# Ammonium Nitrate



## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

Did that, decades ago - knocks them out, for sure. They fall from the combs and create a pile of unconscious bees on the bottom of the hive. They are at risk of overheating and suffocating. They are entirely non-defensive, and don't recover completely for ten or twenty minutes, sometimes longer. It would be difficult to locate the queen until the bees recover and once more spread out over the combs.

Perhaps a box with screened bottom and sides could be placed beneath a hive and Ammonium nitrate (NO2) used to remove the bees from their combs, the screen may help prevent them from overheating and/or suffocating. Then they could be re-introduced to their combs by passing them through a queen excluder to locate the queen.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

Joseph Clemens said:


> Did that, decades ago


Me too. The bees we started with were so mean and so runny it was the only way to find the old queen. Worked great. We would spread a sheet in front of the hives, shake and brush the unconscious bees onto the sheet, and run them back in through an excluder. No more dead bees than when using a blower to pull honey.


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## brooksbeefarm (Apr 13, 2008)

*Nitrate*

Can't buy straight nitrate here any more (fed law) since the Okla. bombing. I tried to buy 11/2 ton to spread on pasture but they wouldn't sell it without mixing something with it (potash). It does work but i always wondered if it was harmful to me. Jack


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## Gene Weitzel (Dec 6, 2005)

You can order small quantities (0.5 to 2 kg) of ammonium nitrate online through laboratory chemical suppliers:

http://www.alfa.com/alf/laboratory_chemical_suppliers.htm


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## Grant (Jun 12, 2004)

Isn't ammonium nitrate 46-0-0 fertilizer? 

I use this bagged fertilizer for snow/ice melt as it is reported better for concrete than rock salt. The bag says it is derived from urea and a 50# bag sells for $29 at the local coop. No known amounts of any additional products and no questions asked except "Cash or charge?"

If you want a small quantity, send me a PM.

Grant
Jackson, MO


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## Gene Weitzel (Dec 6, 2005)

Grant said:


> Isn't ammonium nitrate 46-0-0 fertilizer?
> 
> I use this bagged fertilizer for snow/ice melt as it is reported better for concrete than rock salt. The bag says it is derived from urea and a 50# bag sells for $29 at the local coop. No known amounts of any additional products and no questions asked except "Cash or charge?"
> 
> ...



There is a huge difference between ammonium nitrate and urea. The 46-0-0 fertilizer based on urea is just that white urea, 46% nitrogen. Ammonium nitrate fertilizer is 34% nitrogen (34-0-0).


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## Terry Small Jr (Aug 31, 2008)

Sounds like ammonium nitrate & a shop vac would be a good way to get rid of an AHB colony.

Another commercial beek out here told me that adding pipe tobacco to your smoker will get the bees drunk. This came up in conversation long before I got a job as a beekeeper, so I don't remember why he would do this. Any thoughts?


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## ClintonTull (Dec 7, 2008)

I use to work at a transloading fasility and the railcars left in the railyard would leak small amounts of amon nitrate on the ground. Took me 5-10 sand bags and had pure amonium nitrate  worked great on the yard. spread it by hand. killed everything it touch but man after it rained the grass grew like wild fire in moon shaped patches since i didnt spread it evenly and was by hand. I had to laugh. so had dark brown dead burned grass from too much fertilizer but in 2 weeks that burned spot was a dark green fast growing grass. I still have access to those rail yards too  weeeeee bad thing is that its hydroscopic and absorbs water and turns into bricks after a while sitting in the garage.


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## ClintonTull (Dec 7, 2008)

Go here:
http://www.alfa.com/alf/laboratory_chemical_suppliers.htm 


put in Catalog Item # 12363

That should be Ammonium nitrate, ACS, 95% min
Kinda pricey. and not sure how much it is.


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## Gene Weitzel (Dec 6, 2005)

I would caution anyone about putting ammonium nitrate in their smoker. It can combine with the carbon in the smoker fuel to produce small amounts of cyanogen. I personally would opt for CO2 if I had a need to anesthetize bees.


