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Did you know that there are three different type of bee in a hive ? There is only one queen , drones , and a bunch of worker bees . Also , were you cognizant that a poke is nothing more than an unimpregnated egg ? Bees are fascinating beast , are n’t they ?
So if you are a apiculturist , I can understand why . I am a ‘ beekeeping help . ’ I say that jokingly because I do get in there with my husband . But he is really fascinated by them which means I do n’t get as much helping hand on time with them .
Photo bybjsherriff.co.uk
Either way , I do get a set of up close and personal time with clean our gear . Which led me to question if everyone have a go at it how well-off it is to maintain your beekeeping gear ?
The gear for beekeeping can be quite an investment . So taking a few moment to handle for it should definitely make the leaning of precedence .
Here is how you keep your beekeeping gear clean :
Photo bybjsherriff.co.uk
1. Take Care of That Suit
Photo bybjsherriff.co.uk
When you buy a bee suit , you are making an investing . If you take care of it , it should last . You ’ll set about give care for it by study the instructions . My married man has gone through quite a few different suit of clothes ( he is 6’8 ” so it took us a while to discover one that accommodate him just right . )
So believe me when I tell you , they can get expensive . But after I got over the sticker shock of the one that did check him , I began to spoil it because I did n’t want to have to pay for another one any clock time soon .
Photo byBee Basic LTD
His can be machine washed . He has one of thoseventilated suits . We have it away it because they breathe so he does n’t get nearly as hot .
Plus , he has n’t been prick since he got it . I have n’t break down and made the investment funds for a ventilated suit for myself as of yet , but I see it amount in the skinny time to come .
So I just toss his in the wash machine . However , because I am afraid of it shrink , we do line of credit dry it .
Photo byPop’s Shack
But again , it is best if you just surveil the instructions on the tag . It might tell you to auto wash it cold or even to hand wash it . Since most suit are cotton textile , they should be jolly lasting .
2. The Veil is Your Shield
Photo byBee Basic LTD
Your caul want to be very well like for because it is your shield between the bee and their stinger .
Plus , the veil catch most of the exertion because of the heat energy and your head being cut across .
So I hand moisten the veils . The reason is I do n’t want anything to happen to it in the washer and me not mark until we are knee deeply in bees .
Which means , I just put a little Georgia home boy and warm water in the sink and let it fleece . I gently scratch the material together to work any dirt out .
Then I let it describe teetotal so nothing happens to the cloth in the drier .
Photo bySouthern Oregon Beekeepers
3. The Smoker Needs Attention
exposure byPop ’s shanty
The tobacco user is a very authoritative tool . You put pine needles or other material inside of it and set them on fire . This create smoking which in good turn have the bees go the opposite direction of the Mary Jane . The idea is to keep you from get stung .
So you ’ll want to take care of it ( though thankfully , most of them are not very expensive . ) You ’ll do this by cleaning out any left over burnt stuff out of the smoker . Please be certain to wait until the smoker and the material within it has cooled completely .
Photo byWired.com
Then you ’ll require to take some warm urine ( and peradventure a footling soap if the incinerate residue is being stubborn ) and wash out it out with a sponge or soft textile .
Finally , you ’ll desire to make trusted that the smoker is completely dry before putting it away to keep any discoloration from happening .
Again , this is just a generalization . When you corrupt your smoker gibe the specific cleanup road map in sheath it is made with a different material than ours .
4. Your Hive Tool is Key
Your hive tool is fundamental to beekeeping . If you do n’t have one you will have one difficult time test to go through your bees .
However , with that , the beehive tool gets all kinds of bee stuff on it from propolis to beloved . So it want to be cleaned every now and then .
If you have a metal hive tool ( which our hive puppet are ) you could throw it in the dishwasher if you are in a hurry , or you could simply wash it with easy lay , warm water , and a cloth .
Again , this is just to get all of the bee material off and sustain the life of your hive tool . Hive tools are n’t particularly expensive but every little bit save helps .
Plus , I just care working with clean appurtenance .
5. Take Care of the Honey Extractor Every Time
Photo bySouthern Oregon Beekeepers
We do n’t have our own personal honey cartridge remover . The same howling couple that got us into bee allow us to use their beloved extractor every meter we need to . We are very fortunate .
But with every consumption we check that the extractor is cleaned up . Otherwise you have a big , goopy pile on your hands that will only get unsound with prison term .
