> I understand the economic justification for killing weeds in an
agricultural setting, but in a bee yard?

I have actually considered pulling a tractor with a brush hog to the
locations but then I decided the herbicide route works best for me.


>Is there an economic reason for it?

Ideally the bees do best with a clear flight path of between 3 feet and some
books say 20 feet out the entrance. Ticks ,chiggers & snakes  is a reason I
want the weeds down. Usually we can wear rubber tall boots and deal with
weeds but this year even the boots sprayed with deet have not kept the
chiggers & ticks at bay.


>The concept of IPM recommends mechanical methods first and hard chemicals
>as a last resort to protect the value of the crop.

In my case the hives are in a holding yard. When time to move into summer
honey producing yards I first drive and look at the areas , check for honey
producing plants and decide which yards and areas to use. Mowing down or
weed eating two foot high weeds is not and easy task *and* not without pest
bites.

Roundup can be sprayed the week before setting the hives and the tall weeds
are on the ground.
I usually make call to most farmers that I am bringing in hives and many
times they will brush hog the area *if* they happen to be using the
equipment on the farm but usually the job falls on us.

>In California beekeepers commonly scrape the bee yards down to bare dirt
>before setting hives out.

With a hive tool ?(kidding Randy!}

 >In the East where I live, there is not much fire danger so often
beekeepers ignore the weeds until the hives are invisible.

Eastern weeds do not burn? (kidding Peter) I can see hiding the hives from
passer bys but working hives in tall weeds and the bees having to crawl up
the front of the hives to lift off is not a method we in the Midwest use.


>Others prefer to keep the weeds down for ease of access, or aesthetic
>reasons. Some use weed wackers, some use mowers, some just tromp 'em down.

Fine for a small yard but weed wacking or mowing (and tromping tall weeds
letting the chiggers now you are in their territory) takes time and time is
money when you keep bees for a living!

>The use of hard chemicals like Ureabor, 2-4 D, etc. seems like overkill.

Adee honey farm uses Ureador big time and 2-4 D is easy to get. I like
Ureador for holding yards as less labor and the most effective of the
products listed.

Story time:
some high weed problems I have had.(not all for sure)

I have driven over a pallet of hives I could not see in sun flowers. Our
herbicide treatment had failed like some peoples deodorant. We knew we had
set a yard of 54 hives but could not see the hives for the weeds. Destroyed
a left front fender and the paint job was only a couple months old. Luckily
the paint matched. My helper hit his head on the roof but only got a knot on
his head.
I called him knot head for awhile until he said he would whip my ___ if I
kept calling him knot head!

Last Thursday night in high weeds the line to my oil pressure gauge at the
engine was pulled off. I saw oil smoke from oil hitting the exhaust and
thought I had blew an engine but when I popped the hood I saw the problem.
No cell phone service so I walked about a  half mile to house to call for
help on a land line.

I went back to the shop and found the part to fix. Went back out and
repaired the line in the field laying in weeds with a flashlight for light.
Returned home around 11 PM.

end story time.

bob

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