# Honey smells like urine



## whiterk (Sep 29, 2013)

I bottled some honey this year that smelled to me just like urine.....any ideas? I can't stand for the wife to even use it to cook with however her and the kids say that it smells fine to them.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Malaluka honey perhaps?


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## Lost Possom (Jul 17, 2013)

I was told that Holley produces that smell in honey. Do you have many holley bushes near your hives?


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## whiterk (Sep 29, 2013)

actually yes, quite a few holley. hmm


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I can smell a bit of urea in all the honey I've ever smelled from anyone from any source. That's just normal. Maybe some people don't notice...


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

whiterk said:


> I bottled some honey this year that smelled to me just like urine.....


What does your urine smell like?


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Pee.


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

Lost Possom said:


> I was told that Holley produces that smell in honey. Do you have many holley bushes near your hives?


We get a lot of holly honey and it certainly does NOT smell like urine. So, if the holly honey in FL is the same as VA, then you can probably rule that out. Perhaps there are different holly trees/bushes that have this issue, certainly not American, Chinese Holly.

I'd guess its more likely a honeydew that is the cause. Some years we get a honey that is collected after the main spring flow and before the cotton that is horrible (smell and taste).


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

Uh.... nevermind.


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## stajerc61 (Nov 17, 2009)

Hey Bush, how does one acquire the skills necessary to sniff out the odor of urea in honey? Sorry, I couldn't resit asking this question. Still laughing over here. You've got to be peeing me!


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Rader Sidetrack said:


> Pee.


Bee pee?

I guess there aren't any FL beekeepers on beesource who know what malaluka honey smells like? I hear it's a foul tasting honey. But I have never seen it myself or have any idea what it smells like. But since no one replied to my first Post about Malaluka I must be talking to the wrong crowd.

Rader didn't even throw up a link to it.

By the way, it's a tree. Planted by the Army Corp of Engineers to aid in soil erosion, especially around Lake Ocachobee.


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## whiterk (Sep 29, 2013)

I really don't think we have malaluka trees where my hives are, I've spent a lot of time in those woods as a kid and I've never seen it, I looked up a picture of it.


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

Have you upset your neighbors lately. Maybe it is Urine.


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## grozzie2 (Jun 3, 2011)

We had bees in a holly orchard for 3 years, no hint of urine taste or smell in the honey, it's actually very nice honey.

We bought a bottle of buckwheat honey a couple weeks ago, just to try it. Smells and tastes like a stale urinal. We were considering putting an acre and a half of buckwheat in, just for the bee forage, because we have the land doing nothing right now. It'll get white clover in the spring, dont want our bees anywhere near buckwheat after tasting that.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

> Rader didn't even throw up a link to it.

Frankly, Mark, I didn't know what you were talking about. Perhaps if you had spelled Melaleuca correctly it might have been more clear. :lookout:


As it was I wondered if you were misspelling Manuka, but since that doesn't grow in the in the northern hemisphere it was a puzzle.


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## rhaldridge (Dec 17, 2012)

whiterk said:


> I really don't think we have malaluka trees where my hives are, I've spent a lot of time in those woods as a kid and I've never seen it, I looked up a picture of it.


I think we're too far north for it.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>Hey Bush, how does one acquire the skills necessary to sniff out the odor of urea in honey? 

I guees I was born with the skills to smell stuff... as far as doing an ID on urine, I'm a mammal myself and have lived with mammals all my life. I have five kids, 8 grandkids, five horses and have had many animals over the years. I think I know the smell...

As far as how much urea is in honey, I don't know, but mead makers often add more, so it must not be very much...


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## RiodeLobo (Oct 11, 2010)

grozzie2 said:


> We bought a bottle of buckwheat honey a couple weeks ago, just to try it. Smells and tastes like a stale urinal.


I found the same thing, except i thought it was a very strong rodent urine smell. It did have a distinctive taste, but did not taste like it smelled.


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## ken rice (Apr 28, 2010)

So is that why there's foam on top of my mead?


