Kid Gloves

[Hoomin_erra]

Ok, how do i wash kid gloves which are now very sticky with a combination of honey and propolis?

Not sure i can just throw them into the washing machine with the general wash and survive. (Me that is!!)

[Rosie]

I used to use leather gloves some years ago. Some grades were washable by hand washing in warm soapy water but others weren't. The non-washable ones would shrink and harden and had to be re-stretched and softened with saddle soap or dubbin. I eventually discovered that bees prefer rubber and so did I so I switched to disposable nitrile rubber ones. The next best ones, in my opinion, are washing-up gloves.

If propolis is a problem with anything then washing soda helps remove it.

Rosie

[Neonach]

Wash careflly by hand with soap flakes or similar hand-wash soap for wool/delicates. Wring gently, and hang out to dry. However I agree with Rosie. I still have kid gloves and occasionally use them, but my feeling is that no matter how fine and smooth the leather (and even kid becomes fuzzier with age and washing), it's surface is intrinsically of the type that makes bees want to sting. Nitrile gloves - washing up gloves, used with gauntlets (see https://secure.thorne.co.uk/popup/gloves1.htm) , and a size of glove that is a close fit to your hand (but not too tight) is much better, in my opinion. If you don't like the classic washing-up glove colours, then try the industrial grade Marigolds (a huge range of not only colours, but thickness, cuff options etc for different purposes) are not only better, but also better value for money (try www.greenhams.co.uk). However what bees seem to like best of all is bare hands, though I would always clean my hands first (no-perfume soap) and use the gauntlets to stop the bees going up your sleeves. I have NEVER been stung on my hands, and pick up queens and workers (usually by a wing) without difficulty. How anyone works with cowhide gloves is beyond me - they are fit only for rough work like lifting hives and moving stuff around in the apiary, where it is possible you might actually crush a bee and get stung that way.

[The Drone Ranger]

Strange as it may seem the thin latex surgical gloves not only keep the fingers clean but the bees hardly ever sting you through them.
If you wear sports sweatbands at your wrist then they wont get you there either

[Neils]

Strange as it may seem the thin latex surgical gloves not only keep the fingers clean but the bees hardly ever sting you through them.
If you wear sports sweatbands at your wrist then they wont get you there either
Agree that bees just don't sting you through thin gloves. I started off with thick gloves (washing up gloves) and very quickly switched to latex/nitrile. I get stung far less with thin gloves than I did with washing up gloves and they come in very hand for honey extraction too.

[edit] Even my "nasty" bees don't sting through the gloves, on the wrists if the cuffs rise up and because I don't have gauntlets then sure I get a sting every other week or so.

[GRIZZLY]

Don't use gloves just smoke my hands thoroughly before playing with the bees.Just don't get stung - my bees just run away from the smell of smoke.Same thing with other peoples bees - their "aggressive","nasty" bees don't sting me.I think it's because I'm aware if a bee is trapped under my fingers.I can release it without rolling or crushing it.Much better also if handling queens for marking or clipping.

[Mellifera Crofter]

... my bees just run away from the smell of smoke.

Does it matter what smoker fuel you use?

[Trog]

Interesting idea to use sports bands to stop bees getting up your sleeves. I used thin latex gloves when working a neighbour's AMMs while he was away, partly because of the tiny lugs on his frames and partly to see how I got on. The only problem was the lack of breathability. My hands were dripping wet and covered in damp talcum powder by the time I'd finished!

[marion.orca]

I use the corrugated packing material that comes with most of Thornes orders, but add dried pine cones [ free if you spend enough time foraging ] to keep the smoker going. I'm a " newby " too and I think it's just a case of finding the one that suits you best. As I read somewhere that smoking the bees was to trick them into believing there was a forest fire, I reckoned that pine cones come pretty close to the real thing. I've heard of others who use peat also AND I freely admit that there's a knack to keeping it going that I haven't yet mastered !

[Trog]

We use the same, Marion, though you have to be careful not to use the shredded stuff that has sellotape etc on it; eye-watering for us and goodness knows what the bees make of it! We use dry rotten wood from trees, not treated timber!, dry grass/bracken, egg boxes and even dried teabags from time to time. The best way to keep a smoker going is to have an assistant!! (Mine goes out quite often as I don't use it very much, even on a large colony.) The smoker pellets sold by Thornes are quite good at keeping going without attention. Modern hessian seems to be fire-resistant so not much good but the old stuff is great.

