Lets talk about some 'Bad Habits' we need to avoid as beekeepers....

[Lburou]

Was reading a recent post by tec where he implored us to call out when we see people practice bad habits.  I know tec, and he would be the most tactful person in the room in that situation, but there is room for education and improvement along these lines.  Here is a quote from another thread that might get this thread going in a helpful direction:

........Lastly to Jack.... if you value your bee club and want it to continue to grow then I would suggest as one of your club's elder statesmen it is your duty to make comments when you see things not being done properly or even to shout at the top of your voice when you see bad habits are being consistently reinforced.

Last time I was with tec in a friend's bee yard, he pointed out that I was standing in front of the hive and blocking foragers from leaving and returning to the hive entrance.....I'll work on that.  What are some other habits you have seen that are contraindicated for good beekeeping practice?   

P.S.

Definition of CONTRAINDICATION: something........that makes a particular treatment or procedure inadvisable

[Perry]

Not having a smoker going.
I've paid the price on more than one occasion, and it always seems to end up the same. You are only going to be in there for a second or two, you take the first shot OK, and then after about the third you start to think it won't get any worse, and after the fifth or sixth you close things up and go get the smoker.

[iddee]

Ditto Perry, and on forums the question: "Was that the right thing to do"?, rather than "Should I do this"?

[brooksbeefarm]

Seen many beekeepers pull frames starting in the middle looking for the queen,yes she will usually be on the middle four frames, but that's a good way to roll and kill your queen. I always start from it end and work inward. My bad habit is pulling a frame out and lean it on the hive next to my feet, i've got lit up several times doing that .Lburou, i agree,except for the Elder statesman part there are several older than me, and they are grumpy . Ohh, and one more bad habit some people do,Don't lay your supers up side down on the ground. Jack

[Slowmodem]

Seen many beekeepers pull frames starting in the middle looking for the queen,yes she will usually be on the middle four frames, but that's a good way to roll and kill your queen. I always start from it end and work inward. My bad habit is pulling a frame out and lean it on the hive next to my feet, i've got lit up several times doing that .Lburou, i agree,except for the Elder statesman part there are several older than me, and they are grumpy . Ohh, and one more bad habit some people do,Don't lay your supers up side down on the ground. Jack

I have went into the hives looking around, not necessarily looking for the queen, but when I put the inner cover back on, I found the queen there.  I try to remember, but don't always, to look for the queen on the inner cover before I set it down on the ground.  I do, however, make it a practice to turn the top upside down, and put the inner cover and supers on the top.  That way hopefully if there is a queen there, hopefully she'll fall into the top and not be lost in the grass.

[riverbee]

great thread you started here lee.

lit smoker, hive tool, (veil).  smoker education, we don't need to smoke the beejeebers out of the bees. light puffs across the tops of the frames, and i only send a puff across the ends of the frame i am going to remove, and each successive frame, just enough to move them. inner cover, make sure you check the inner cover every time you open a hive, especially in spring months, to see that your queen is not on that inner cover before setting it aside. i remove the 2nd frame in first. first frame seems to always have brace comb to some degree, lift the second one out, check for the queen over the hive on that frame before setting aside to give room to manipulate and pull others. check each frame over the hive as if the queen were on it.

many newer beeks seem to check their hives too often because they can't resist, too many things can happen with this. if there is no reason or purpose to be in the hive, then don't go in there.

not a bad habit, but would encourage learning; read, find a mentor, join a bee club, post on the forum, ask questions and never stop asking questions, share how you do things, educate yourself and help to educate/share your experience with other beeks. 

[ledifni]

Not having a smoker going.

The other side of this is, most times I inspect, I'm able to avoid smoking at all.  I try to do it just because I don't want the bees scarfing through their stores due to an imaginary threat.  If they start acting particularly agitated I'll go ahead and smoke but I rarely actually need it.  So far I've been stung twice and both were blatantly my own stupid fault, not due to failing to smoke enough.

That said, of course...I've only had these bees for about four months, so my input probably deserves a grain of salt

EDIT: But -- I do *always* light the smoker, just in case

[iddee]

Not using smoke is like going in your neighbor's house without knocking.It just lets them know you are there. Only new beeks go in the hive without knocking. The older beeks know going in houses without knocking will eventually get you shot.

