How to clean a STICKY propolized hive tool under 30 seconds - Beekeeping 101. Visit www.mahakobees.com for many more useful videos. We show you one of the fastest methods to clean and sterilize your hive tool after each beehive inspection. The beekeepers hive tool will be quite dirty, sticky and have beeswax and #propolis all over the tool. This poses a problem, where the beeswax and propolis and honey itself may harbor dangerous infections, diseases and parasites which you do not want to transmit, transfer or introduce from one hive to the next. It is therefore very important that you clean the tools between each hive visit. The method in this video we argue is the best, fastest and most useful after both in your workshop and out in the field. So long as there are no fire hazards or fire restrictions in and around your apiary, you can easily carry a portable or pocket size butane blowtorch with automatic ignition switch and your hygiene routine will be much faster and easier to implement between each hive you visit. This may not be the ultimate solution, but it may be useful to add it to your bag of tricks for your next visit, or after. When visiting several hives in one inspection, you need to clean the tools for the above mentioned disease related issues. You can have several clean and sanitized hive tools ready to go, one for each beehive, all separated in plastic zip lock bags, or have a spray bottle with some 1 to 10 concentration of bleach and water which you can spray onto your J hive tool and dry off with a rag or a towel. This will however not remove any of the propolis, wax or honey, thus the tool will remain sticky and still have the potential to carry diseases within the beeswax and propolis globules even after it has been sprayed or submerged in the bleach solution. This is a good starting point and is useful for washing your hands and or beekeepers leather gloves, but it really is only a partial solution, and does not remove the threat completely. So we think this butane blowtorch method is perfect, if not the best way to achieve high level of sanitation and keep diseases at bay. It is perhaps more difficult to carry a spray bottle and a towel, as it is to carry a slim line propane blowtorch with an automatic self-igniting switch. One word of warning! You are dealing with fire, butane, and extreme heat, so wear protection, take care and keep out of reach of children. Beeswax is also a flammable substance, and your apiary will often be located in long grass or at a forest edge, so always exercise caution and use this method with utmost care. Your business insurance or home and content insurance may not cover you. We hope you enjoy our videos and invite you to subscribe and provide feedback below so we can best meet your expectations of this beekeeping channel. If there are particular beekeepers topics you would like us to cover, send us an email. Have a fantastic day. Mahakobees WWW: www.mahakobees.com Google+: plus.google.com/u/0/100532733157161640639/posts/p/pub Twitter: twitter.com/MahakoBees Facebook: facebook.com/mahakobees.mahakobees Music composed, performed and provided by Groovey - Adam Kubát a Pavel Křivák. You can visit their website on: www.groovey.cz/
Hi, I know this vid is some years old now so you might not be checking comments, but if you do… what do you do with keeping the rags clean? Once you’ve burnt off the gunk do you just assume everything harmful has been denatured and keep using the same rag time after time? Thanks very much. Hadn’t thought of using a blowtorch - very handy little tip 👍🏼
