Advice needed about hive placement

[riverbee]

"Yes Duet is used to spray. They spray every Monday morning around 5AM starting around the first of July. There has been cases of equine encephalitis in our county. We have a large mosquito population on our campground so in the past years we have welcomed the spraying for the comfort of our clients."

if they are spraying this at 5 am and every monday morning, (so weekly) might be concerned myself,  rather than at night. i would be inclined to lock them in until any residue dissipates, kills skeeters? an insect. i am with jen on this, "where bees forage there will be chemical residue on the pollen and nectar. Just cause the beekeeper didn't notice any visual damage to the bees doesn't mean it's not there hidden within the hive".

when i read a label that says TOXIC TO HONEY BEES, and the toxicity to aquatic organisms, i start to pay attention, and i don't want this brought back to my hives and stored in the combs, and i live in farm country and on a river, so lots to deal with coming back to the hive, including my neighbors that use all sorts of pesticides.  bees get water from where? 

also, some of our gardens, perennials and vegetables are less than 100 ft from my hives, the bees seem to find them just fine and always have.

sorry to put a kink in here, but i disagree about this chemical not affecting our bees sprayed at this time of day and bees not visiting a garden within 100 feet of a hive.....

just my HO and two cents.....

[iddee]

As I said above, they sprayed mine at dusk or dark. I don't know about other times of the day. It may be fatal then.

[Bsweet]

Not saying bees won't visit a garden close to the hive, my hives are about 15 ft from my garden and I see afew bees in it all summer.

The spray they used in Colorado was fogged into the air and not sprayed on plants because mosquitos are not attracted to plants. Jim

[riverbee]

where does the residue of the spray land?  our bees collect water any where they can, including grass....dandelions and clover bloom in the grass, bees collect water from any available source, including puddles in the dirt.

like iddee said sprayed at dusk or dark when the bees aren't flying, less chance.  ward said 5:00 am weekly, all i am saying is you can't tell me that at some point this won't affect the bees or won't wind up in the comb...

our gardens get worked pretty good, but we have some pretty large vegetable gardens.

not an expert on this, just saying what i think, and if it's duet, i would be concerned, that's just me......

[Jen]

Riv ""if they are spraying this at 5 am and every monday morning, (so weekly) might be concerned myself,  rather than at night. i would be inclined to lock them in until any residue dissipates, kills skeeters? an insect. i am with jen on this,""

Thank you Riv~

I'm concerned about Ward and his wife. This is a lovable hobby that they should be able to enjoy.

My question now for Ward is where do they live where Duet is sprayed every Monday. Swamp area maybe? Is there another natural solution for them to work on to tame down the mesquito's in their area?

Herein lies the root of the problem.

[brooksbeefarm]

They use to spray the ditches along the gravel roads in the outskirts of Springfield, Mo. when i was a kid with DDT. You could smell it hours after they were gone,many times we would be wrestling or playing games in the yard near the road when they came by spraying and we could feel the mist from it They outlawed DDT because it was killing Eagles, don't remember if they ran a test to see if it was killing humans? The spray has killing power for several days (the residue) and like Rb said it's the puddles they put the most spray on for mosquito's, and if the puddles are close to the hive and the bee makes it back and the house bees unload her and put it in the cells the trouble starts. I think most times if a bee comes in contact with a killing insecticide they don't make it back to the hive if they have a ways to go. Jack

[Jen]

Hi Ward, know that I am speaking to you with great compassion because I love my bees and I know that you will love your bees as well. It's the most fascinating hobby I have ever had.

Ward ""I would like to place my hives near my flower and vegetable garden but I am worried about this. We own a campground and we get sprayed once a week for mosquitos.""

I'm curious as to why your campground is sprayed for mesquitos? swampland maybe?

 

[apisbees]

Hi Ward and welcome to the forum.
Most pesticides are put on as a wet mist, water is used to dilute the pesticide to the proper working strength and by increasing the volume makes it easier to control the coverage area application rate. These chemicals kill a number of ways.
1-Direct contact to the bees.
2- Moisture picked up and brought back to the hive.
3- Residue brought back into the hive with pollen and nectar from plants sprayed or/and covered by spray that has drifted to outlying crops out side of it's target area.
4 - Direct application to the hive or drifting of the chemical into the hive.
Here are some tips on minimizing the effects these chemicals  and their application has on the hives.
1 - Have the spray applied before the bees begin to fly or block the bees in the hive so they are not actively flying while the sprays are applied.
 2 - The wet mist from the sprays are attractive to the bees as a water source until the water has evaporated so blocking the bees in the hive until the sun has dried up the mist will keep the bees from collecting it.
3 - Mow the area before application to remove any flowers and forage that will become contaminated by the spraying.
4 - Very little wind is needed to cause the spray to drift in to surrounding areas. This is harder to control as to bee forage area but can be controlled from entering the hive. Screening the bees in will confine the bees in the hive but the hive and bees are at risk of being effected by drifting chemicals, and the chance of bee loss because of over heating from being confined to the colony and not having the moisture and being to confined to adequately ventilate the hive.
Another way to deal with problems 1,2,&4, Is to trick the bees into staying in side the hive and not allow them to forage until the greatest risk to their health is passed.
This I have done by placing a white sheet over the hive and place a sprinkler on the hives.
No need to block the bees in as the bees stay in the hive as they think it is raining. It keeps the hive cool and the bees will not over heat. The water and wet sheet will stop and dilute any spray that has drifted, or is sprayed on or over the hives.
Once all the moisture has evaporated from the sprays the bees can be allowed to fly by turning off the sprinkler and filliping the sheet off the hive. The bees will have a close water supply from the saturation of the ground by the sprinkler which will have diluted any drifting chemical to a point where it will be far below the toxicity level that would effect the bees.
Spraying at 5 am. I have seen bees start their first flights between 5 and 6 am. on many days so the moisture of the sprays will be attractive to the bees until it has evaporated, and any dew that was on the grass that has been hit by sprays and contaminated has evaporated.
I have kept bees in cherry orchards thru the years that are getting sprayed every 10 days using this approach.