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## mudhoney (Mar 31, 2008)

Wow it sounds like some of you realy paid attention in Chemistry Class


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## Countryboy (Feb 15, 2009)

If the ammonium nitrate converts to nitrous oxide, why don't you get a can of nitrous oxide if you need to gas a vicious colony?

Drag racers can buy nitrous oxide. They also make medical grade nitrous too.


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## Terry Small Jr (Aug 31, 2008)

I guess that using ammonium nitrate produces just enough to use at one time, for one colony.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

A plume of smoke comes out for a few seconds, enough to do two or three hives.


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## Tom G. Laury (May 24, 2008)

*No2*

Also known as laughing gas. 
Terry; would you make a video if you try it out?
You're a purty good dancer!


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## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

*The Texas City explosion of 1947*

This is what you are flirting with on a small scale when you use FGAN AKA fertilizer grade ammonium nitrate added to your smoker.!
Timithy Mc Vay, spelling, and some others have made it difficult to purchase this product.

The Texas City explosion of 1947
http://www.essortment.com/all/texascityexplo_rkvi.htm


April 16, 1947 saw one of the worst industrial and civilian disasters occur in Texas City, Tx.
During the morning of April 16, 1947 a seemingly fine rain of oily mist fell upon Galveston, Texas while in Houston a rumbling reminiscent of a small earthquake was felt. What the inhabitants of these cities didn’t know at the time was that a giant explosion and fire had ripped though the booming town of Texas City. 


As dawn broke upon Texas City that day its citizens began to enjoy what seemed to be a beautiful spring day. A short time later many would believe the end of the world was upon them. For many it was. 



Anchored in the harbor of Texas City that morning was a cargo ship named the “Grand Camp.” In its holds was tons of an ammonium nitrate fertilizer that was to be shipped to Europe. There has been much speculation over the years as to what caused the initial fire upon the Grand Camp but fifty-three years later there has been no definitive answer. 


Texas City in 1947 was a booming town whose many residents worked in the nearby refineries and chemical plants. It also was a place with a small town air in which everyone was a friend with everyone else and each knew the business of the other. On April 16th word spread through out the community about the fire upon the Grand Camp and the “pretty orange color that was coming from the black smoke.” As with any accident or fire a crowd of onlookers appeared to watch the Texas City firefighters in action. As word of the fire traveled, the crowd of onlookers grew in number. 

http://www.essortment.com/all/texascityexplo_rkvi.htm
Regards,
Ernie


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## Camp9 (Feb 7, 2006)

it will burn on it's own, but to explode you have to have something to get it started. Fire alone won't do that. The old timers around here use to buy it along with a stick of dinimite, put 33%(amonium N) in a barrel, soak with diesel fuel and put the stick of dinimite in to blow stumps and make ponds. Ever since OK city it pretty hard to find. It was a good sorce of N, but urea (46%) was cheeper. 

Camp


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## Gene Weitzel (Dec 6, 2005)

mudhoney said:


> Wow it sounds like some of you realy paid attention in Chemistry Class


It could also be that some of us have been formally educated in the subject.


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

I hope you all know the gov'mint 'bots have earmarked this thread for further perusal by an ATF or homeland security agent.  I hope none of y'all have any worries about that. Me, I'm getting out my tin foil hat and keeping an eye out for black helicopters......
Sheri


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## Tom G. Laury (May 24, 2008)

*Texas City*

What a tragedy. Nobody seems to have known of the danger.


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## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

*Ammonium nitrate decomposes into gases including oxygen when heated (non-explosive re*

Some more details:
Disasters
Main article: Ammonium nitrate disasters
Ammonium nitrate decomposes into gases including oxygen when heated (non-explosive reaction); however, ammonium nitrate can be induced to decompose explosively by detonation. Large stockpiles of the material can be a major fire risk due to their supporting oxidation, and may also detonate, as happened in the Texas City disaster of 1947, which led to major changes in the regulations for storage and handling.

