use the J-tool to lever the other end of the frame upwards so you can pick it up and lift the whole frame out with your hands.
- The chisel end is great for scraping away unwanted wax or propolis off a surface. To avoid digging into the wood when cleaning, hold the flat end on top with the sharpened end pushing against the surface.