Is this normal?

[thesurveyor]

I have fogged my hives twice. Both times they have boiled out of the hive by the thousands. They covered the landing board and covered the entire front of the hive.

I am wondering if the fog is hot or something. I fogged for about 3 to 4 sec. each. I checked the ground below the hive and found about 15 bees that were scorched. It takes about 35 minuntes for the bees to go back into the hive.

I have came to the conclusion that something is not right. I plan on firing up the fogger and putting my hand down in front of the fog to see how hot it actually is.

Any comments will be greatly appreciated..

Thanks
Thesurveyor

[BjornBee]

The surveyor my butt. How about a new name like "mitekiller". Thats what I call mite prevention. Sorry I can't help except a little humor.

[thesurveyor]

HA HA. I guess it is kinda funny, but I dont remember reading anyone that stated there bees came out of the hive during and after fogging.

If thats normal, great, if not I must be doing something wrong.

Thanks
Thesurveyor - (AKA-"mitekiller")

[Dr. Pedro Rodriguez]

Hello folks.
A word of caution. If you suspect that your fog is "hot" and you ascertain that there are "scorched" bees in and around the entrance of the hive, BEWARE! The likelihood is that your fogger is putting out hot fog. If you put your hand in front of the fog your are going to experience pain, from a severe burn!
Most likely you are not using proper technique in handling the fogger. Please follow the following procedure.
1. Light your fogger.
2. Let it sit on the ground (untouched) and watch for:
a. a spurt of a drop or two of oil.
b. a small emision of fog, like a cigarette being lit.
c. a second of two later, the fogger will give off a buzz and a large burst of fog.
3. Squeeze the trigger. You should now be watching a heavy stream of fog.
4. Point the fog at a tender leave. If the fog is cool, as it should be, the leave will remain intact. If the fog is hot, the leave will become wilted.
This recommendation may seem long and tedious but it is worthy of testing, especially for the novice, or even for those who may not have taken the time to read my earlier instructions on the use of the fogger.
And yes, the fog emitted by the fogger is cool when properly administered. That is the reason why some have noticed that the fog has a calming effect as if it was a smoker.
Best regards.
Dr. Rodriguez

[Michael Bush]

Also, I didn't put the nozzle right at the entrance. The fog has quite a bit of forward momentum and you can be six inches from the entrance when you pull the trigger. I think that allows it to cool a bit more. I didn't have any problems like that.

[scottybee]

greetings
I hold my fogger about 2 feet away ,let a good blast or two go underneath my hive wich is about 18 inches off the ground with a screened bottom board with lid removed but inner cover on.after about 15 seconds i can see the fog come out of the oval hole in inner cover. then i wait about 30 seconds and remove the inner cover an let them air out.at this time they are calm an are content at cleaning themselves.I don't know if this is the right procedure but it is working for me.
scott

[The Honey House]

[Dr. Pedro Rodriguez]

Hello folks.
Thanks "honeyhouse" for posting my picture showing how to use the fogger. This is an excellent idea.
I would like to suggest a couple of points.
1. Notice how I hold the fogger slightly away from the hive entrance and leveled parallel to the ground.
2. There is no need to open the top of the hive. On the contrary, the fog should be allowed to remain inside the hive to allow it to stick to the bees giving them more protection. Usually the bees will blow it out of the hive by fanning anyway.
3. Do not worry about learning how to use the fogger. Users get the hang of it soon. There are some inherent problems with the use of the fogger but most are due to user methods rather than deffects of the machine. I would like to suggest that users experiencing problems with the machine write to me with your querries. The likelihood is that I may have experienced your situation and that I may have a solution for you. As many contributors to this page have suggested previously: "the wheel has been invented already." All that one needs to do is learn how to make the best use of it. There is no sarcasm intended in this statement, it is just an expression to convey a thought.
Best regards.
Dr. Rodriguez

[BEEn Stung]

Good information: thanks to all of you. My fogger, from out in the shed, did not come with instructions other then "read instructions before using". Of course there were no instructions to read.

[Michael Bush]

Basicly the instructions are:

Put FGMO in the "pesticide" tank and put the tank on the device. Puta gas cylinder on the back of the device. Turn on the gas valve. Light the gas up by the coil of tubes. Wait for it to warm up. Relight it because the wind blew it out. Wait for it to warm up. When it's nice and hot you squeeze the trigger which pumps the oil into the coils. In a few seconds, a "fog" comes out the other end. See instructions above for what to do with the fog.

[dickm]

One of my hives has a "boil out" reaction as has been described (I have 20). I think this is a very defensive hive. I'm going to find out, if we ever get any decent weather.

Dickm

[Eman]

Bees do tend to come out of the hive when I fog. I don't know what I did the other day but I actually got flames to shoot out of the end of my fogger. Luckily it wasn't pointed at the hive entrance.

[John Buckner]

Greetings to all you fine people.

This is my first post and I would like to share with you something I made up in order to cut down on the chance of killing bees and delivering FGMO fog more efficiently.
This only works well with my screened BBs.

I take a 4ft section of 1/2 in. flexable copper,( the kind that comes in a roll} and bend it into an elongated S fashon with the lower portion turned up.More like a U. I soldered a 8 in. piece of 3/4 in. copper water pipe to the top left side for a handle, ( it will get quite warm so you need to insulate it)I use a flaring tool to flare the top end so it is easier to put the fogger tip in the right place. That's about it.

To use the thing, after my fogger heats up I lift the hive covers up and slide them back so I can see the fog come out, I hold the handle with my left hand and place the lower, turned up end under each hive and place the fogger tip into the flared end.
By the time the fog gets to the bees it is cool enough that it can't hirt them.
And it doesn't take as much fog to do the same job because most all of it goes into the hive. If all foggers are like mine, you must use a lite touch or you will get too much fog at once. Also the hive will fill with fog much faster. I have found if you blast the bees with high pressure fog it tends to panic them. I try for low volicity and cool fog.
However you choose to use your foggers,I hope you all the best of luck.
I choose to follow Dr. Rodriguez precess to the letter,as he layed it out.
To do otherwise would be unfare to the DR. and to ourselves.

[Dr. Pedro Rodriguez]

Thannks John and all other who trust my work and FGMO and to those who are thinking of using FGMO but have doubts. Don't worry, even I had doubts when I started using FGMO. But my doubts were solved with a lot of resolve, pardon the pun, there is no intention.

And most of all, please remember that I do not intend to disuade anyone from trying to improve FGMO procedures nor to deflate enyone's ego when I make comments about your contributions to this cause, to combat honey bee parasites. I welcome all of them.
To those of you who make modifications to the fogger, PLEASE be careful. Concentrated FGMO fog tends to ignite. If you are not careful you might get involved in a serious accident, may The Good Lord prevent it, or you may scorch a bunch of your bees. We do not want either of these things to happen.
I have performed a great many tests looking for cost-efficiency and reducing labor. One of my surprises during those tests has been to see how the fogger can easily become a flame-thrower. Again, please be careful.
Best regards.
Dr. Rodriguez