From: [log in to unmask] (Bill Mares): << My five hives are about to be surrounded by an 18-hole golf course. Should I move them for fear of pesticide/herbicide applications? Any advice or experience is welcome.>> First I would like to caution you about "running" because a pesticide may be used. As long as we beekeepers keep running, the territory which is "safe" for us keeps on closing down. Eventually, there will be no place to go. I have run from pesticides in the past; they followed me, and I can no longer run. Secondly, herbicides will not hurt bees directly, though they do reduce the food supply. Thirdly, and most important, you must keep in mind that no significant damage will occur to you unless the applicator breaks the law. Materials (insecticides) that are hazardous to bees have prohibitions on the label which protect the bees *As They Forage.* It is important that you get that distinction, and that the pesticide applicator gets that distinction. There is no prohibition against application over the beehives. But applications on flowers that bees are visiting are illegal. And that is where the damage typically occurs. This means the applicator has a responsibility to check to see if bees are foraging, before he applies any chemical with bee directions on the label. The label directions are the law for that particular chemical. If there are bee directions; if there is bloom in the area; and if he doesn't check bee activity; he is negligent. You would be wise to do some preparatory work here with the groundskeeper at the course. In so doing you will alert him to the presence of bees nearby, and that you know the pesticide laws. Without being nasty, you should be assertive enough to let him know that he cannot kill the bees or he will be liable. If the course is kept entirely in grassed sod, with no broadleaf plants at all, you will not have any problem. The bees will not be present in the area, since there is no feed for them. The problem occurs if there is clover in the grass seed mixture. This, of course will not be on the greens, but may be in some outlying areas. When the clover blooms, insecticide applications will kill bees, because they will be coming to the clover. This is where your applicator is responsible to check, to see if there is clover bloom. At this point, he has two choices to comply with the law. He can apply a non-residual material (the label makes it clear whether it is toxic by direct contact only, or by residual action, too), during the times when bees are not actually visiting the flowers. Or he can get rid of the flowers, by herbicides or by close mowing just before insecticide applications. Another problem which can occur, is not exclusive to golf courses, but the country clubbers can usually get a high level of mosquito spraying in the area, because they have pull. Make sure the vector control folks have the same clear understanding. There are many non-residual mosquito control materials, so timing the applications for after the bees are done foraging, or before they start foraging will comply with the label law. I monitor pesticide applications with a camcorder. This can show if bloom is in the treatement area, and if bees were foraging. Applicators are starting to get the message, that they have to obey the law. They cannot apply insecticides while bees are visiting the flowers. Get copies of the labels of all the materials that could be used. Read the bee directions carefully. Know them backwards and forwards. Then you can stand up, when you encounter applicators who have strange ideas, and enforcers who don't want to enforce. A common approach is to call you and demand that you "protect" the bees, so that he can spray. If you call in sick at work, and drop everything else to go babysit your bees, so that he can spray in violation of the label, then SHAME on you! You just make it harder for anyone to get universal protection for all bees. Point out that the label directions list bees under "Environmental Hazards," which recognizes them as an environmental resource - our pollinators. Thus the label refers to all bees, not just kept honeybees. The label protects bumblebees, wild honeybees, solitary bees. And it is the applicators responsibility to obey the label, not yours to run everytime he calls. I could run a hundred miles to answer such a call. When I get there, the weather changes, the wind comes up and the spray is postponed. I wind up sitting in a motel, waiting....... Or I move bees away from one application, and get hit by another in the new site......... It is a bit of a nuisance to the pesticide applicator because he actually has to LEARN a bit about bees, and he has to TIME his applications. But the only way bees will be protected is if he OBEYS the law. Bill, we beekeepers have got to stand up. -Not to be nasty, but to protect one of the most important environmental resources we have. Hold your head up and be a man. You have a charge to keep. [log in to unmask] Dave Green, PO Box 1200, Hemingway, SC 29554 (Dave & Jan's Pollination Service, Pot o'Gold Honey Co.) Practical Pollination Home Page Dave & Janice Green http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html Jan's Sweetness and Light Varietal Honeys and Gift Sets http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm