If you use pesticides and DE read...Bee news!

[GwenFarms]

According to this report things aren't any better this year. I think this is something we should all be aware of and I made an oath last year to no longer use any kind of pesticides around our farm that can be harmful to bees. Remember, most pesicides like DE and Sevin can be taken back to the hives on the bees and can potentially destroy a whole hive. Here is the link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24500059/

 

[greeneggsandham]

Thanks for the information. We are getting bees for the first time this year and the more information we know about the safer you hope our bees will be.

 

[spatcher]

Please remember that DE in and of itself, is NOT a pesticide. Food Grade DE DOES NOT have pesticides in it. You CAN buy DE with pesticides in it but it is not food grade. Bottom line though, any DE will kill bees. No one would take food grade DE themselves if there was even a hint of pesticides in it. Lets not start rumors here!!! Thanx!

 

[Reinbeau]

Quote:
So true, and after my own investigations I can say that using food grade DE and having honeybees is not mutually exclusive. Don't compare food grade DE to Sevin - Sevin is something no one should be using near any food product at all! It definitely killls honeybees dead, as well as many other beneficials. DE that's been used in a coop setting will not harm honeybees so don't worry about it. Sprinkling it around a hive is definitely a no-no.

 

[GwenFarms]

Quote:
I'm not starting a rumor. I've done alot of research on this and any DE will kills bees. DE is an organic pesticide, food grade, or otherwise and will destroy bee hives.

Editing because I just saw Reinbeus post. I wasn't intending to compare sevin to DE in anyway, but, regarding bees, the end result is the same.

I wasn't intending to ruffle any feathers here...I just saw the lastest research results regarding hive health and know that it is discussed alot here. Thought some folks might be interested.

 

[spatcher]

Organic or not food grade DE kills critters "physically", and not because of a chemical reaction.

 

[patandchickens]

As far as I know, DE (including food grade) that is put out where bugs etc will come into contact with it IS A PESTICIDE from a legal standpoint.

http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/What-Is-A-Pesticide.htm

As spatcher says its mode of action is mechanical, not biochemical, but it kills little critters nonetheless.

That said, there are pesticides and there are pesticides. Soap and lysol, for heaven's sake, are pesticides (when used as such); I think most would agree that they are not quite the same sort of thing as, say, DDT

The effect of DE on a bee colony is going to depend heavily on whether it's located somewhere the bees are likely to come into contact with it. Dusted onto flowers, it would be a problem. Under the shavings inside your coop, not so much.

Pat

 

[carousel]

EXACTLY!
DE will harm bees as well as any other insect.

 

[patandchickens]

EXACTLY!
DE will harm bees as well as any other insect.

Only if they come into contact with it.

For most purposes, it needn't be used in such a way that bees would come into contact with it.


Pat​

 

[chickenannie]

From what I understand, DE (diatomaceous earth) is simply finely ground volcanic rock. It's use to kill insects comes from the fact that it is so sharp it cuts the exterior shell of soft shelled insects and I think hard shell insects ingest it and it damages them internally. It's very different from a pesticide. I don't know if it harms bees, but it's helpful to understand that.

Many pesticides act chemically on the nervous systems of a critter.