# 10 threads in 10 Days - #8 Odd Tools of the trade.



## BjornBee (Jan 17, 2011)

One of the most useful pieces of equipment that I have found not found in the bee books, is a three inch spacer or shim. (without entrance notch) I made up one for each hive and nuc I own.

They come in handy with feeding, introducing queens, etc.

While many could always use an empty box for such management, I have found these shims very handy.

The other tool is a three pronged long handle garden rake I keep in my truck. I use my pickup truck (with cap) for most of my beekeeping. And this rake has allowed me to hook and slide back, just about anything in the bed of the truck, without climbing up into the back.

How about you? Anything not found in the traditional bee supply magazines that is part of your beekeeping equipment?


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## ChristopherReed (Jan 21, 2011)

ice compression packs, aids in reducing swelling. lol...

gas and matches, for those calls that are not bees.

leaf blower for removing bees from supers.

2 wheel dolly, moving hives, sugar drums, etc..


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I also have one of those 3 tine garden cultivators in my truck with a cap for hooking and sliding things from the front to the rear. Mine also has a sharpe blade on the other side which is nice for cutting down some thick stem weed right in front of the hive entrance that would shorten the life of the string trimmer.

String trimmer, Mine is a 4 stroke so no oil is required to mix with the gas. One fill up before leaving home usally takes care of any weeds under the hive stands and 4 to 6 feet in front of the hives where I can not use vinagar to kill the weeds.

A flat 1/8" blade screw driver bent in a 90 degree angle. It cleans frame rest of burr comb and proplis just peachie.

You can find them now in the catalogs but I used a 5 in 1 (7 in 1 tool too.) paint scraping tool for many years to scrape burr comb and proplis off frames

A quart mister bottle. I carry a couple. One is syrup to mist bees rather than smoke them when working them. the other is a vanilla 50:1 water mix i mist the bees with if I am adding a frame of bees and brood from a strong hive to a weaker one. Misting packages too.










A small portable work table with clamps. Makes repairing a frame when you wish you had 3 hands a breeze. It is also nice when repairing a hive body. I also use it to set a hive on with frames to capture a swarm allowing them to just walk down in the hive.
I also use them when rubber banding comb into frames at removals.










Also there is the plug for the smoker.










The hive hualer when the ground is to soft to getinto in the early spring. It is also hand when You Just have to move a heavy hive. set the hive on it and roll it up the ramps right into the back of the pickup with out the lifting or need of a second person.










Also I have found the telascoping paint pole to be great when catching swarms. It extends out to about 20 feet. You can tape the vacum hose to it and reach up to some very high places to gather in a swarm.












Another Iden I like is my home made queen push in cage. It is hadny to put a queen and her attendants in so she starts laying almost from day one and will have the area totally full of eggs and brood by day four when she can be released.










There are some other stuff too but that is mostly stuff I use in the honey house.

 Al


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## Handyman (Sep 11, 2009)

BjornBee,
Thank you for doing your "10 threads in 10 days". 

Thanks also to those experienced bee keepers who have contributed to these threads.


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## BjornBee (Jan 17, 2011)

Thank you handyman.

I really like the dynamics of this site. 
Just trying to get more chatter on the bee forum.


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## Phantomfyre (Jul 1, 2004)

alleyyooper said:


>


Stupid question time!  So, there's space behind that mesh against the comb for her? How much? (It doesn't look like a lot... 1/2"?) Do you release her directly into it, or put the queen cage in there and let the attendants release her? How does it stay in place - are there pins to hold it against the comb or...? Is that 1/4" hardware cloth?


I love this thread, because I'm always going, "Hmm. What do I already have that would work for that?" This whole series of "10 in 10" is great! Thanks, BjornBee!


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

The Queen push in screen is 1/8 th inch hardwear cloth. 1/4 inch would be to big. The sides are a inch long, allows you to push it into the comb a half inch and leave a half inch space for the queen and attendants to roam around. I directly release the queen thur one end from the cage after misting heavy with syrup then finishing pushing the screen down on that end. Once the frame is placed in the hive there isn't enough room for the screen to come out enough for her to excape or the girls to get in as long as the bee space is correct.

:grin: Al


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