Author Topic: Oils (Read 24251 times)

Marty68 · « **on:** January 09, 2014, 06:16:54 pm »

Where is a good place to look for lemongrass oil or any other oils that will be needed for the bees

Jen · « **Reply #1 on:** January 09, 2014, 06:38:37 pm »

Your local health food store will have them. NOW brand is good and affordable. Might try Amazon. I'm looking to get some Lemongrass myself.

Marty68 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 09, 2014, 06:45:38 pm »

I will look around and see what I can find also

Crofter · « **Reply #3 on:** January 09, 2014, 07:19:52 pm »

Health food stores would be OK just for enough Lemon Grass oil to scent a swarm trap but for larger amounts here is a good place. The have a good range of bottle sizes from samples up to commercial quantities.

http://www.newdirectionsaromatics.com/

I have ordered from their Canadian site and got fast no hassle delivery on thymol crystals as well as lemon grass and others. If anyone is looking for scents for soap, salves, ointments etc. it is an interesting site.

blueblood · « **Reply #4 on:** January 09, 2014, 08:19:22 pm »

Marty, I bought mine off of Amazon.com.

Slowmodem · « **Reply #5 on:** January 09, 2014, 08:52:11 pm »

Quote from: blueblood on January 09, 2014, 08:19:22 pm

Marty, I bought mine off of Amazon.com.

Me, too.

iddee · « **Reply #6 on:** January 09, 2014, 08:56:30 pm »

There are NO oils needed for bees. Some beeks use some oils, but they are not mandatory. I have never found a wild hive with oils in them that I know of. I have never put oils in an established hive of bees.

LazyBkpr · « **Reply #7 on:** January 09, 2014, 09:13:45 pm »

The Lemongrass Oil i use for swarm traps I got from Amazon as well. Less than 7 bucks, should last several years.

Crofter · « **Reply #8 on:** January 09, 2014, 09:28:24 pm »

Quote from: iddee on January 09, 2014, 08:56:30 pm

There are NO oils needed for bees. Some beeks use some oils, but they are not mandatory. I have never found a wild hive with oils in them that I know of. I have never put oils in an established hive of bees.

Does this mean that any use of oils is bad? potentially harmful or just something that a person can get along without?

I have used Almond oil for clearing supers; I think it is the essential ingredient of Fischers Bee Quick.

iddee · « **Reply #9 on:** January 09, 2014, 09:33:00 pm »

I think some may be good, some may be bad.

NOW, who knows which are which. I certainly don't, and if I did, I still wouldn't know the proper amounts. I do think, overall, beeks adding all kinds of stuff to hives because they read it on the internet is totally bad.

Jen · « **Reply #10 on:** January 09, 2014, 09:47:08 pm »

Curious! I planted a lemongrass plant last year, I wonder if I cut a handful of leaves off of it and rubbed down the inside of a hive, if it would throw enough scent to attract a swarm. Hmmmmm

LazyBkpr · « **Reply #11 on:** January 09, 2014, 09:52:55 pm »

I have read (on the internet) of that being done.. want to try it as well!

iddee · « **Reply #12 on:** January 09, 2014, 09:53:39 pm »

Dip a q-tip in LGO and rub the inside of a swarm trap and it will last a month or more. It doesn't take much. I would think the blades of grass crushed and rubbed would be a plenty.

That is only a guess, tho.

Crofter · « **Reply #13 on:** January 09, 2014, 10:03:52 pm »

iddee, I just wanted to see what angle you were coming at it from. I agree that there are a lot of potential problems with compounds that are loosely referred to as "essential oils". The main thing being that their concentration of nominal ingredients when from different sources can be all over the map. 20 drops from one source could have far different effects than the 20 drops from the particular recipe being touted on the web. Also some of the cures are of questionable effectiveness on pests so maybe just make you feel good thinking you have done something. Maybe just as well to have given yourself a few dabs of it instead of the bees.

I think that there will be beekeepers though that find in their areas and with their bees they will feel the need to use some form of pest control. Some of the patent products are very expensive and very nasty so I can see the temptation of using something that might parallel some of our good old folk cures. I can remember being doused with kerosene when most of the kids at school were coming up lousy. Nowadays there would be a prescription for something probably containing a synthetic pesticide.

iddee · « **Reply #14 on:** January 09, 2014, 10:10:38 pm »

My dad was a barber. He used pine tar shampoo for lice.
Kerosene was a disinfectant for cuts and scrapes, or a drop on a sugar cube for congestion.

LazyBkpr · « **Reply #15 on:** January 09, 2014, 10:16:34 pm »

Quote from: iddee on January 09, 2014, 10:10:38 pm

My dad was a barber. He used pine tar shampoo for lice.
Kerosene was a disinfectant for cuts and scrapes, or a drop on a sugar cube for congestion.

well, that explains a lot!!

rodmaker · « **Reply #16 on:** January 09, 2014, 11:28:55 pm »

marty and jaybird go online to bulk apothecary only get essential natural oils.

Marty68 · « **Reply #17 on:** January 10, 2014, 12:03:31 am »

Was just curious. Was checking out that my old mentor gave me a mentholatum strip to put in hive to help with trachea mites or something to that effect

Slowmodem · « **Reply #18 on:** January 10, 2014, 01:26:35 am »

Quote from: iddee on January 09, 2014, 09:53:39 pm

Dip a q-tip in LGO and rub the inside of a swarm trap and it will last a month or more. It doesn't take much. I would think the blades of grass crushed and rubbed would be a plenty.

That is only a guess, tho.

A couple of drops of LGO on a cotton ball got me a swarm last spring.

Slowmodem · « **Reply #19 on:** January 10, 2014, 01:30:12 am »

Quote from: iddee on January 09, 2014, 10:10:38 pm

My dad was a barber. He used pine tar shampoo for lice.
Kerosene was a disinfectant for cuts and scrapes, or a drop on a sugar cube for congestion.

Lucky Tiger was good for a lot of medicinal purposes.