12 Ways You Can Help the Bees

Pollinators are a natural resource. They move pollen within and between flowers. Bees, bats, beetles, birds, butterflies, moths, wasps and other insects are all pollinators. We need them for 90% of flowering plants and one third of human food crops.

About one third of the food we eat is dependent on pollinators. Crop growers regularly contract honey bee keepers to bring in their bees when crops that require pollination are in bloom.

As you know the number of honey and native bees has significantly decreased in our environment. Ongoing research shows links between pesticide exposure and decline in the bee population. Knowing this we can help bees and other pollinators succeed by practicing pollinator friendly pest control.

Become familiar with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as a means of controlling insects. You can use pest control products if you must, but it is critical to do so prudently.

1. Don’t apply pesticides during bloom time to ornamental plants that attract bees.

2. Apply pesticides only after flower petals have waned and dropped (bees are attracted to blue, purple and yellow flowers). This reduces the opportunity for bees to encounter pesticides.

3. Look for the EPA signal word on pesticide labels to determine the products’ general toxicity. DANGER-POISON accompanied by a skull and cross bones indicates an extremely toxic compound. DANGER designates a skin and eye irritant. WARNING tells you a product is very toxic. CAUTION marks a moderately or slightly toxic chemical. Choose a product that is least toxic to bees and follow all precautions as directed on the label.

4. Read the active ingredients listed on a pesticide label to determine whether the product contains chemicals in the neonicotinoid class. Look particularly for clothianidin, dinotefuran, imidacloprid (one of the most used insecticides in the world) and thiamethoxam. These chemicals can be highly toxic to bees for several days after application. Use such products only after flowers have fallen off.

5. Neonicotinoid chemicals used as a soil drench or by tree injection may contaminate nectar and pollen for several years after application. If you must use a drench or tree injection, use the lowest effective dosage after flower petals have fallen off. Choose the product with the shortest persistence that still controls the pest.

6. Choose low hazard formulations. Some increase the chance of pollinator exposure. Wettable powder, flowable and microencapsulated forms of insecticides are hazardous to bees. Dusts pose more risk than liquids. Granular formulations generally are not dangerous to honey bees.

7. Pesticides in the neonicotinoid class pose a risk to bees and other pollinating insects. When buying ornamental plants that attract bees select plants that have not been grown with neonicotinoids. Some plants are labeled. Otherwise, ask the nursery owner.

8. Choose a product with short residual toxicity. Pesticide degradation or half-life is an important consideration with regard to bee safety. Certain pesticides when applied in the evening should be safe for pollenating insects the next morning. However, be aware that low nighttime temperatures or heavy dew can slow the degradation rate of a pesticide and thereby extended residual toxicity.

9. Look around. Do not apply pesticides when bees are flying about or foraging in your garden. Bees are inactive in the garden from one hour after sunset until two hours before sunrise, or when the temperature is below 55 F.

10. Apply pesticides in the evening or early in the morning (8 PM until 8 AM) when bees are not foraging. Follow precautions listed on the product label with regard to bee safety.

11. Bees need water. A bird bath or other source of water will can attract them. Be careful not to contaminate the water with pesticides.

12. Remember that weeds flower and attract pollinators, too. Take the same precautions when using an herbicide that you do with an insecticide. Don’t apply when pollinators are foraging.

Learn more. Google/search Clemson hgic Integrated Pest Management. Go to www.pesticidestewardship.org. Call the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) at 1-800-858-7378 with specific questions or Google/search NPIC online.

Put a little more buzz in your yard with pollinator safe practices.

This story was originally published July 15, 2016 at 1:24 PM with the headline "12 Ways You Can Help the Bees."