In the first leg of my journey, I found that I spent more time trying to keep the smoker lit than

searching for the queen, which says a lot! I battled with leaf litter, grass clippings and egg cartons,

however nothing seemed sustainable, readily avaliable or lasted the duration of one hive inspection, little lone several

consecutive hive inspections.

That’s when I found a mixture of pinecones and hessian bags! Hessian is the course, woven fabric

that is composed of natural fibers from the jute plant, in short terms, it is a 100% natural product

and smokes like the chimneys in Mary Poppins! Stand alone, hessian works great however you can

also use it in conjunction with pinecones is a great natural alternative to smoker fuels sold in

beekeeping supply stores.

I purchase my hessian from Facebook Market place from a coffee shop owner who sells ripped and

torn bags for $1, im sure you could approach your local coffee shop and ask what they do with their

used coffee bean bags.

I either collect pinecones from the beautiful pine forests that connect Brisbane and the Sunshine

coast on the way home from weekend camping trips or when im stuck for time I support a young

local community entrepreneur who collects and sells pinecones for $5 per bag, her mum will even

deliver them to my door, which is an added bonus!