Bee brush

01 · HOW TO BRUSH

With the body, top to bottom, and without insisting

A bee gets irritable if you brush her against the grain: the stroke goes with the body, from the top bar downwards, long and gentle. Rest the frame on the open hive so they drop where they belong, and do not go over the same patch twice — the more you insist, the more they cling. The double row does the job in one pass, which is exactly what you want when you are taking supers off and would rather not carry bees to the honey house.

02 · HYGIENE, AND WHEN NOT TO USE IT

The same brush travels from one colony to another

It is the fair objection many beekeepers raise, and it deserves saying: a brush that touches hundreds of bees circulates between hives. With a healthy apiary it is not a problem; at any suspicion of disease, the rule is not to share it between sites, to wash and dry it afterwards, and on the suspect hive to fall back on shaking the frame, which touches nothing. Shaking is also quicker on heavily covered frames; the brush wins when there is open brood you would rather not jolt.

03 · BEFORE YOU BUY

The usual complaint about cheap brushes is that they shed bristles that end up stuck to the comb. Here the bristle is natural and long, set in a double row on a wooden handle — not stapled onto plastic — and it takes the pull of propolis better. It also helps not to force it against dried residue, to wash it in warm water and to stand it on edge to dry, never resting on the bristles.