Bee Smoker Pellets Review and Comparison

Рет қаралды 14,135

2 жыл бұрын

Due to a lack of available information and videos on these items, I decided to make a video demonstrating the use of a type of bee smoker pellet that I haven't seen used before. You can order these pellets from Amazon under the the following name brands: BeeCastle, GooDay, Ogrmar, The Magnificent Bee.
Due to the price, I thought these pellets may be a lot bigger than expector, or if not, maybe they come loaded with some sort of highly reactive, smoke-producing chemical like 4th of July smoke bombs. I did not know, but a small package of pine shavings sold at Walmart as pet bedding can be bought for $4. You can get a newspaper for about $2 (and that's expensive for a newspaper). And you can use newspaper as your tinder and pine pet bedding as the main fuel in your bee smoker probably dozens of times before you have to purchase more of that fuel. You can even use cypress needles, hay, burlap, all for free; just get it started with a piece of newspaper and you have a very inexpensive bee smoker fuel that if done correctly will last you at least half an hour.
So are these cylindrical smoker pellets found on Amazon a lot more potent than one might think? Are they mixed with some sort of pyrotechnic fuel that causes them to give off a lot more smoke than one might expect? Find out in this video.
One additional note is that certain aspects of this video may offer some ASMR, though it is not intentional.
#bees #honeybees #beekeeping #smoker #smokerpellets #ASMR #review

Пікірлер: 43

@JAYTEAM187 Ай бұрын

😂 Great video brother. Everything you mentioned in the beginning was literally every question I had. Thanks for the input.

@cynthiadd448 2 ай бұрын

Very few videos are detailed like yours with great demonstration. TY

@donnypodcast 2 ай бұрын

YW. I'm glad you found it helpful.

@glenngodwin2169 2 жыл бұрын

These pellets are easy to use and work good. Bees respond well to just a light smoke from the pellets. Use 2-3 for a single hive or two.

@theridgerider8609 8 ай бұрын

Thank you for this video. Got these in a starter kit, as a newBee it was very helpful. I used 3 of them, tore about half of the paper off. I also added some white sage. Worked like a charm.

@dontannery1805 11 ай бұрын

I use the pine shaving from tractor supply and barbecue grill pillows and a Piece of burlap to put on top just to keep the shavings from coming out, it works great. And last a long time.

@Counselor77 6 ай бұрын

I put 4 of those pellets in my smoker and they burn like little charcoal pieces and keep the leaves and grass burning for a longer time each time I stuffed leaves in the smoker, I never had to relight my smoker. Dry leaves make great smoke.

@geoffreypetz5982 2 жыл бұрын

Found this helpful. I purchased a package of these to try them out. Haven't yet though, if I can I'm going to send them back now. I have other stuff to use also, you just saved me $10.

@donnypodcast 2 жыл бұрын

I'm glad it helped. I was curious why they cost so much and wondered how they work. But, unfortunately, all they are is typical smoker fuel rolled up in paper. They burn just like wood shavings or cypress needles.

@honeycomb.n.cattle3463 2 жыл бұрын

@@donnypodcast figure I will just stick with lawn clipping, hay and pine needles. Free and seem like the way to go.

@honeycomb.n.cattle3463 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the review on these. Doesn't seem like they will last too long.

@hectormarquez9591 2 жыл бұрын

It’s a Light smoke, easy to light. This it’s not gonna light up like he is expecting. They just slow burn like incense would. The light smoke works great. Don’t need such a thick smoke at least in my experience the light smoke is fine. They are good for about 5-10 mins.

@JFMercyWellness 13 күн бұрын

That's why I'm her im new to Bee keeping

@gregmcfarland5189 Ай бұрын

Where the hell do you get newspaper?

@michellemerlo3744 2 жыл бұрын

I don’t like that we really have no idea what’s in them. A pack of 10 came in a tool kit I bought from Amazon and when I dug all I could find is that they’re manufactured in china, no list of ingredients. It’s way smarter to me to try to use free, natural materials. Pine straw and wood shavings are the way to go.

@donnypodcast 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah. Basically, what I learned from making this video is that these things cost $10 for a small pack of them, and they don't perform any better that normal smoker fuel you get for free. Or in my case, my smoker fuel is very inexpensive. I STILL have my pet bedding and I'm still using it and I think it costed me less than $5.

@bjornstacy9590 Ай бұрын

I probably got the same kit as you, the dang things wouldn't even light up, so they are rotting somewhere in the bottom of a random box lol. I just use dry lawn clippings from my lawn, smokes great and it's free

@bigrig9702 2 жыл бұрын

Or you can go to a tractor supply store and buy a big bag of wood shavings and use that instead of spending money on these.

