Admire

[beegee]

I have a 4-acre cotton field next to my house. Cotton has been blooming for about 5 days now. Today they sprayed Admire for aphids. My field bees are falling out. There is a growing pile of them under their front porch. I went and talked to the farmer. He didn't know I had bees, or he would have skipped that field. He was very apologetic. I think after one day, it's not a problem. I think most of the bees that died were field bees working in the cotton when they sprayed it. In 2 weeks they are going to spray pyrethroids. I guess I just grin and bear it...

[Michael Bush]

Sounds like the farmer is sympathetic. If you can get the farmer to notify you, you can close the bees up the night before and they won't be out. If you make a screen door (or can get one quickly from Brushy Mt.) and you have a Screened Bottom Board and or a ventilation system of some kind where you can close them up where no bees can get out but they can ventilate, this should not be a hardship. Much less so than having the entire workforce die. You also have to worry that they bring some back to the hive and leave a residue that harms them for some time to come.

[dragonfly]

It also helps if farmers or gardeners will wait until late evening to spray. It will decrease the exposure to your bees, and if your neighbor is as agreeable as it sounds, he would probably be happy to do so on this request.

[Michael Bush]

I think you have the groundwork for a good relationship with the farmer. Make sure he has your phone number. You have already, without pushing, made him feel bad for the bees. YOu haven't made any demands, which is a good start. Make requests, and negotiate, and do not makes demands. I think you are already pretty much at that stage. So make simple requests like could he call you. Or would it bee a lot more trouble to spray after dark or near dark etc. Even if he is spraying in the morning or he could spary in the morning and let you know a day or two ahead then you could close up, he could spray and maybe you could open it back up by noon. Anyway, good luck.

[hoosierhiver]

i'd try to keep the farmer on your good side, a jar of honey once in awhile really tickles some folk.

[WineMan]

My first approach is always the "have a good relationship one". However, in the end, pesticide labeling doesnt say its my responsibility to close or move hives. It is the applicators responsibility to make sure the area is not frequented by bees or that the spray drifts. Thus, the legal obligation falls on them to spray at the appropriate times or take mowing action, etc. And when that fails that is what state dept of ags, the EPA and lawsuits are for.

[Michael Bush]

I've tried complaining to the EPA. It made a difference for about a month and everything went back to "normal". Obviously the EPA conatcted them, but in the end the EPA doesn't seem to follow through. A good relationship will get you a lot farther.

[Daisy]

Last year was my first year to hive bees. On a windy day, the smell of pesticides were so strong I had to come inside.

I email the ag folks and they contacted the farmers around here, probably to let them know that they have new neighbors. Bees. ;0)

I haven't noticed any problems this year. I do know the farmer now. He planted his soybeans real close to our property. LOL

He gets a jug of honey from me. And I only took a very little bit this year.

[beegee]

We in NC have a form that we can register our beeyards with GPS coordinates so that Pesticide applicators will know when they are spraying to alert us. I haven't done one for my one little hive, but if I expand and establish remote beeyards, I will register them.

[BjornBee]

We have GPS here also but I always think there are other motives for such tracking. Do pesticide types and farmers have access to this information? And are they going to take the time to use it?

And I have yet to see a privacy statement to this sort of tracking information. In the wrong hands alot of hives could start disappearing.