# Hive Tool



## betrbekepn (Aug 7, 2006)

I use hot water and a Brillo® Steel Wool Soap Pad. Works Great!


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## Parke County Queen (May 22, 2006)

Denatured Alcohol


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## Dave W (Aug 3, 2002)

A product called "Goof Off".


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## Ross (Apr 30, 2003)

I just scrape it with another hive tool and keep working.


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## Beaches' Bee-Haven Apiary (May 22, 2007)

I stick mine in my lit smoker and burn the wax and propolis off. Than I wipe it down with a DOBY pad to get the soot off. It's the fastest, cheapest, and most efficient way I've found yet.

-Nathanael


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## Dave W (Aug 3, 2002)

>I stick mine in my lit smoker and burn the wax and propolis off . . .

Wunder how much temper is left in the steel???


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## Barry Tolson (May 26, 2004)

I also just stick mine in my lit smoker and give it a few puffs to burn everything off...works well and is easy. I have wondered if this would decrease the chances of spreading disease when using the same hive tool for all my hives.


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## Chef Isaac (Jul 26, 2004)

mmm, never tried the smoker part of it. Nice idea Barry.

I like to stick the hive tool and anything else that needs to be cleaned (like the lids to the mason jars that I use to feed) in a big pot of boiling waters.

Works nicely too.


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## Beaches' Bee-Haven Apiary (May 22, 2007)

Dave W said:


> >Wunder how much temper is left in the steel???


 
I don't leave it in for long. It just takes a few seconds to clean all the gunk off.

-Nathanael


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

This will sound crazy but............. If you have a self
cleaning oven...... Put your tools in there the next time
you clean the oven. They are like new and completely
sterilized.


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## Beaches' Bee-Haven Apiary (May 22, 2007)

*Good idea Sundance!*

Hey! Never thought of that. I'll have to try that sometime! 

-Nathanael


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## SL Tx (Sep 17, 2006)

*when I'm done for the day*

I just jab my hive tool in the soil to clean off the crud.


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## beegee (Jun 3, 2003)

You mean you're not supposed to lick it clean?

I keep an ammo can full of hive tools(8-10...I find the best way to find a lost hive tool is to buy a new one...then the old one turns up), so I can either scrape the dirty one or exchange it for a clean one.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>just scrape it with another hive tool and keep working.

That's what I was going to say.


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## iddee (Jun 21, 2005)

A few jabs in the sand or dirt and it's clean again


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## nutso (Jul 8, 2006)

I just stick mine in the dishwasher when dirty. Gets **** and span every time. Sanitary too. 

If there's a buildup of propolis on it, I scrape it off with another tool or on a brick before washing. 

Works great.


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## HVH (Feb 20, 2008)

I also use the smoker but the BBQ and hot air gun work as well. Some of my Buckfast bees made a lot of propolis so I had a tendency to wipe a little vasaline on my gloves and hive tool which reduced the amount of propolis that messed things up to a minimum. I've also used the dish washer as well as the solar wax melter. Xylene aslo works great for wax removal as does hot oil.


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## Barry Digman (May 21, 2003)

I use a propane torch to light my smoker and I just run the tool through the flame enough to warm the wax and propolis and then wipe it off on newspaper.


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## Damonh (Mar 20, 2008)

it is a good idea to wipe your hive tools off with 70% isopropyl alcohol in between hives so that if a hive has a microbial problem it does not cross contaminate to other hives. This also keeps your tools clean.


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## PCM (Sep 18, 2007)

Damonh said:


> it is a good idea to wipe your hive tools off with 70% isopropyl alcohol in between hives so that if a hive has a microbial problem it does not cross contaminate to other hives. This also keeps your tools clean.


I would surely think your visiting drones would take care of any transfer of Microbial problems between your hives, long before a hive tool comes into play.

Perhaps a State hive inspector, who travels from Apiary to Apiary ?? :scratch:

PCM


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## fish_stix (May 17, 2009)

Our bee inspector just places his hive tool in his smoker as others on here have mentioned. By the time he gets to his next stop it has been disinfected.


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