[chipperbraves]

I have hives placed near a big farm and today the farmer approached me and informed me he was going to be using liquid sevin and roundup on his fields. What are yalls experiences with these two? He is spraying them on Wednesday of this coming week. If i need to move them, how long should i keep them away? Thanks for the imput.

 

[tomkat]

My experiences with Round Up was not good, lost a hive and had hives go into decline. The drift blew right into my Apiary.
I would move them two plus miles away for 24 hours.

 

[Rader Sidetrack]

Sevin is a potent insecticide. It certainly will kill bees.

Roundup - generic name glyphosate - is an herbicide. Certainly it will kill weeds that bees might like to forage on, but glyphosate is fairly safe for bees. There is a small amount of surfactant (detergent) in most mixes to reduce surface tension, and spraying it directly on bees, in sufficient quantity, can kill them just like plain old soapy water.

 

[Brad Bee]

Roundup is the least of your worries. Liquid Sevin will kill every bee you have if it comes into contact with the hives. MOVE THEM!

When we get armyworms in our hay fields we have no choice other than to spray and insecticide. It scares the crap out of me to do it. That's why I have the bees on the other side of our farm from the hay fields. Bees obviously don't forage on bermuda grass but drift can go for quite a ways.

 

[tomkat]

I should have stated that Siven is dangerous. But Round Up is not good for bees either.

 

[Brad Bee]

I also should have said that LIQUID is the key word here. The guy is a farmer so he's not running to Lowes to buy a quart of liquid Sevin. Ag grade LIQUID Sevin is a minimum of 44% active ingredient. Potent stuff, and highly toxic to honey bees. I believe it says that about bees on its label.

 

[chipperbraves]

The consensus is to move as far away from sevin as possible for at least 24 hours? Roundup is okay and is not that harmful to bees?

 

[Brad Bee]

I would keep them away for more than 24 hours. If the Sevin drifts onto privet or other plants they are feeding on, it will be a bad thing. Sevin has a pretty short half life if I remember correctly but I'd wait for a rain or a week to pass at least before taking them back.

 

[chipperbraves]

I will keep them away from this for at least a week then. Ive got too much money into these ladies to have them killed by sevin. I appreciate the imput from you all.

 

[tomkat]

Yes keep them away longer then 24 at least till it rains good.

As too Round Up, some believe it is safe, I don't.

 

[camero7]

I use round up in my yards around the fence lines and in front of the hives. Never noticed any problem and I've looked.

I agree about the sevin. good thing is it's liquid so if there's no wind there won't be much drift.

 

[summer1052]

I'm with tomkat. Sevin is a known insecticide and will wipe out your apiary. Round Up is also a poison designed to kill pests, in this case "broad leafed" weeds. It can also severely hurt an apiary.

Spraying a fence line and a little grass around the hives is NOT the same thing as a sprayer rig driving up and down the rows spraying "Round Up Ready" corn or soybeans. Move the hives for a week. Remember, a farmer spraying is aiming for a time window so that he can spray, then have at least 2-3 clear days without rain to let the poison work. Any nectar or pollen collected in that time frame will have Round Up on it, which will be taken back to the hive. Also, bees collecting around that area will physically come into contact with the RU on their bodies, wings, and feet, bringing it back to the hive in that manner.

Yes, I am very well aware that RU is marketed as "safe for bees". It will not kill them outright, immediately, like Sevin. But it is not in any way good for them, and wild bee populations are very low in areas where it is used wholesale on RU Ready crops. It does cause harm in my experience, and I avoid it. No, thank you, I choose not to debate about it again, as the last "gentleman" who wanted to debate about it, lowered himself to vicious name calling, gender bashing and libel. I won't play. :no: :shhhh: :gh:

Good luck, and I hope your bees thrive this year!
Summer

At least the farmer told you what he was going to do, instead of just letting you find your hives dead. That was decent of him.

 

[Haraga]

Fields around me and also my fields are sprayed with roundup every season. The bees aren't foraging on those fields as there is no bloom going on when they are sprayed. I have never had a problem with spraying roundup close to the bees. A farmer doesn't need days of clear weather to spray it. One hour before a rain is enough time for it to be effective. I apply it at one liter per acre.

 

[CBoggs]

I use round up in my yards around the fence lines and in front of the hives. Never noticed any problem and I've looked.

I agree about the sevin. good thing is it's liquid so if there's no wind there won't be much drift.

Cam
I've been looking at using Roundup around the hive stands, in the bee yard, and along fence lines, but was unsure as to its hazard to the bees. Was thinking of spraying early in the morning, or late in the evening on a calm day when most of the foragers were finished flying in and out of the hive. When do you spray around your hive stands? There's no blooms around my stands, just grass. Does it make any difference the time of day I spray? Thanks

 

[jim lyon]

As long as your nozzle is adjusted for a fairly coarse spray the chances of drift with roundup are almost nonexistent and it won't vaporize and drift in hot weather like 2-4D. While glyphosate won't hurt your bees my experience is that, while it does do a very good job of killing whatever plant it is sprayed on, something else will grow there fairly quickly and it's rarely anything desirable. For that reason I prefer to spray infestations of undesirable broad leaf weeds but mow grasses.

 

[camero7]

Cam
I've been looking at using Roundup around the hive stands, in the bee yard, and along fence lines, but was unsure as to its hazard to the bees. Was thinking of spraying early in the morning, or late in the evening on a calm day when most of the foragers were finished flying in and out of the hive. When do you spray around your hive stands? There's no blooms around my stands, just grass. Does it make any difference the time of day I spray? Thanks

I spray when I get to the yards, haven't worried about time of day. Bees are flying when I spray.

 

[camero7]

As long as your nozzle is adjusted for a fairly coarse spray the chances of drift with roundup are almost nonexistent and it won't vaporize and drift in hot weather like 2-4D. While glyphosate won't hurt your bees my experience is that, while it does do a very good job of killing whatever plant it is sprayed on, something else will grow there fairly quickly and it's rarely anything desirable. For that reason I prefer to spray infestations of undesirable broad leaf weeds but mow grasses.

I used the 365 roundup this year. It kills everything so I am careful where I spray. Really great on the electric fence rows, leaves a nice line for the fence that doesn't short out as easily. I also sprayed directly in front of the hives about a 6" swath. Stops weeds/grass from blocking the entrance. Works great. No noticeable problem with the bees.

 

[Vance G]

The Sevin will kill your bees dead if they contact it. The Roundup in my experience farming with it since 1975 is that it is not harmful to bees or people for that matter. I wouldn't drink it and I am careful not to spray volumes in the entrance but it works great for killing grass that would block the entrance.

Roundup seems to be the new biggest crime against humanity according to those who have never used it or had to make a living off the land. Ignore them.

 

[tedlemay]

Just for some reading: http://www.naturalnews.com/046769_roundup_honeybees_colony_collapse_disorder.html

 

[Agis Apiaries]

... and today the farmer approached me and informed me ....

At least he was decent enough to come and tell you before he sprayed!!!