Author Topic: NOT Happy  (Read 1355 times)

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Offline rober

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NOT Happy
« on: July 30, 2018, 09:40:19 am »
I was checking hives at an out-yard this morning & noticed that all the vegetation around & under my hives & along the landowners horse fence was dead. talked to the owner & he had sprayed everything with Hi Yield 2,4-D herbicide. the active ingredient is Dimethylamine salt. the hives seemed fine but most of these chemicals slowly kill off the brood. we finally got some decent rain so hopefully that will minimize the damage. I just scouted a new location so i'll set up a stand & move these hives ASAP.
 there was an article in bee culture awhile back that said that studies showed that bees are actually attracted to plants sprayed with herbicides & fungicides.

Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: NOT Happy
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2018, 10:34:08 am »
Sorry to hear that rober.  Some folks just don't know how to put the spray bottle down.  Now you know what to include in your arrangement with the next land owner.

Offline Jen

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Re: NOT Happy
« Reply #2 on: July 30, 2018, 12:32:15 pm »
Oooh Bummer! How about googling this herbicide and finding out how long the herbicide is active. Like Round Up, I think it is inactive after 24 hours. I hope not one bee is affected by this herbicide, good luck!
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Offline rober

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Re: NOT Happy
« Reply #3 on: July 30, 2018, 01:33:34 pm »
the main concern with most of these chemicals is it's affect on the brood & wax contamination. several years ago the almond growers sprayed their orchards with a fungicide that was labeled safe for use around bees. the company had done limited testing on adult bees & not the affects on brood. the damage was widespread & severe. a lot of the contractors did not realize what was happening until they got the hives home & found they'd lost a significant number of hives. many of them had to refund deposits for nucs & lost the nuc sales revenue.
 these were strong hives so hopefully they'll be okay. the long term effects will remain to be seen. if problems arise to be safe I'll have to retire all of those frames which would be quite a loss as these were only 1-2 years old.
 
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Offline Perry

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Re: NOT Happy
« Reply #4 on: July 30, 2018, 08:39:37 pm »
the main concern with most of these chemicals is it's affect on the brood & wax contamination. several years ago the almond growers sprayed their orchards with a fungicide that was labeled safe for use around bees. the company had done limited testing on adult bees & not the affects on brood. the damage was widespread & severe. a lot of the contractors did not realize what was happening until they got the hives home & found they'd lost a significant number of hives. many of them had to refund deposits for nucs & lost the nuc sales revenue.
 these were strong hives so hopefully they'll be okay. the long term effects will remain to be seen. if problems arise to be safe I'll have to retire all of those frames which would be quite a loss as these were only 1-2 years old.

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