[LazyBkpr]

OK..  Bad habit..    Laying the hive tool down!

   NEVER, EVER, Lay down your hive tool!  DONT do it!  The little Leprechaun that lives under the hives will have it faster than you can bloody blink!   Put it in your back pocket! Trust me, a torn truck seat is WAY better than buying a new hive tool every week!  Duct tape will fix the seat, but you have to drive to town to get another hive tool!
   I know its that dag nabbed leprechaun! Otherwise I would have hit one of the dozen hive tools that have vanished with the lawn mower by now! No such luck, those hive tools are now being polished by tiny hands. Re shaped and sharpened for the day they rise up to take over the world!

[Bakersdozen]

great thread you started here lee.

not a bad habit, but would encourage learning; read, find a mentor, join a bee club, post on the forum, ask questions and never stop asking questions, share how you do things, educate yourself and help to educate/share your experience with other beeks.

Well said riverbee!

[Gypsi]

I should take a picture of my tool bucket for Lazy, got the idea from a speaker at bee club. My long italian hive tool falls out of my pocket, my favorite frame grabber doesn't fit. And I have more than one suit, only thing stays in a pocket is a queen clip

[Lburou]

I'm retired, with a lot of time to spend putzing around the house, yard and the bees.  So, I may find inspiration to check about something relative to a hive or two, several times in one day.  In doing so, I snuff the smoker with a cork between uses and relight it each time....trying to relight the snuffed smoker charge with a butane torch is where I have formed a bad habit. The smoker only burns for a minute or two because it wasn't properly lighted, leaving me without smoke in the middle of something.   Investing the time to properly light the smoker provides the proper insurance smoke provides on those quick visits to the hive to feed, adjust, or peek.  I've never seen a better job lighting a smoker than this:

[riverbee]

i think...........my only bad habit.............is bees...............


lee, i am surprised that guy doesn't burn his fingers?!  not sure why keeping a smoker lit seems to be a 'challenge'?......or we skip lighting it properly i guess.  i like to use a larger smoker, they never seem to go out. i crumple and shove the newspaper like material in loosely, small sheets 2 or 3, hit it with a larger butane torch, puff until flames come up through the paper, then add a fistful of chips, puff until flames come up through the chips. add another fistful of chips, puff, until the flames come up again, add more chips, by then the smoker is lit, and smoke rolls out, add chips needed, and puff a few more times.  lasts for hours. takes about 45 to 60 seconds?  if you are retired lee, ya have 45 seconds, or a minute if you are slow.............

[Gypsi]

I use cotton floss from Dadant for short inspections. Cool smoke, not overkill, easy to keep lit, put out by putting a cork in the smoker.  I only use wood chips if I will be going complete through at least 2 hives.

[pistolpete]

A bad habit that I see all the time is people holding frames upside down.  Cells are slanted down toward the back, so when you flip a frame upside down things fall out.   The proper way (according to our bee inspector) is to stand the frame so the top bar is vertical and rotate the frame around that axis to check both sides.

[Gypsi]

I do a horizontal rotate using a frame grip, and hold the frame over the hive, because every once in awhile I will drop one, maybe one time in 300, and if the queen is on that frame I want her to land in the hive.

[Lburou]

i think...........my only bad habit.............is bees...............
.....by then the smoker is lit, and smoke rolls out, add chips needed, and puff a few more times.  lasts for hours. takes about 45 to 60 seconds?  if you are retired lee, ya have 45 seconds, or a minute if you are slow.............

Sometimes I feel like the Mad Hatter as I perform the rituals necessary to open a hive, maybe the Mad Hatter's bees were about to swarm....Yes, that is probably why he felt so late.   

[riverbee]

"Sometimes I feel like the Mad Hatter as I perform the rituals necessary to open a hive, maybe the Mad Hatter's bees were about to swarm....Yes, that is probably why he felt so late.   "

oops......
btw lee, liked your description of 'performing the rituals necessary to open a hive'.....

[Lburou]

......snip..... if you are retired lee, ya have 45 seconds, or a minute if you are slow.............

Yes, but one time in five I can restart it in two seconds... 

[Jen]

Pete- "A bad habit that I see all the time is people holding frames upside down.
 
    I am guilty of this    I will correct my ways 

Learned some new stuff on keeping smoker lit. When you talk wood chips, would that be store bought?