[The Drone Ranger]

Interesting idea to use sports bands to stop bees getting up your sleeves. I used thin latex gloves when working a neighbour's AMMs while he was away, partly because of the tiny lugs on his frames and partly to see how I got on. The only problem was the lack of breathability. My hands were dripping wet and covered in damp talcum powder by the time I'd finished!

http://www.justgloves.co.uk/synthetic-gloves.aspx

If you have a few hives to get through its best to put one non powdered pair on over the top of another
You then just have to take the top propolised ones off and replace them
The synthetics are ok and there are plenty of powderless latex ones but if your hands are damp it is harder to get them on

they do save you lots of time cleaning the hands with surgical spirit and they are (relatively) cheap

[GRIZZLY]

Melli-croft,I use sacking with a few wisps of Thornes shredded cardboard packing in the middle to keep it burning well.I don't think it makes a lot of difference what you burn as long as it produces COOL smoke in profusion.Make sure theres no shredded plastic in it tho'.I usually leave the sacking to rot as this burns better.

[Neonach]

I very rarely use the smoker at all, as it just adds to the paraphanalia I have to carry, gets in the way, and above all the dratted thing will - after chuffing away to itself contenedly whilst you get on with it, suddenly gasp its last just a moment before you actually need it, and you're left desperately puffing ash out. Be gentle and calm. Bare hands best, clean, scent-free - but smell of smoke does seem helpful. However I would point out that all materials used for smoking have different chemical compositions, and will give off different smoke. Currently if I smoke I use the Thorne's shredded packing, but it seems to burn relatively hot, chokes up the smoker with loads of ash, and above all burns so fast that it will run out fuel just as you pick it up to use it. A friend swears by using hay, and I agree his smoker keeps going no matter what, makes very little ash, and produces cool smoke. It is also 100% organic as hay is nothing more than dry grass. This thread started as a question about cleaning gloves, and I say - do you really need gloves at all? Do you really need to use a smoker? Good to have them, especially if working with someone else's bees.

[Trog]

Good points, Neonach. However, sometimes we need the smoker for our huge colony (2bb, 4 supers at present) just to persuade them to get their heads down so we don't crush too many under the queen excluder and when we put the supers back on. I suppose we could use water but there are hygiene implications there. Who knows what's growing in the sprayer that's been kicking around in a hot shed/back of the car for weeks? (Or does everyone who uses one rinse and dry it in between inspections then use fresh tap water?)

[SueBee]

Lately I've been feeding my smoker with strips of old worn COTTON sheet, seems to smoulder quite well and doesn't smell offensive... nowhere near as bad as cardboard. I've been recommended dried grass clippings as well, just not organised enough to gather and dry them...

[GRIZZLY]

If you study my post you will see that I use A FEW SHREDS of cardboard - it's PREDOMINATELY old rotted sacking.which produces cool smoke.Thornes packaging on its own produces a harsh smoke.As for not using smoke at all,thats o.k. if you've got quiet,calm bees.Smoke should be used very sparingly- I mainly smoke my hands which blankets my personal smell and causes the bees to avoid my fingers - I've used this method for over 40 years now with all sorts and temperament of bee and have never had to resort to glove wearing.

[The Drone Ranger]

I've picked up loads of good tips here -- thanks guys

I got a really big bag of cedar wood chips from Brian at Thornes for about £3.00 and they work well.
The best stuff was an old really rotten log I found which I dried out in the shed for about 6 months
It just broke up in your fingers and smoldered really well

I start the smoker with the Thornes Beenove stick lighters but they are bone crunchingly expensive at £8.95
Anybody else tried them ?
I wonder if you could make your own??
That might be another winter project :)

[SueBee]

Thanks Grizzly, guess I was overdoing it on the cardboard content. Just threw the cotton waste idea into the pot for anyone else to try... Not brave enough yet to try working without gloves, though smoking hands sounds like the way to go.
About to clear a patch of garden that has some old rotting wood in it, so will put some aside to dry and try that sometime (next year?).

[The Drone Ranger]

Just come back from the hives.
No gloves -- got stung on the finger
For that Grizzly I hold you personally responsible
My lawyers will be in touch :)

[GRIZZLY]

Just send for Tonto!.

[The Drone Ranger]

He's not the same injun these days
He's gone on the mead most of the time
He's abandoned the rain dance and took up martial arts
He was catching spears between his teeth
The last time I saw him he had a spear in his moouth
Even then all he said was "what Kung Fu that"