I"m always talking to another beekeeper and you hear those stories.
Just heard one the other day. A beekeeper had just put his bee-go on the fume board and layed them on the back of the trunk. Then lite his smoker and sat it on the back of the truck and went to the cab to get his tool and vail. He look back to see his whole back of the truck on fire.
Speaking of truck fires, don't lay your smoker where it can come in contact with the plastic syrup tank between yards. Yes, the plastic tank will melt, and yes syrup will burn. Yes, insurance paid.
Sheri
PS experienced not by us, but by a friend.
A lit smoker can ignite a load of honey supers on the way to the next yard.
A free swinging(unsecured) boom loader WILL cause panic in oncoming traffic.
Pollen patties made too wet WILL fall down to the bottom board and make a real mess.Put them on a piece of wax paper.
Poorly secured hives CAN fall off the truck at the worst possible moment.
Not having an extra battery with you WILL guarantee that the fence battery will be dead at the next yard.
Leaving the extracting room to take a break, because everything is running smoothly,WILL guarantee a floor covered with honey when you get back.
Thats enough for now. I heard these things happened to someone else
Got a few more minutes here so:
DO NOT drink a sixer before sitting in the beeyard all night with a 30-30 if you are serious about hitting the bear thats coming in.
Falling asleep while moving a pickup load of bees is a no no. Makes a bad job for the beek that gets called to clean up the mess so they can re-open the highway.
Make sure you are unloading in the right almond orchard:lpf:
Don't lite your smoker in a field of dry grass downhill from a multi million dollar mansion.
Again - a friend did this, with me standing next to him admonishing him to be careful.
Luckily there was a gravel path below the house to stop the flames, the fire department was quick to arrive, the owner wanted to plant a vineyard on the slope anyways.
What I learned - some grasses burn like gasoline. Watch out where you are when you lite your smoker.
Amen to that. Also watch out for driving through dry vegetation.A queen raising company went out of business after a fire that destroyed 29 homes and cost millions to contain in N Cal.
Cause:Beekeeper driving through dry grass.
Carry shovel and extinguisher during dry season.We cut screens for the inside of the smokers(homemade spark arrestor) .
Do not move pallets of hives across pasture to another coral, on tractor with front forks, without strapping the hives to the pallet. One little chug hole...
-Do not assume because there are flowers in bloom that they are producing nectar.
-Do not answer the phone while you are filling a drum of honey from the holding tank. You get involved in the conversation and forget about the honey.
-Always walk the area of new yards where you will be driving and placing the bees. Just because the landowner says there is nothing(old machinery in the tall grass) on the ground doesn't mean he knows for sure.
-Just because no one has saw a bear in the area doesn't mean they are not there.
Make sure the barrel ring is on before trying to move it.:doh: Took the bees all weekend to clean up that mess. Hey, anything to get time off in the honey season. Never had to move a barrel since. Dad said it is his job from now on. Bought him out two years ago and he still won't let me move the barrels.
Do not let an un-educated person change the oil in the gasoline powered syrup pump.
Getting the oil drained was no problemo. But, just because oil is sold by the quart does not mean you add the entire quart to the engine. ( Hear's your sign.)
When using burlap bags for fume boards, watch the smoker sparks. Make sure the feet of the barrel cart are actually under the barrel, and make sure the rope is OK and you don't lose that last row of supers when crossing a state highway........
when leaving the bee yard, if you hear a loud clunk, stop and check if your tailgate is still up, as you excelerate on the tar road, the guy behind you will have a terrible time dodging the supers on the road.
if you remove the screen in the honey house to let the bees out b/4 its completely dark, remember to put it back in, they sure do gumb up the works.
remember to give the guy near your apiary honey after he loans you gas for the bee blower that you forgot.
Similar to some of the others, when walking across a field, watch your step! Carrying a hive across a grown up pasture....ahem...someone I know....stepped into a deep hole. Until three months after 'he' thought his beekeeping days were over.
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