@nickcorrea1345 Жыл бұрын

I break 5 or 6 apart and light with a propane torch. Works great

@davemoran2859 2 жыл бұрын

I got these as part of a bee keeper starter kit, but would not buy them in the future. I used three in the smoker. They light easily and smoke well, but last only a few minutes. Not nearly enough time to conduct a hive inspection.

@donnypodcast 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah. I figured that for the price, one of them should last a half hour, but all they seem to be is just regular smoker fuel that lasts just as long as anything else would if you put the same amount in. So, for me, it's hard to spend $10 for what I got out of it.

@ecobluefarms223 4 ай бұрын

Thanks I almost ordered these But realized I always having pine shavings around

@podraskyholistics 4 ай бұрын

And I just saw at Wal Mart that they are selling big bails of hamster bedding. So, it's dirt cheap and will last you a long time, as long as you keep your pine shaving in a place where they won't get damp.

@KingsRight 11 ай бұрын

i have some ground bees in my yard. is there a way to smoke them out with something that makes them want to leave for good or will they just come right back no matter what smoke i use?

@donnypodcast 11 ай бұрын

Not sure if it would work with ground bees, but for honeybees, they use Bee-Go or similar chemicals after removing a hive from someone's house. These chemicals are said to drive bees away from an area and even prevent them from coming back. One caution is that ground bees are native bees to the US and are threatened by many of the same things that hurt honeybees, such as neonicotinoids. That said, I personally wouldn't want to disturb any ground bees. Smoke is used in beekeeping to move bees away from an area temporarily, interfere with any attack pheromones, and some say it drives them to go into their honey stores and gorge on honey, causing them to be extremely docile. I'm not sure how any of this would work for ground bees, which are not social. So, you wouldn't really have attack pheromones being emitted by other bees in the colony, since the colony doesn't exist; most ground bees are solitary. Since smoke only causes bees to move away from an area for a brief time, maybe less than 30 seconds, it definitely won't provide you with any lasting effects, in the first place. Also, since I don't know much about ground bees, my little knowledge of honeybees may not apply accurately to this question. One thing I have read is that since ground bees are solitary, they are least likely to sting you. As unlikely as it is for a honeybee to sting you, it is far less likely that ground bees would sting. In short, I think trying to use smoke to get rid of ground bees would be a waste of time.

@swannest1269 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you. My smoker and I have issues. Mostly it won’t stay lit!!

@podraskyholistics 4 ай бұрын

In this video, I only used 2 small handfuls of pine shavings and it still lasted beyond 20 minutes. When I was really out doing maintenance on the hive, I would pack the smoker about the same way with one difference: I would keep adding pine shaving until they are rounded above the top of the can. Then I'd puff it and let it reduce a little and add one more handful of shavings. Then, I'd puff it till thick, rich, white smoke comes out, put my small piece of newspaper in the cone, and that smoker will last 45 minutes while I'm working on the hive and I always have to sit it in the fireplace and let it burn out. Sometimes I'd even open the top and puff it to speed up the burn. Packing my smoker this way, I've went to a beekeeping club and my smoker stayed lit the entire 2-hour period every time I was out there.

@jimhughes6794 11 ай бұрын

I noticed you put what appeared to be pine shavings as your standard fuel. What has surprised me is there is no creosote on your smoker. How do you burn pine and your smoker is not black with creosote? I spend a lot of time just cleaning creosote out of and off of my smoker. You may have something you are burning or using to keep your smoker shiny. Let me know how you do it. Thanks

@donnypodcast 11 ай бұрын

It still cakes up over time. It even gets to the point where it's hard to clamp the lid down fully. I guess it just looks clean on the days I've been shooting videos. All I used for fuel is a little newspaper and some pine shavings. Not sure if that prevents soot.

@mjlaramore 11 ай бұрын

Mine smoke 💨 the bees out of the hive and they go crazy. It usually takes about two minutes of smoking them with these pellets to cause them to go berserk and swarm me.

@donnypodcast 11 ай бұрын

LOL! That's hilarious!

@pfcaraujo 2 жыл бұрын

Just use some old burlap on the farm: it’s free.....they tryna make something up for everything.

@Kangassero 2 жыл бұрын

Dry cow or horse shit. Use that, its amazing.

@NoLuckToMe 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for FIREWORK tip

@Kricnit 9 ай бұрын

I prefer sugar water in a spray bottle myself. Inexpensive, easier to use.

@podraskyholistics 9 ай бұрын

I've seen something like that on KZfaq. I wonder how well that works. I figured that the moment attack pheromones started being released you might by viscously attacked by hundreds of bees. Does the sugar water prevent aggression in the event of attack pheromones being released?

@flintliddon Жыл бұрын

Are you really surprised it wasnt a firework?

@donnypodcast 11 ай бұрын

They used the term "smoke bombs" in the description, and being that they're so expensive for so little smoker fuel, I was thinking there has to be more to it. But, I guess they're just conveniently packaged smoker fuel that makes lighting a smoker mess free.