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## Lauri (Feb 1, 2012)

I KNEW this thread would take a turn for the worst inch:


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## RudyT (Jan 25, 2012)

MB's post gave an idea -- sell it (or use it) all for brewing -- you have a head start toward the ultimate product.

I'm wondering if this post might better fit in the marketing section.


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## Bees In Miami (Nov 30, 2012)

Melaleuca honey does not smell like urine, nor is it foul. When the Melaleuca flow is on down here, you can smell an overwhelming sweetness far from the hives. My neighbors (two acres away) now know when the Melaleuca flow is on. Much like goldenrod, there is a bit of 'dirty sock' scent, but it is a beautiful smell! The honey is not at all foul. The Melaleuca tree is where we get Tea Tree Oil. I highly doubt there is any Melaleuca north of Lake Okeechobee anyways. 

On another note, my neighbor had a diabetic dog that would pee on their patio. She said my bees frequently visited the 'puddles' left by the dog. I figured it was due to the high sugar content in the urine...kinda gross, but true! inch: The dog is gone now, and I am glad to know my bees no longer have those puddles to visit!


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## Colleen O. (Jun 5, 2012)

Yes, I was wondering if the bees were getting their "water" upstream or downstream. Seems it may be puddles instead of streams.


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## imthegrumpyone (Jun 29, 2013)

:waiting: to see how far this is going to go. :lpf: k:


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

sqkcrk said:


> But since no one replied to my first Post about Malaluka I must be talking to the wrong crowd.
> 
> Rader didn't even throw up a link to it.
> .





Rader Sidetrack said:


> Frankly, Mark, I didn't know what you were talking about. Perhaps if you had spelled Melaleuca correctly it might have been more clear. [/COLOR]:lookout:
> 
> 
> As it was I wondered if you were misspelling Manuka, but since that doesn't grow in the in the northern hemisphere it was a puzzle.


Ha you guys crack me up ! Lol


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## sterling (Nov 14, 2013)

When I was a kid we had an outdoor toliet and in the summer there were always feral honeybees and wasp in there.
The buckwheat honey I get from a friend in Ohio taste like molasses to me.


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr (Feb 27, 2010)

sqkcrk said:


> By the way, it's a tree. Planted by the Army Corp of Engineers to aid in soil erosion, especially around Lake Ocachobee.


sqkcrk.... (Just for context, I am a Florida resident, still have a home in Florida, on Lake Okeechobee, but, now days spend more time in Kentucky than Florida).

I never heard that malaleuca trees (also called paper trees), were planted by the Corps of Engineers., They are currently being destroyed. Millions of trees have been sprayed or belted to kill them. If you have them in your yard, you are supposed to destroy them. If you don't they will come and kill them for you. 

On Lake Okeechobee, thousands of acres that contained malaleuca trees have been sprayed. They normally grow in shallow water or on river and canal banks. They use tremendous amounts of water.

The bloom of the malaleuca is not a pleasant odor, but, I don't think I have ever eaten malaleuca honey.

cchoganjr


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

A document that includes the history Melaleuca trees  in Florida:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fe670
It does mention that the first trees were planted by the Corps of Engineers in 1941 for erosion control on levees.


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## bevy's honeybees (Apr 21, 2011)

Cleo C. Hogan Jr said:


> The bloom of the malaleuca is not a pleasant odor, but, I don't think I have ever eaten malaleuca honey.
> 
> cchoganjr


Next time I get over that way I will make sure you get a jar. My backyard bees bring it in. And it is being eradicated, slow but sure.


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr (Feb 27, 2010)

Rader Sidetrack said:


> A document that includes the history Melaleuca trees  in Florida:
> 
> http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fe670
> It does mention that the first trees were planted by the Corps of Engineers in 1941 for erosion control on levees.


Radar... I bet they won't admit it now. They have spent $Millions spraying the lake and levees around Moore Haven. 

I had just never heard that before. It is a very invasive plant.

