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Author Topic: Aerial mosquito spraying  (Read 3334 times)

Offline Andream

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Aerial mosquito spraying
« on: September 10, 2013, 01:37:51 pm »
Hi,
I am new to the forum. I live in southern TX and have 4 hives. One who I have from last year and 2 that I bought as nucs, one then swarmed, thankfully just behind my other hives, sp now I have 4. All are goung strong, with 2 hive bodies filled with brood and honey. My hive from last year has 3 deep hive bodies filled.
Today the county did aerial spraying for mosquitoes, which admittedly are bad. It is a overcast day with on and off rain, so I'hoping that most of my girls stayed home...any thoughts. I was thinking of making some honey B healthy and place on top of the brood boxes in a paper towel. Ideas? Thpughts? Suggestions?
Thanks
Andrea

Offline GSF

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Re: Aerial mosquito spraying
« Reply #1 on: September 10, 2013, 10:35:07 pm »
Welcome! You may want to update your profile and put your location in there. It helps when it comes to area specific questions. Enjoy.
When the law no longer protects you from the corrupt, but protects the corrupt from you - then you know your nation is doomed.

Moots

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Re: Aerial mosquito spraying
« Reply #2 on: September 10, 2013, 10:50:53 pm »
Aerial spraying when needed in our area is only done after dark, needless to say, this is a much preferable option and offers the best possibility of not negatively impacting your bees.  Might be worth you and the other Beeks in your area requesting it.  Other than that, not sure there's much you can do about it.

Good Luck!  :)

Offline OldMech

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Re: Aerial mosquito spraying
« Reply #3 on: September 10, 2013, 10:52:52 pm »
Usually... spraying for Skeeters is non toxic, in that it coats the water/puddles etc with a film that kills the larvae, and even if your bees did go to get water and got the oil on them it would not harm them..
   However.. My information is for Florida, specifically in the keys.. Maybe someone from Texas can verify
39 Hives and growing.  Havent found the end of the comfort zone yet.

Moots

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Re: Aerial mosquito spraying
« Reply #4 on: September 10, 2013, 11:07:30 pm »
Usually... spraying for Skeeters is non toxic, in that it coats the water/puddles etc with a film that kills the larvae, and even if your bees did go to get water and got the oil on them it would not harm them..
   However.. My information is for Florida, specifically in the keys.. Maybe someone from Texas can verify

OldMech,
That may be true for some of the sprays they use, but my understanding is that what they typically use for the truck foggers and aerial spraying will kill bees dead as a door-nail!  As a matter of fact, I know people that have lost hives due to mosquito spraying.  Louisiana has actually started a state wide coordination effort to try and minimize the damage.  Our Parish mosquito spraying department has even come to our bee meetings and requested exact locations of where hives are kept so that they can try and minimize the impact.  For example, they spray at night whenever possible, try to keep a reasonable distance from hives, and take wind direction into account when spraying near a bee yard.

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Aerial mosquito spraying
« Reply #5 on: September 10, 2013, 11:38:03 pm »
Moots,
Our mosquito control group came to meetings also. They try to minimize impact to our bees. I have heard them flying over my place in the early morning and I have never had a problem. I don't worry about now.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline OldMech

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Re: Aerial mosquito spraying
« Reply #6 on: September 11, 2013, 12:00:23 am »
wow.. really?   man if they did that around here bad things would happen. really bad things.. theres some old boys here that take their bees VERY seriously...   I think one of them is around 107 years old....  seriously though....

   We have a state registration. once on that list, our apiary location is recorded, and then NO ONE can spray pesticides anywhere near your hives. I am somewhat surprised this type of registration isnt more common.
39 Hives and growing.  Havent found the end of the comfort zone yet.

Offline Joe D

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Re: Aerial mosquito spraying
« Reply #7 on: September 11, 2013, 12:40:48 am »
Welcome to the forum, Andrea.  Hopefully your bees will be OK.  Southern Texas is a pretty big place.





Joe

Moots

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Re: Aerial mosquito spraying
« Reply #8 on: September 11, 2013, 04:46:54 am »

We have a state registration. once on that list, our apiary location is recorded, and then NO ONE can spray pesticides anywhere near your hives. I am somewhat surprised this type of registration isnt more common.