*There are two major classes of incidents resulting in explosions:*
*In the first case, the explosion happens by the mechanism of shock to detonation transition.* The initiation happens by an explosive charge going off in the mass, by the detonation of a shell thrown into the mass, or by detonation of an explosive mixture in contact with the mass. The examples are Kriewald, Morgan (present-day Sayreville, New Jersey) Oppau, Tessenderlo and Traskwood. 
*In the second case, the explosion results from a fire that spreads *into the ammonium nitrate itself (Texas City, Brest, Oakdale), or from a mixture of ammonium nitrate with a combustible material during the fire (Repauno, Cherokee, Nadadores). The fire must be confined at least to a degree for successful transition from a fire to an explosion (a phenomenon known as "deflagration to detonation transition", or DDT). Pure, compact AN is stable and very difficult to initiate.[citation needed] However, there are numerous cases when even impure AN did not explode in a fire.[citation needed] 
Ammonium nitrate explosives were used in the Oklahoma City bombing.

Ammonium nitrate decomposes in temperatures normally well above 200°C. However the presence of impurities (organic and/or inorganic) will often reduce the temperature point when heat is being generated. Once the AN has started to decompose then a Runaway reaction will normally occur as the heat of decomposition is very large. AN evolves so much heat that this runaway reaction is not normally possible to stop. This is a well-known hazard with some types of N-P-K Fertilizers, and is responsible for the loss of several cargo ships.

While filming an episode of the popular science show Mythbusters, 500 pounds (230 kg) of ammonium nitrate was detonated to show the resultant effect. The subsequent large explosion broke a few windows that were one mile away in Yolo county, California.[3]
Regards,
Ernie


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## Camp9 (Feb 7, 2006)

JohnK and Sheri said:


> I hope you all know the gov'mint 'bots have earmarked this thread for further perusal by an ATF or homeland security agent.  I hope none of y'all have any worries about that. Me, I'm getting out my tin foil hat and keeping an eye out for black helicopters......
> Sheri


Let them come, no worry here. Probably all farmers are on their list anyway. 

Camp


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## edenhillapiaries (May 25, 2008)

Hello Folks,

I have never heard of using ammonium nitrate in this fashion, but I can tell you that it is a wonderful source of nitrogen for fruit growers. It is quite fast acting and less prone to leach or volitize (unlike urea) and gives the fruit trees a boost right when they need it. After Oklahoma City this material has become harder to find and more complicated to handle. Buying it in bulk requires a copy of your drivers license and it cannot be transported without a hazmat endorsement. Much more complicated than it used to be, but well worth the effort for anyone growing fruit trees. It is always a shame when a few bad eggs make it hard on the rest of us.


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## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

*It is quite fast acting.*

It is quite fast acting and less prone to leach or volitize (unlike urea) 
Ammonium nitrate does not have to be broken down by the microbes in the soil solution
It will leach out easily with to much irrigation.
Urea will also leach out .
Volitize? No, niether one has the physical properties of becoming volitile.
Anhydrous ammonia wil volitize and it is hungry for any source of water. That's why it's injected into moist soil.
We are having some major problems of our ground water being contaminated by farmers that are applying excess N to their crops.
Recently the avocado growers were informed that their application N was too high and it did not benifit the trees growth. That's a substantial savings in fertilizer.
Most plants thrive at 200 ppm of N in the leaf and anything over that ppm is a waste.
Ernie


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## Gabriel (Apr 27, 2008)

Ammonium Nitrate is use to sleep bees when
1- You want to change a hive from a place to another that is very near (5 or 10 Mts)
2- When you want to introduce a queen in a hive.
Is like the bees don´t remember nothing
Gabriel


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## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

*" Laughing Gas"*

AKA: Nirous oxide that is used in dentistry.
Ernie


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