Beekeepers have long used cool smoke to help calm their bees, to make it easier to work with the colonies. But lighting the smoker, and keeping it going, is one of those beekeeping skills that can be tricky for a beginner. It helps to have an experienced beekeeper show you how the equipment works — but, a video demonstration can be the next best thing!

“How to Light a Honeybee Smoker,” which runs about a minute and a half in length, is one of several video demonstrations that New England Beekeeping Supplies has posted on YouTube.

As we know, everyone does things just a little bit differently. It just takes a little bit of trial-and-error to find what works best for each beekeeper, in his own situation.

The only thing I would add to the NE Bees demonstration is that some of us like to gently pack down the smoker fuel a bit with your fist, once the fire is going well. The reason is that, if the material in the smoker is very loose, there’s a lot of air getting in to aid the burning. Some air is a good thing, because then the smoker doesn’t go out on you — but too much air means that your fuel can burn away too quickly, or that a too-vigorous puff of the bellows will cause a burst of sparks or flame to come out of the smoker.