In my town's newsletter this month, they announced that they're going to be aerially spraying a pesticide to deal with gypsy moth caterpillars. There's supposed to be a town meeting to tell us what pesticide they're using, and when/where the spraying will be done. I hope to raise a concern at the meeting, but my two hives are not going to stop the spraying. I doubt it'll even work...the moths will just come in from outside the spray zone and lay their eggs here, and then the cycle will repeat.
I plan on moving my hives. Even if they don't spray directly over my yard, it'll be close enough. I'm pretty upset.
I guess I should give up on catching any swarms at home?
Is there anyone I can contact to get help stopping this for environmental reasons, or lack of efficacy reasons? I can't imagine that the only things killed will be gypsy moth caterpillars, and our small town doesn't have a lot of resources to waste...if the spraying isn't going to help, and they can be convinced of that, they probably wouldn't waste the money.
Any advice will be appreciated.
Find out what the chemical they are going to spray is. That is the big issue.
More can be done once that information is avaliable
Sincerely,
Brendhan
In spraying this they're likely killing off a good portion of the native pollinators and making their gardens and local plat life more dependent on your hives.
Knowing when they're going to spray will also help. Some bees such as the Blue Mason Bee are only active during spring. A number of others follow this pattern too.
They should only be spraying at night when the insects are home and nesting. Find this out. You may have to cover your hives with a wet sheet for the evening. Here in Sacramento they sprayed for west nile virus a few years ago and killed off many beehives. Hope they know what they are doing.
Annette
They haven't announced the meeting yet, so I don't know what they'll be spraying. I'm not convinced they know what they're doing, it sounds like a desperate attempt to keep the oak trees from being defoliated.
I'll post more when I have some info.
Different sprays have different residue life spans. Some chemicals will disipate in a few hours, others, especially those with anykind of oil in them, can linger for days. Find out the chemical type so you know what to address. Then let everybody yoou can think of know the truth. Those spraying kill more than just the Gypsey Moth. Length of time in the air and on the ground makes a big difference.
A letter to the Editor can do a lot in the way of educating the general public on the fact that bumble and sweet bees are going to be affected big time and if they have a garden they need a beekeeper close by. Good for the pollination business. Also some locales allow a person to opt out if they are using an alternate method. Still the over drift of the spray doesn't recognize property lines. And they often will not let a 100X100 ft lot opt out but will let an acre or more to. Organize it by the block.
Could it be something that only affects the moth?
http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/morgantown/4557/gmoth/
....JP
http://www.mda.state.mn.us/plants/pestmanagement/gmbtk.htm
Biological control claims to only affect moths and certain butterflies in the caterpillar stage at time of spraying. May not be harmful to your bees, Moonshae.
....JP
don't worry if it's BTK. it is used for lots of chomping caterpillar things. tomato worms, gypsy moth, and others. it will not harm your bees. the only reason they even let people know about it is to keep the paranoid types from screaming about the government trying to secretly poison them. :-)
your notice should have said what they were using but i'm sure they'd be happy to tell you if you call.
Those gypsy moths are a pain in the butt. I'm glad you mentioned this. I was wondering if and when it comes time to spray again, if the hives should get sealed up. I wonder if they will be a little more cautious about what they are spraying with what is going on with the colony losses.
Did I hear someone say a wet sheet? Is that best or something else. Around here they are always spraying for something. I have talked to the DEC and they don't want to get involved, all the farmers want to do is bag the ONIONS and head back south. I did not know that onions had so many bugs, sometimes they spray twice a day. The guy that sprays lives 1/4 mile from me and parks his helicopter next to his house??? Tony
NJBA already placed an objection in w/ DEP. There are two chemicals being considered. They are leaning towards a chitin inhibitor which name i CANT RECAL. (imichrod?). Most studies declaring it safe never took into account future generations of insects. In otherwords, did it kill them today or tomorrow, not whether it killed brood ten months from now. The subcommittee research fopund a few articles from europe attcking those studies and expressing conscerns. This article was attached to DEP letter as well. Many of the southern beeks approve of the spraying b/c there was no nectar or pollen after the gypsy moths were done. No forage at all. The real protest from this group is the fact that they only spray near homes, but not w/in state land or other large tracts. This creates a reservoir of eggs for next year. Whole traxcts of forrest were eliminated this end of state. Most of the hardwoods will not survive two years in a row w/ this damage and will be replaced w/ conifers down here. No forage from them. I will try to get a copy of the letter and post it. I(embarrssed) deleted the letter from emails. sorry.
Look at this link
http://nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/pi/prog/gmquestions.html
it liost chem and answers other questions too.
Do Yellow Jackets eat the Caterpillars or are they otherwise over looked.
alright now. I found out some areas are getting sprayed twice w/ B.T. ,a bacteria the caterpillar eats and dies. It will be sprayed arially at low levels. Some areas will be receiving Dimlin, a growth inhibitor, sprayed once. Nonetheless, homeowners can spray larger doses of even more harmful insecticides at higher dosages such as sevin etc. IO will find out if theres anything we should do about protecting our hives from spray.
Bt isn't a problem for bees. It's actually useful to kill wax moths and is certified for that use in Canada and much of Europe. It used to be certified and sold here but they didn't reup the certification. It is safe for bees and people.
Quote from: kathyp on February 07, 2008, 11:47:48 PM
our notice should have said what they were using but i'm sure they'd be happy to tell you if you call.
That's the thing. they aren't telling us until the meeting for public comment. I don't see how the public could prepare to argue against it if they don't have any details until the meeting. I'm going to call to see if I can get any details ahead of time. The fact that they referred to a "pesticide" does not leave me so hopeful that they're using BT.
Nj residents can also register their hives w/ DEP so they will be notified by any spraying done arially in NJ
Also, the NJ beek website will also be listing the letter sent to DEP w/ will contain links and article referances for those who want to see the research on Dimlin the chem being used. I expect it will be posted by weeks end as exec board just approved the letter this wekend.