Question about Lemongrass Essential Oil

[rodneyk915]

First of all, hi to everyone! This is my first foray into the beekeeping activity so I know I have lots to learn and plenty of mistakes will be made. I have been scouring through the forum for several days and have found answers to most of the questions I have had. I have almost completed my first TBH. All I need to do is build the roof frame and roof and paint it. I also built a swarm trap that is identical to the TBH except the trap is only 2 feet long so I can transfer the bars to the main hive. I plan to upload some pics at some point. I am anxious to get the trap out but was wondering about the lure.

I have been trying to locate lemongrass essential oil the past couple of days and was wondering: the bottles I have seen say "therapeutic" but I read in another thread to make sure it is food grade. The therapeutic bottles are 100% LEO so would they not work the same? Thanks.

[Rader Sidetrack]

I have been trying to locate lemongrass essential oil the past couple of days and was wondering: the bottles I have seen say "therapeutic" but I read in another thread to make sure it is food grade. The therapeutic bottles are 100% LEO so would they not work the same? Thanks.

The terms used by vendors to describe essential oils don't seem to follow any particular standard. I have been pleased with the LGO from these folks:
http://www.100pureessentialoils.com/LemonGrass-Oil.html
Considering all the "odd" things that bees have been reported to forage on, including cattle poop, and stinky water, whether or not LGO is labeled "food grade" seems to be inconsequential. In terms of a swarm lure, you are applying LGO to the wood box, so they are not even eating it.

[Sherillynn]

I have gotten the LGO from iHerb and had really good luck with it. They have several to choose from including the food grade you were talking about. I believe they also have organic if that might be something you are interested in.
I always have 2 bottles on hand. You only need to use a very small amount of it- a drop or two, but with the way I lose hive tools every year, I always keep a back up bottle of LGO. I think they are about $5 a bottle so its worth it to have an extra IMO. Good luck!

[rodneyk915]

Thanks for the replies! I didn't think the "food grade" should matter since it was just being used as a scent lure and not something they were consuming but I just wanted to make sure I appreciate the links to the vendors, RS and Sherillynn, I will definitely check them out