do bees fall asleep when they inhale ordinary smoke is or is it some speical kind?

Question

I know beekeepers on TV use some sort of smoke to put bees to sleep, but is it ordinary smoke (like from burning newspaper). The reason I ask is because I have bees that have a hole in my porch overhang and I need plug up the hole but I would like to do so in the safest way possible, and if smoke will work to put them to sleep, then I want to do that.

Answer 1

No! Smoke does not cause honey bees to fall asleep nor does it make them drowsy. Beekeepers smoke honey bee hives because the presence of cool smoke causes honey bees to revert to behaviours that facilitate moving a lot of air about the hive - to bring fresh air in.

Regarding your situation:
1) Are you certain they are bees? If so, are they honey bees? If they are honey bees, they have established a colony in the porch overhang.
2) Blocking the hole may cause more trouble than you currently have now. If you plug the hole and do not get ALL the bees out, they will find (chew) a secondary hole to escape. This hole may be to the outside (like it is now), or it may be into the inside of your house. Essentially, you have to remove the queen to get the all the honey bees.
3) I have no idea of where you live but the honey bees in your area, may be Africanized honey bees. If so, you messing with them is going to end up badly. Mainly for you, and to a lesser extent for the bees.
4) Contact a pest control person.
5) If they are wasps, yellow jackets, etc. I would suggest one of the spray insecticides available at your nearest garden supply store. Follow the label instructions carefully.

Answer 2

my parents once harvested bee honey. My father kept pumping more smokes into the bee hole. The smoke was from naked flames(woods) which burnt some bees as they fly out for an attack. Any rubber produced smoke won't be good enough as it's going to affect the taste of the honey.

Answer 3

Not really, this question made me think , but I'd say that I haven't fell asleep in a strange place =)

Answer 4

I believe it's ordinary because bee's are small and don't take much to overpower them.

Answer 5

they use wet hicory sticks it does not put them to sleep but makes them drowsy, my advice is to get some of that expanding foam and then empy the can into the hole at night (they go to sleep and dont come and go)