I have always believed that one should try and work with nature, and having been brought up on a farm for the first 20 years of my life, this has helped me to become very close to it. As time goes by, we are thank goodness slowly becoming aware that 'natural' products are best for us, and realizing that too many chemicals are a bad thing...

The uses of herbs has always fascinated me and from the beginning of my new found hobby, I decided to incorporate it into bee-keeping. I don't like using gloves whilst handling bees, (it makes me clumsy and more liable to drop equipment and more importantly injure or kill the bees) so I therefore set about experimenting with various products to make life easier for me and more pleasant for my busy bees. In order to mask human odours, I realized that Apple Cider Vinegar on it's own was not potent enough, so I decided to experiment with various herbs in solution with it. The very first herb that I tried was Comfrey, commonly known as 'knitbone' due to it's quite remarkable ability to join together broken bones and healing properties.

Method...
Tear off several leaves from the plant, complete with the fleshy stalks, then tear into small pieces using your hands, you will see the beneficial mucilage 'oozing' out from the damaged tissues. Next, obtain a large empty, clean coffee jar and fill to capacity with the broken leaves. Fill up the jar with either Apple Cider Vinegar or Surgical Spirits to act as a solvent.

You will notice that the contents of the jar will immediately start to turn a green colour. Leave in a dark place for a week or two, then sieve into another suitable container, perhaps an used vinegar bottle with a sprinkler top. To use the solution, simply sprinkle a small amount at a time onto your hands, rub over well and then 'introduce' yourself to the bees.

If this is your very first attempt at not wearing gloves, then put on your gloves as usual and sprinkle the mixture onto them instead. You should find that the bees will not 'attack' the gloves as they may have done in the past. I believe this is because the solution has masked the smell from previous stings.

NB.
If like me, you are in a hurry to try out the mixture and don't really want to wait a week or two, then it can be used immediately but remember that it will be quite weak at first and possibly not quite as effective.

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A magical experience...

At this point, I feel that I must tell you about an experience I had whilst using Peppermint.
I had made up a mixture using torn up Peppermint leaves and Surgical Spirits and a few days later, in company with a local beekeeper, I went to assist a beginner in managing some hives which he had only just obtained.

I duly applied the 'new' mixture to my hands and we all set about the task in hand.
The bees concerned were a 'little touchy' and one brave soul attempted to sting me. We then all watched in amazement as the bee, having landed on my hand 'attempted' to insert it's sting but failed to do so. Somehow, the film of Peppermint mixture seemed to have formed a protective layer which the sting was unable to penetrate and the bee then gave up and flew away with all bodily parts still intact.

The sight of this happening inspired confidence in us all to such an extent that the owner of the hives, a complete beginner who had never looked inside a beehive in his life, took off his gloves and also applied the Peppermint lotion. All three of us then continued the task of examining and sorting out the four hives without receiving a single sting.

Since then, I have continued using the Peppermint mixture on my hands with the same result.

I am currently investigating the properties of this herb in order to learn more about it.

More on herbs...

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Jeff Davies - 1998-2004