[gingerbee]

Will sevin dust kill bees?

 

[Fusion_power]

Deader than dead. One of the worst for bee poisonings if used on blooming plants.

Fusion

 

[gingerbee]

On no! I, like an idiot and without thinking, dusted my bean rows which were being decimated by beetles. Thankfully it has rained since and washed most of the dust off.

I try to never use the stuff unless crops are in danger of being entirely lost. I will get some kind of screen to keep the bees in next time.

Do you know how long I should quarrantine them?

What do other beekeepers do regarding pest and gardening?

 

[iddee]

Use liquid sevin and spray at dusk or early night. It is supposed to have a 4 hour kill time.

 

[gingerbee]

Thanks, Iddee. That's a great idea!

 

[trackpacker02]

Seven dust is death on bees , but if any of you get a nest of yellow jackets in a bad spot.use a squeezeable bottle to blow the dust in the hole, if it gets on a few, so much the better. They are history.

 

[Fusion_power]

Sevin is still deadly after 3 days exposure and can kill up to 7 days. However you are correct that the liquid is less of a problem for bees than the dust. I will not use dust but I will use liquid spray under some conditions.

Beans are inherently less likely to be a problem because of the flower structure which protects the nectary from spray. By comparison, some corn growers spray when it is tasselling which is potentially a death blow to bees. The big problem is that bees can carry dust into the hive in loads of pollen and it retains its deadly capability for months.

Fusion

 

[gingerbee]

Fusion,

I had no idea about the sevin dust and feel like a complete idiot for not knowing. I can't beleive I've dusted my beans with it!

The liquid seems safer, at least according to opinions posted here by you and Iddee. Will it harm the bess?

[ August 12, 2006, 10:02 PM: Message edited by: Gingerbee ]

 

[drobbins]

Gingerbee,

the problem with the powder is the bees haul it back to the hive like pollen and feed it to their brood
bad bad bad
the liquid is certainly undesirable but it's not as much of a problem as the powder

Dave

 

[gingerbee]

So if you spray crops at night it will not be toxic to the bees by morning?

 

[drobbins]

I don't know the answer, but I think the best you can do is if you "have" to use it, use the liquid, and never spray anything that's blooming
I have a couple of cherry trees that are being ravaged by japanese beetles
it does no good to spray em at night, the beetles aren't there
I just gave up spraying this year, not sure what I'll do in future

Dave

 

[iddee]

Sevin is the company name, not the poduct. They make MANY products. Ask your dealer about the different ones and how they work. Some have short active times, some have long. I know very little about insecticides. I just know that the farmer where my bees are sprays his plants on a regular basis without harm to my bees. He saye it depends on what you use, how you use it, and when.

 

[gingerbee]

I've seen japanese beetles by the beans, but I think the bean beetles, their larvae (small yellow things) are what's stripped the leaves. I asked an organic gardner what to do about them and she recommended just plowing the beans, but then the crop is lost.

The man I bought my hive from is a gardner who sells his produce and keeps bees, has done both for years. I'm going to ask him about this tomorrow.

 

[rweakley]

The normal Sevin Dust people are talking about is an active called Carbaryl. BAD Stuff

 

[gingerbee]

I've spoken with my local beekeeper. He says bees don't forage in beans, so there's nothing to be concerned about. I haven't dusted anything else, although my neighbor uses it.

My hive is strong and there has been no massive bee kill off due to his or my use of sevin, in fact the opposite seems true, the hive's grown stronger since I got it.

I'm going to spray if I have to use the stuff, in the evenings. I may try soap and water before the pests get bad. I'd rather go the organic route.

I'd always heard sevin broke down quickly and wasn't harmful to humans, especially if applied about a week before harvest. Is there a milder pesticide available?

 

[iddee]

I don't know what kind of bees he has, but my bees cover the green beans when they are in bloom.

 

[Robert Gregory]

Obviously, it will, but I have a query: it is considered a contact killer, which means it gets on the victim and kills it. I wonder if it also mimics flower pollen. It seems that the label puts extra emphasis on the killing of honeybees, and I have often wondered why. Robert Gregory.

 

[tnmtn]

Here's a whole google page of organic pesticides. I use pyrethrin products.

https://www.google.com/search?sourc...psy-ab..16.2.1640.0..0i20i264k1.0.QUsBX4gl0UM

 

[Robert Gregory]

Hi tnmtn, Exactly my plan. After looking at the facts for Sevin, I'm switching to the pyrethrins. Bad stuff. I still wonder why it is especially toxic to the bees. Thanks.

 

[Western]

You folks should google "Spinosad", registered as a organic and works great on bugs that chew, not so much on piercing fruit type bugs tho but does a little. It works by coating the foliage and kills the bug when ingested, it can also kill when wet, so evening spraying to avoid bees is best.

Washes off when exposed to rain, or if you still water with some kind of over head spray.