OldMech,
We do have a state registration in place which they were attempting to use to aid in their spraying plans. Problem was that it just required the Beekeepers address. In many cases these were PO Boxes, or physical addresses to the Beekeepers home, but not necessarily where they kept their bees...not to mention cases of folks having multiple bee yards.

Poor planning and an over site by a governmental entity...Who could have ever seen that coming.  :?  :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Offline OldMech

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Re: Aerial mosquito spraying
« Reply #9 on: September 11, 2013, 10:47:09 am »

We have a state registration. once on that list, our apiary location is recorded, and then NO ONE can spray pesticides anywhere near your hives. I am somewhat surprised this type of registration isnt more common.

OldMech,
We do have a state registration in place which they were attempting to use to aid in their spraying plans. Problem was that it just required the Beekeepers address. In many cases these were PO Boxes, or physical addresses to the Beekeepers home, but not necessarily where they kept their bees...not to mention cases of folks having multiple bee yards.

Poor planning and an over site by a governmental entity...Who could have ever seen that coming.  :?  :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:


   LOL... Cudos for the effort but... really?   Dont waste the money/time if its not going to be done right.... oh yeah, you said govt, sorry.. silly me
  Get all the local clubs together and start complaining. the squeaky wheel gets the oil.
   Our limit for pesticides is a mile I believe..  and despite proven facts, documentation etc etc.. they wont extend that range,  so to make up the difference MANY beekepers register bees (even empty hives) that are further away from their actual apiaries to gain the three mile radius.

39 Hives and growing.  Havent found the end of the comfort zone yet.

Offline Andream

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Re: Aerial mosquito spraying
« Reply #10 on: September 11, 2013, 10:08:51 pm »
Thank you all. I checked the girls out yesterday pm and they seemed to be ok. Will open the hives tomorrow and give them some honey B healthy on a paper towel, figure it can't hurt....
So,  live in Brazoria county about 16 miles south of Houston, if that helps. I was thinking to take some more honey in about 2 weeks or so. 3 of my hives have 3 deep hive bodies on them, the bottom is pretty much full of bood, the top one of honey. One hive has 3 deep hive bodies and they are working on the last one. I was gonna take 2 frames from each hive and leave them with the rest for the winter....too late, too much?
Thanks

Offline greenbtree

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Re: Aerial mosquito spraying
« Reply #11 on: September 13, 2013, 09:30:05 am »
Welcome to the forum!  It is not too late to take honey, just don't take too much.  Weighing the hives is commonly done to check if they have enough.  You can ask around here how much your hives should weigh going into winter for your area, as the farther North you go the more you need to leave them.  You can weigh them by tipping them forward, then shoving a bathroom scale under the back edge and then tipping them back - not perfect, but will give you a good idea.  Experienced beeks can just tell by feel, I'm sure not there yet!  Also you can take honey from one hive if they have extra and give it to another to boost.  ALSO, and this is important, besides having enough honey, they need to have enough bees, as too small a cluster won't be able to generate enough heat.  Again, check what is recommended for your area, here it is tip the second deep back from the first, and if in a few minutes the surfaces are not covered in bees, it is not enough.  That said (and it is always this way in beekeeping, I swear) Russians can often overwinter with smaller cluster sizes.  It is always better to combine and have a healthy hive that you can split come spring than two dead outs.

JC
"Rise again, rise again - though your heart it be broken, or life about to end.  No matter what you've lost, be it a home, a love, a friend, like the Mary Ellen Carter rise again!"

Offline Andream

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Re: Aerial mosquito spraying
« Reply #12 on: September 14, 2013, 11:21:31 am »
Thank you! This is helpful. I was only gonna take one or two frames from each hive. The trick with uncovering the deep hive body, it is helpful....

Offline bonsai

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Re: Aerial mosquito spraying
« Reply #13 on: September 16, 2013, 01:27:27 pm »
I'm right down the road from you in Santa Fe.  Been keeping bees for a few years now and have never had a problem with spraying.  I'm on an irrigation canal so I get hit heavy on both truck and aerial, usually trucks at night and usually predawn aerial sprays. 

I have most of my hives way off the road but one is only about 50'  and never really had any issues.

Offline GSF

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Re: Aerial mosquito spraying
« Reply #14 on: September 16, 2013, 04:00:47 pm »
Welcome
When the law no longer protects you from the corrupt, but protects the corrupt from you - then you know your nation is doomed.

 

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