Proposed new site.

[fullframe45]

Maybee i should have posted this in my previous post not sure.
As i said previously i am looking to find a new site for my hive and nuc i have the offer of a location close to me and private very secluded easterly facing and sheltered ,only drawback as far as i can see is it would be about twenty yards from the edge of a potato field ,I know the bees will not touch the flowers and that is not a problem ,But im not sure if this is too close to the potatoes when they are sprayed etc.just wondering if this is a good site or not.

 

[B+.]

im not sure if this is too close to the potatoes when they are sprayed etc.just wondering if this is a good site or not.

That would depend on what they're being sprayed with. Also, how the spray disperses over the crop.
I have apiaries along the headland right next to farmers fields. I mean...the bees are so close, they could walk to the flowers. They don't need to fly!
If your concern is how far they should be from the crop, I don't think you need worry.

 

[simonforeman]

I'm the same as B+..... my hives at home are surrounded by potatoes this year and they have been sprayed many times this year. The farmer has told me when he's going to spray but I have either been at work or forgot to shut them in apart from once. All still doing well...

What you have to remember is that next year there will be a different crop with maybe different sprays, that's the way it is. I would not get too hung up on the potatoes but get to know the farmers around, swap mobile nos and ask them to text the day before spraying.

 

[fullframe45]

That sounds good news to me as this is the fourth location i have been to see today .There is a track almost to the site and i spent 3 hrs striming back nettles and thistles .Thanks for comments.I will try and have a talk to the farmer,i know he did spray for blight a cpl of weeks back.

 

[Ian123]

Hives on rape and in orchards come into contact with spraying the whole time. Never caused me an issue.

 

[Millet]

I can only see a positive here..check your bees then go back after dark and check the bees again with a garden fork and bag..

 

[For want of a better word]

I can only see a positive here..check your bees then go back after dark and check the bees again with a garden fork and bag..

But if you get caught ... you will have had your chips!!

 

[Millet]

But if you get caught ... you will have had your chips!!

Who gets caught checking on the little darlings..

 

[Eddie_H]

Surely your bees will encounter spraying somewhere within their flight range?

There’s probably loads of fields and crops... or even gardens being sprayed, and there’s no way we know everyone (or when, what. and where they spray) within a bees range.

 

[Poly Hive]

A certain very large scale BF said to me that he had found that shutting in did more harm than the sprays. he no longer does it and nor do I.

All my hives are on the headland of a field that this year is in tatties. The sprayer was in on Friday and there is absolutely no damage to the bees. BUT it has to be kept in mind that not every spray by a long chalk is a nasty, many are now fertilisers.

PH

 

[philipm]

Not sure what they use now for blight but it used to be copper sulphate. I grow a large patch of spuds the bees will use the flowers when there is not much else.

 

[MartinL]

Not sure what they use now for blight but it used to be copper sulphate.

Whatever it is,

it's going to be FUNGICIDE, Not insecticide!

 

[fullframe45]

Sometimes i get over cautious i know,But im going to give it a try and when weather improves ill try my first move.

 

[bobba]

Whatever it is,

it's going to be FUNGICIDE, Not insecticide!

By your logic Agent Orange was a herbicide - so that should not hurt mammals, right?

I have seen plenty of unapproved fungicides kill bees.

Sorry MartinL, it is not my intention to berate you. But its a topic I am well versed in so would like to offer some information that may be of interest.

I know it seems an obvious assumption that herbicides will not harm bees or humans for that matter, but that assumption is in fact wrong. Although herbicides/fungicides are usually less toxic to insects than pesticides, that does not mean they are not toxic at all.

In some cases the active ingredient is harmless but the adjuvant intended to help the fungicide/herbicide stick to leaves can suffocate insects.

Many fungicides and herbicides on the market today will kill insects if sprayed at higher than approved concentrations. So even if the farmer is using a product approved as safe for bees there is always a very small chance too higher concentration could be sprayed by mistake.

All Crop Treatment products, be they herbicide, pesticide or fungicide have to undergo the same testing to ensure they are not harmful to bees and other beneficial insects. The tests are by no means fool proof, as in the case with Neonicotinoids. But to some extent they stop the worst offenders reaching the market.

So if you do find that a product used by a farmer is having a negtive effect on your bees that that is an issue of serious concern. And if proven to be true the product should be removed from the market.

 

[bobba]

PS fluopicolide and propamocarb hydrochloride are the latest greatest from BCS to treat blight.