"Round-Up" and bees

[dcromwel]

New beekeeper this season. Wondering if any experienced keepers had strong feelings about herbicides and bees. I have a recently discovered patch of poison ivy behind my hives. Any advice?

Thanks,

David

[WineMan]

I use the scorched earth approach on all permanent yards with 2,4D and Roundup.

[dragonfly]

I read somewhere along the way that Round-up is not harmful to bees, but that MSMA is. I think I would spray it late in the evening either way.

[Michael Bush]

I'm not fond of chemicals. There are lots of ways to kill weeds. Putting a sheet of black plastic on the ground is pretty effective as are scraps of plywood etc. But I have resorted to chemicals for the thistles on occasion. The Roundup I have usually regretted because it killed too much of the grass around the thistle.

[spectret]

hey outdoor clorox sprayed undiluted from sprayer will kill all vegitation and it is just chlorine(we get plenty of that stuff in public drinking water)

[abeille]

About Round-up,

I was asking myself the same question a few days ago about the inocuity of round-up with the bees. Monsanto (the company that sells Round-up) says that there is no toxicity with bees, at recommanded dosage, neither by direct contact or by the nectar: the product is rapidly absorbed by the plant's leaves.

Hope this helps...

[mrbillz]

Wineman - is there a commercial produuct whose main ingredient is 2,4D?

[Michael Bush]

When I buy it, I just get the Ace Hardare or True Value Hardware brand. It will be a broadleaf killer that you can put on grass. Read the ingredients. It will be 2 (something) 4 (somthing) Dimethyl(somthing). If you want their roundup equivilant (which kills everything that grows) it will be advertised to kill everything.

[WineMan]

There are a bunch of blends....I believe I read somewhere once that it is one of the first herbicides from just after WWII era. I believe it is component of most any broadleaf killer that you can pick up at the garden center or feed store.

[mmundy]

Just read about spraying weeds with Vinegar in the section of Beesource called "In the News."
http://www.beesource.com/news/article/vinegar.htm

------------------
Michael Mundy
Liberty Missouri
http://www.geocities.com/libertybees/

[BillKP71]

I researched glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) quite extensively about 8 years ago when I put in my water garden. The source for the following was the old EXTOXNET which at that time was maintained by a number of universities including Cornell Mich State, Oregon State and U of CA, Davis.

I have made no attempt since then to search for more recent research, but I found no particular cause for concern at that time with fish or honeybees assuming proper use and application.

" Glyphosate is relatively non-toxic to honeybees. Its oral and dermal LD50 is greater than 0.1 mg/ bee (7)."

(7) The Agrochemicals handbook. 1991. The Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England.


Hope this helps.

Bill

[beekeeper28]

A lady that I work with is an organic gardener. I really don't like to use chemicals. So I bounce questions off of her all the time and see just told me the other day that she uses Rubbing Alcohol and vinegar in a garden sprayer.