So hosing the extractor down with quick water is usually the best route to take . Then you could pass over it down with a soapy wash cloth and gargle it thoroughly to get all of the honey and rest off of it .
However , countenance me divvy up with you what will happen if you do n’t houseclean up sometime honey . In compositor’s case you all have n’t pile up by now , I ’m super clean , but my married man and boy are n’t the cleanest in the macrocosm .
So my husband had make out some honeycomb out of a beehive that was in someone ’s yard , and they did n’t want it there . We get the bees home with us and gave them a new place to live where they were by all odds wanted .
Well , he put this coxcomb in a pot and position it out on the back porch . I did n’t make the misstep with him when he did this so I did n’t know it was there . A fewmonthsgo by ( I was a small engaged plain ) and I at long last stop to see what is in this pot I had walked by a million times .
Much to my surprise , it was filled with comb , honey , and lots of filthy bugs that had set up workshop in there . That flowerpot got the scrub of its life !
So I told you that to simply remind you anytime there is love it will draw other bugs because it ’s sweet and it ’s food . dearest extractors are not cheesy so be certain to take care of it .
6. You Can’t Close Up the Bees Without Caring for the Hive Boxes
Photo byWired.com
This is the net whole tone we take in cleaning our bee gear wheel each year . I wo n’t roll into winter without doing it because it will bust up your urticaria for the upcoming year .
So before you put your bees to bed for the winter , it is important to go through all of your leftover hive boxes and material body . You ’ll have some unexpended because the hive shrink before go into wintertime .
Well , you will need to pile up all of your beehive bodies , frames , and leave the cockscomb in it from the present year .
Then you ’ll place them inside a mattress cover with moth crystals in them . This is what they call ‘ the gas chamber . ’ It sounds terrible , does n’t it ?
Well , it is n’t . Really it just keep wax moth out of your hives . Do not use moth balls because it is too inviolable and will release the bees off of your equipment .
However , the moth crystals do a fine job . Just be sure to have your equipment air out for a solar day or two the come after year before you employ it again .
How Often Should I Clean My Gear?
I ’ve covered how to clean house your equipment , but how often should you do this ? It depends upon you and the equipment really .
1. The Bee Suit
you’re able to get forth with houseclean the bee courting every 3 - 4 manipulation . In realness , I guess it depends upon how dirty your courting gets when you do work with your bees .
Plus , it depends upon how much you perspire . Also , turn over how you find about invest it on each time .
Now , my husband is the type that he could care less how fresh it is . He ’ll wear it until I kidnap it from him and pass up to permit him wear out it until it ’s clean again .
Granted , you do wear article of clothing under the suit so I can kind of see his point .
However , for me , I opt to dampen mine every use or two . So it is personal taste . And for the people out there like my husband , judge to be patient if you have loved ones around you like me . We only wash everything to death because we care .
2. The Veil
I would wash the veil as frequently as I launder the suit . I realise it buzz off smutty faster probably because you ca n’t help but sweat a fortune in your face when working with bees , and you do n’t have layers of clothing between the velum and your sweat .
So if you find like it need to be lap after every employment , since it is being hand rinse , I do n’t suppose it would hurt much . You ’ll know if you ’re over lavation particular because the fibers will start to wear off out . Just keep an eye out for that .
3. Your Tools
The beehive puppet and smoking carriage require to be lap on an ‘ as require ’ basis . You ’ll have sex when they need it .
But again , it will be base around your personal preferences . I ’m the eccentric that does n’t like to work with a hatful of leave over material on my dick .
However , my husband could handle less . So it ’s up to you .
4. The Hives
You all can rest a sigh of relief . I ’m not going to tell you I wash our beehive every fourth dimension we ’re done with them ( though you were probably expecting it , were n’t you ? )
No , instead , you only put them in the ‘ accelerator chamber ’ once a year and that is at the very destruction of the season . There is no pauperism to do anything besides just cleanse up the propolis on the hive in between uses during the same time of year .
But I do recommend store your bee equipment where it has mickle of protection . check that it is in a edifice , a b ( we actually store our equipment in our pole barn ) , or if you do n’t have way for it just yet check that it has a tarp over it to protect it from the elements . This will assist with the longevity of your equipment for trusted .
Well , I really hope that this information will facilitate you all to protect your bee equipment . As I state , it is quite the investment funds so it needs to be taken care of .
But I need to see from you . How do you clean your beekeeping equipment ? Do you have any special tricks to have things super clean and sanitise ?
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