Bevy.. Looking forward to that. Should be there about 1st Feb.

cchoganjr


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## kbfarms (Jan 28, 2010)

Some folks can smell odors that others are unable to due to their genetic makeup. For example, some folks are able to smell the asparagus oder in their urine after consuming it while others remain completely oblivious to the it. Perhaps you have the enhanced genes for odor detection : )


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Cleo C. Hogan Jr said:


> sqkcrk.... (Just for context, I am a Florida resident, still have a home in Florida, on Lake Okeechobee, but, now days spend more time in Kentucky than Florida).
> 
> I never heard that malaleuca trees (also called paper trees), were planted by the Corps of Engineers.,
> 
> cchoganjr


Cleo,
I'm pretty sure Johnny Mac told me that some 18 years ago when Jon and I took bees to FL from SC. I can't imagine where else I would have picked that up from.


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## Comper100 (Nov 25, 2013)

I've bought jars here from local suppliers that have had that piss twang too them too  , not sure what it is but my guess would be a certain type of nectar. Hoping mine don't produce pee honey :lpf:


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## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

An odor, is an odor, is an odor. People have different sensory abilities , as well as different sensory perception. Not all noses were created equal, and Size has nothing to do with it! That is why some people are aficionados of certain things, For example wines, or brews. our discernment of different odors is in part determined by how our brain categorizes smells, the importance placed on different smells, and the detection of the smells familiarity basis. Some people can smell a faint odor of urine in something, while other can discern it to a species, say feline as opposed to undulate. While others may not be able to detect all but the strongest of odor. So because one person has never smelled a certain odor in a specific plant based produce, does not mean it is not there. Some people think Goldenrod smells like pungent old socks. others find it to be a hardy woodland environment smell, Others find it sweet. It is all in our perception of odor.


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr (Feb 27, 2010)

sqkcrk... As I said above, I bet the Corps wishes they had never did that. Now they are spending $millions to eradicate them. 

Radar referenced a link, and, I read where the Corps did try it. There were millions of malaleuca in the shallow waters of Lake Okeechobee, and on canal and river banks. I think it was because they are so invasive, but, also, they consume huge amounts of water, so, they are killing them to conserve water. And, could it be that they are not native trees. ( I don't know that for sure.

Anyway, some people think they smell good, and apparently they make good honey. Bevy is going to give me a jar to try, so when I get it, I will tell you what I think it smells like, and how it tastes.

I have never had bees in Florida, (except for the swarm traps that I set out in my front yard, and one colony I trapped from under my storage shed. I gave them to Bevy. I am going to put out about 4 swarm traps this year and see if I get any. I would rather attract a swarm and give them to someone, than have people spray them when they move into their sheds / houses etc. I think Bevy got 2 colonies from the trapping under my shed.

cchoganjr


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Anyone remember a few years ago when a guy had a gatorade bottle full of honey at the airport and they decided it was explosives because they tested it? It was just honey. I always wondered if that was the urea from the honey that set off the nitrate detector that flagged it as explosives...


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## Kidbeeyoz (May 8, 2013)

Rader Sidetrack said:


> A document that includes the history Melaleuca trees  in Florida:
> 
> http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fe670
> It does mention that the first trees were planted by the Corps of Engineers in 1941 for erosion control on levees.


Melaleuca quinquenervia is native to Australia. It is a major source of pollen and honey and flowers in autumn and winter. The pollen is particularly nutritious with a crude protein content in the 30% range and builds colony strength. The honey has a strong flavour and weak density.


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## Shannyn (11 mo ago)

whiterk said:


> I bottled some honey this year that smelled to me just like urine.....any ideas? I can't stand for the wife to even use it to cook with however her and the kids say that it smells fine to them.


I am in Australia and was given a jar of honey that smelt like urine. I thought maybe it had gone off so I looked on Google for answers and found this thread! 
We rarely get to eat honey as it’s expensive. 
So from this thread, I’m gathering it’s not rotten and can still be used!
Maybe I should look at making a mead with it instead as no-one here wants to eat it 🤷🏻‍♀️


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