Country Enterprise - calming bees with cool smoke without hurting them. Hive tool feeder.

<P> Having got a hive, empty and ready for use, there are a few other items you will need. </P><P> One of the appeals about beekeeping is that the necessary equipment is fairly limited. One item that you will most certainly require is a smoker. This is simply a pair of bellows attached to a funnel; you fill it up with something smokey such as old rags and have it poised for action when you handle the bees. If the bees become agitated, the cool smoke calms them without damaging them. What a shame that no-one has developed something similar for dealing with irate humans. You may just wish you had such a device if your bees swarm in a neighbour's garden! </P><P>Another item you will need is a hive tool. This is made of steel and has a flat blade at one end and a scraper at the other. You can often find something similar in your tool box. If you do, make sure that it is quite clean before using it. You use it when you want to open up the layers of the hive and when you want to get wax from the frames.</P><P> As you are keeping bees to remove some of their honey, you must replenish their larder in the winter. To this end you require a feeder of some sort. There are several designs available. They all contain sugar syrup that you make up. </P><P><A HREF=bees6.htm>Feeding with sugar syrup</A></P>