Reducing harm to honey bees from pesticides PDF (694 kb)

Introduction

Pesticides are used in agriculture, horticulture and forestry to control a wide range of weeds, pests and diseases. Some pesticides, particularly some insecticides, are toxic to bees and are used in situations where bees might be exposed to them.

Persons applying pesticides should adopt practices to minimise risk to honey bees.

Beekeepers operating apiaries in areas where pesticides are used should take steps to protect their bees .

Co-operation and communication amongst all stakeholders is required to prevent damage to apiaries from pesticide applications.

Beekeeper practices to reduce bee poisoning

• Publicise the presence of your apiaries to persons and authorities likely to be applying pesticides:
• • Property owners within bee flight range of your apiaries
  • Contractors (ground and air) applying pesticides in areas around your apiaries
  • Natural Resource Management Board and Local Council.  
• Provide the following information to property owners and contractors:
• • Property name and address
  • Date hives moved onto site and date when they will be moved from site
  • Beekeeper’s contact details, e.g. home phone number, mobile number, fax number, email address.  
• Identify your apiary by displaying a sign containing your name, beekeeper registration number and a phone number where you can be reliably contacted. This will enable you to be contacted if a pesticide application is required. Sign should be located in such a way that the details can be obtained without danger of bee stings.
• Place apiaries in sheltered areas away from crops and fields that are likely to be treated with pesticide.
• Provide apiaries with clean sources of water located away from water sources that may be contaminated during application of pesticides.
• Inspect your apiaries regularly so that any problem from pesticide damage is identified quickly and action can be taken to rehabilitate the apiary.
• Have reserve apiary holding areas a minimum of 7 km from pesticide-treated areas where apiaries can be moved to quickly if required. (Bees can forage up to about 5 km from the hive – 7 km in extreme cases).
• Become familiar with the names of pesticides likely to be applied to crops and fields in the area where you operate. Find out the possible application dates of the pesticides, their contact toxicity and their residual toxicity.
• When an area has been treated with a pesticide, do not move your apiary back to that area until any withholding period has passed and sufficient time has elapsed for any residual toxic effect of the pesticide to diminish to a safe level.
• Maintain contact with property owners and other agencies applying pesticides within foraging range of your apiaries. Discuss crop management programs with pesticide users to identify low toxicity pesticide alternatives and cultural practices that will assist in reducing pesticide damage to your apiaries. Identify periods when apiaries will require relocation to alternative areas and the required elapsed time for safe return.

Pesticide applicator practices to reduce bee poisoning

• Apply pesticides only when needed.
• Follow all label instructions. Any information about risk to bees is usually included in the “Protection of Livestock” section on the label.
• Choose pesticides with the lowest hazard rating for bees, particularly the lowest residual toxic effect.
• Apply pesticides when bees are not actively foraging in the crop. Early morning may be suitable for low-hazard products. For pesticides with a residual toxic effect of a few hours, apply when bees have stopped flying for the day. This is usually in the late afternoon or early evening, but check the apiary for bee activity.
• Be alert for any apiaries, whether notified or not, in the area where each pesticide application is planned.
• Give beekeepers at least 48 hours prior notice of a pesticide application to allow apiaries to be moved from the area. Advise them of the product that will be used and any other relevant management considerations.
• Assess the bee foraging locations to ascertain the level of risk of pesticide damage to apiaries.
• Adopt appropriate measures to ensure that pesticide application or drift does not occur over apiaries or non- target areas where bees may be foraging.
• Do not contaminate water supplies within flying range of apiaries .

Crop grower practices to reduce bee poisoning

• If beekeepers place hives on your property, inform them of any potential pesticide use on your property, and adjacent properties if known.
• Inform contract pesticide applicators operating on your property of the presence and location of apiaries.
• Give beekeepers as much prior notice as possible of a pesticide application on your property. At least 48 hours is required, but generally more. Bees can only be moved at night and under suitable environmental conditions.
• Use buffer zones and buffer plantings to protect non-target crops and native vegetation used by foraging bees.
• Manage buffer zones, headlands, inter-row and cover crops to reduce damage to foraging bees, e.g. mow inter-row cover crops to reduce impact on bees when applying pesticide to target orchard trees.
• Where practical, plan control programs so that pesticides are applied before or after beehives have been in the area.

Further information:

PIRSA Rural Chemicals Program
Phone: (08) 8226 0549
E-mail: PIRSA.Ruralchemicals@state.sa.gov.au
Website: www.pir.sa.gov.au/ruralchem

PIRSA Animal Health (Apiary Adviser)
Phone: (08) 8207 7975 or 0408 812 698
SA Apiarists Association
Phone: (08) 8757 2001
Email: secretary@saaa.org.au

Acknowledgements

Limestone Coast ChemCare Committee convened a workshop on bee safety in August 2006 following occurrences of bee deaths from exposure to insecticides in the Limestone Coast region. This fact sheet communicates the recommendations from that workshop. Much of the material is sourced from the following publication:

Rhodes, John. “Pesticides – reducing damage to honey bees”. NSW DPI Primefact 148. July 2006.

Last update: October, 2007
Author: PIRSA Biosecurity - Rural Chemicals

Disclaimer

Use of the information in this Fact Sheet is at your own risk.  The Department of Primary Industries and Resources and its employees do not warrant or make any representation regarding the use, or results of the use, of the information contained herein in terms of its suitability, correctness, accuracy, reliability, currency or otherwise.  The entire risk of the implementation of the information which has been provided to you is assumed by you.  All liability or responsibility to any person using the information is expressly disclaimed by the Department of Primary Industries and Resources and its employees.