# Is cardboard safe as a smoker fuel?



## BeeCurious (Aug 7, 2007)

Are the inks and glues used in cardboard bee-friendly?


----------



## Beregondo (Jun 21, 2011)

BeeCurious said:


> Are the inks and glues used in cardboard bee-friendly?


The glue is just paste made of starch;
Most inks used on cardboard are soy based and pretty benign.

Cardboard rolled tight makes a pretty good fuel.
Be sure to put green grass, or a little bit of rag from an old towel, or *something* in the top of the smoker to stop sparks and hot ash, and cool the smoke.

Have fun.
Enjoy your bees.


----------



## DamSutt1986 (May 26, 2012)

I've started using cardboard with long pine needles over it, and fresh grass on top. Cardboard from pizza boxes have that touch of oil on them to help


----------



## dehavik (Jun 5, 2010)

Pizza-scented smoke for Italian bees? Maybe you're on to something!


----------



## mrobinson (Jan 20, 2012)

Keep it simple: grab a handful of nearby dry grass and stuff it in and be done.


----------



## dixie1 (Jun 27, 2010)

we started with cardboard, then used grass....finally ended up using pine needles...they are abundant here, and fire up quickly, produce lots of smoke (if you need it).....cheapest thing next to grass,but i tended to get grass that was too green, and cardboard is good,but too much work.....there's so much other work to do in this that we just went to pine needles as it is easier and smokes well


----------



## westernbeekeeper (May 2, 2012)

I can get a smoker to burn for 2-3 hours with cardboard. I've had good success with it.

Benjamin


----------



## BeeCurious (Aug 7, 2007)

I use burlap coffee bags or pine pet bedding; someone mentioned cardboard and I don't think I would want to use it...


----------



## wannabeefarms (Apr 17, 2012)

I used cardboard but found the smell from burning pine needles less offensive to my nose. The bees don't notice a difference.


----------



## Beev (Jul 16, 2011)

I use cardboard, but I don't use any with ink on it. I like to use double or triple walled, and I just cut strips the same depth as my smoker on my table saw, then roll them up as I need them.


----------



## Jaseemtp (Nov 29, 2010)

I use cardboard with some saw dust on top. so far so good


----------



## Daniel Y (Sep 12, 2011)

Everything I have seen on cardboard is to avoid the inks packing tape etc. But the cardboard itself is not a problem.


----------



## Slow Modem (Oct 6, 2011)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwEnri6lNNI


----------



## John C (Sep 19, 2010)

I would think cardboard would ne safe. I've found cedar shavings to work very well.


----------



## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

American cardboard should be pretty safe. It is paper products made in Asia that contain formaldeyde binders for the paper layers and adhesive between layers. Recycled cardboard of course can contain a percentage of foreign cardboard. The bees will die anyway in a few weeks. It is the beekeeper that does not need to be breathing the stuff.
From the Canadian Health Department --
Formaldehyde (CH2O) is a colorless gas. It is irritating and has a sharp odour. Formaldehyde is widely produced around the world for use as a disinfectant and preservative. It is also used in textile finishing and in the production of resins that act as adhesives and binders for wood products, pulp, paper, glasswool and rockwool, as well as some plastics, coatings, paints and varnishes, and industrial chemicals.


----------



## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

BeeCurious said:


> Are the inks and glues used in cardboard bee-friendly?


Pretty much the inks are water based today as long as the cardboard is raw and not a laminated advertisement. The glue joints are hot melt and should be avoided. Cut the cardboard to size with a box knife, utility knife or sharp blade rather than a table saw to avoid breathing in the dust.

Work?:scratch: Cutting cardboard to the right length and rolling it up... Don't strain yourself.


----------



## Ben Brewcat (Oct 27, 2004)

I pre-roll smoker-sized cardboard rolls tied with twine on rainy days (of course remove any plastic tape, labels, etc). They light readily and make for easy short-work smoker fuel. For a prolonged outyard visit, I pack up a regular smoker.


----------



## Brenda Seader (Nov 7, 2009)

I've recently started using a roll of carboard in the bottom of my smoker, with 100% cotton rag and grass on top. I haven't noticed any problems, and it does stay lit a lot longer for me.


----------



## Scrapfe (Jul 25, 2008)

We buy and sell nucs living in cardboard hives, keep bees in wooden boxes, (wood is cardboard’s raw material) and ever burn cardboards' precursor material, cellulose (grass, leaves, cotton, bark, and shredded wood) in our smokers. If cardboard is harmful to bees, am I the only one here who questions the intelligence of bee keeps?


----------



## Scrapfe (Jul 25, 2008)

dehavik said:


> Pizza-scented smoke for Italian bees? ...


How's about sour kraut scented smoke for German bees? But that brings on the wisdom of using caviar scented smoke on Russian bees.


----------

