[beedawg9]

My bees sit adjacent to a hayfield where the guy recently spotted army worms. He plans on spraying asap, not sure what chemical he’s using but I assume it’s the typical treatment.
Is this a “close them for a day” or a “move them far away” situation? Or will they be fine since there is nothing blooming on the hayfield?

 

[Bdfarmer555]

Likely will be a pyrethroid. Will kill any bee it contacts immediately. As long as it doesn't drift into your hive you should be fine. Field bees are susceptible, but if they aren't working that field then the only ones at risk are the ones traveling thru during application till it dries an hr or 2 later. Mind the wind during application. If it's gonna blow toward your hive in the least bit, I'd consider moving the hive if possible.

Any chance you get along with him well enough he'd skip a 50-60' wide swath from your hive? That'd help immensely.

I have no experience closing hives up for a day in the summer, but bad things can happen with that.

 

[hagane]

Maybe there's more we can do about this?

Maybe you could put up wind sheet screens (hang bed sheets?) between that area and along a line in front of your hives for example for a few days, and have a closer water feeder that's in the opposite direction, or nearer your hives for that time period. I'm just throwing out ideas. (It would just look like laundry, and if you did maybe 4 or 5 in a row you'd only need a couple poles, some rope, and some stakes, maybe some tie down strings too, etc. Cheap fix., wouldn't need to be expensive but just divert some of the chemical downward to the ground.)

There has to be something you can do. What have others been doing for this?

Feel free to correct me, but I know none of us wants our bees to die. And this is likely to be a coming issue. Many people know have been talking about Army worm all over the place the last few months in agriculture. So it will likely could affect other beeks next year and the year after. They are really talking about army worm up north, and in China also.

Seems like a lot of risk to try nothing.

 

[psm1212]

If you have a relationship with the farmer, you can ask him to do it very early in the morning or, probably more ideal, at dusk in the evening. This will lessen the exposure of the field bees. Draping the hives with sheets to possibly shield any overspray would should be some added insurance.

 

[Tim KS]

My bees sit adjacent to a hayfield where the guy recently spotted army worms. He plans on spraying asap, not sure what chemical he’s using but I assume it’s the typical treatment.
Is this a “close them for a day” or a “move them far away” situation? Or will they be fine since there is nothing blooming on the hayfield?

What is "adjacent"?....three feet?......50 feet?.....50 yds? I would ask what chemical will be used & find out how toxic it is to bees. Also, how will it be applied....ground rig or aerial....and by whom?

All you can really do is let him know you have bees & to be mindful of that....please!

 

[beedawg9]

What is "adjacent"?....three feet?......50 feet?.....50 yds? I would ask what chemical will be used & find out how toxic it is to bees. Also, how will it be applied....ground rig or aerial....and by whom?

All you can really do is let him know you have bees & to be mindful of that....please!

They are about 30 yards away give or take. He didn’t know what chemical he was spraying so he’s supposed to let me know today. He’s using a typical ground sprayer behind a tractor.

I agree with a previous comment, army worms are becoming more of an issue so I think this is going to become a yearly event for me.

 

[ericweller]

It would be best for him to spray around sunset when foragers have returned to their hives.

 

[Tim KS]

They are about 30 yards away give or take. He didn’t know what chemical he was spraying so he’s supposed to let me know today. He’s using a typical ground sprayer behind a tractor.

I agree with a previous comment, army worms are becoming more of an issue so I think this is going to become a yearly event for me.

Yes, there will always be some army worms, but to reach a threshold that needs spraying is often dependent on weather.

Hopefully he may use a Bt type killer that will have minimal affect on the bees. I agree, an evening spraying would be best. Good luck!

 

[beedawg9]

Thought I’d update for those of y’all that answered. Had a good talk with the guy, he’s spraying with Lamda Cy, which is something I’m not familiar with. He sprayed with it last year, he didn’t know I had bees, and I didn’t lose a hive. He’s using a ground sprayer and said he’s wait til dusk to start.
I didn’t even realize he sprayed last year so that eases my mind, even though reading about the pesticide doesn’t.