Spray them with ordinary water, with a couple drops of peppermint-oil (the essential-oil ...) added. This seems to disrupt the alarm-pheromone: if you happen to get stung, spray the sting-site before removing the stinger.
I've never used a smoker. Discovering that their wings are suddenly wet gives them other things to think about. (Having a top-bar hive also helps, because I don't have to rip their world apart to work with it.)