My neighbor just told me he wants to get rid of the clover in his pasture and will be spraying this Spring. Should I try to keep my bees in their hives on that day or is this something I even need to be concerned about? I'm hoping he will spray early in spring, before it starts blooming, so maybe it won't be a big problem. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.
(Ya, I know, my bees love the clover, but I'm keeping mine, and I'm not going to spray the dandilions in my yard to make up for it :-D)
-Mike
if he sprays before the bloom it should not be a problem. ask him to let you know when he's spraying and you can close the hives the night before. hopefully he'll do it in the morning and it will dry quickly.
agreed -- and, if it were me, i wouldn't necessarily trust that he would remember to call. i'd prob try and nail him down on what date he was gonna do the application.
He is a pretty good guy, I will try to get the date of spraying nailed down so I can try to block up the entrances for a day. Shouldn't the residue evaporate within a day or so?
Rather than try to pin him down on a date I think I'd just ask what he's spraying. Herbacide and pesticide are two different things. If he's spraying roundup while nothing is in bloom, you're probably doing more damage by closing the entrances for a few days than he is by spraying.
I will find out exactly what he is using and when, but I know it will be a herbicide, not a pesticide. Also, it will not be Round-up, because he just wants to kill the broadleafs. The last time he spayed (before I had bees), he used a product called "Redeem R&P" by Dow and I'm pretty sure that is what he will use (he just wants to knock down the Clover and Knapweed). According to the website: Active Ingredient: clopyralid + triclopyr amine. Thanks for the input.
-Mike