Protect Your Beehives from Mosquito Spraying

By being proactive, you can help safeguard your bees from pesticide exposure. In areas with heavy spraying, this can represent a major challenge in beehive management.

Dangers to Honey Bees from Mosquito Spraying

Unfortunately, it is not rare to hear of an entire apiary being killed by mosquito spraying. I have heard horror stories of local beekeepers losing hives that were too close to roads being sprayed.

Honey bees are killed by:

• direct exposure in the field
• contamination of resources (nectar/pollen)
• residue on hive surfaces

Foraging bees in the field are exposed to pesticides and insecticides as they work to gather resources needed by the colony. Some don’t make it back to the hive before they die.

Flowers can be contaminated with harmful substances that are taken back to the hive. This causes not only death of adult bees but also large losses of bee brood. This can greatly weaken a colony.

Of course, any toxic chemicals on the landing board of the hive will affect bees that are passing through or cleaning and polishing the hive.

It is not always easy to diagnose the reason for a failing beehive that you might be able to fix.. However, handfuls of dead bees at the front of the hive (and on the ground) is the most common sign of bee pesticide poisoning.

I am not talking about a small number of dead (50-100 or so) – this type of poisoning will cause handfuls of dead.

Types of Insecticides Used in Mosquito Control

The degree of damage done to a colony of bees depends on the specific insecticide used for mosquito control. Some are more toxic than others. Most commonly used chemicals:

• Pyrethroids – Synthetic insecticides commonly used in aerial and ground mosquito spraying. They are highly toxic to bees on contact and can cause immediate paralysis or death. (ex: permethrin and deltamethrin).
• Organophosphates – Less commonly used today, these chemicals disrupt the nervous system of insects but can also severely impact bees. Examples include malathion and naled.

Steps to Protect Your Beehives from Mosquito Spraying

Dangerous insect pests must be controlled, and spraying is a necessary evil in many locations. So, what’s a beekeeper to do to limit negative effects?

• register with local authorities for notification
• in urban areas place hives away from road
• consider moving hives during season if near crops
• covering hives to minimize harm

Place Hives Away From Street

In regions where street spraying or fogging from a truck is common, do not place your bees near the road. Choose a location (if your property allows) as far away from the spray or drift zone as possible.

Temporarily Moving Beehives

Moving your hives to another location may be an option (especially for beekeepers located close to agricultural fields that experience intense but short period treatments).

The hives must be screened at night after all foragers are in and moved to the new location. However, for the average beekeeper this method of protecting beehives from mosquito spraying is not practical.

Covering Your Hives

Covering the hives is one of the most common ways beekeepers protect their hives from spraying. Though it is not always effective, it may be the only option when you know aerial spraying is scheduled. 

1. At dusk, once all the bees are in – cover the hives with wet burlap, cotton, or similar material. This is to keep the bees from foraging and the wet material can assist in helping keep the beehive cool. 

2. Plastic can be draped over the hives if the entrance is closed with wire but you don’t want to overheat your bees – they must be able to ventilate themselves.

3. To ensure the bees stay inside, a screen cover over the entrance can allow some hive ventilation.  And the bees should be released as soon as conditions allow. 

If you live in a very hot region, try to avoid locking bees inside or covering them too tightly. You may end up creating more bee deaths than the spraying. 

On the plus side, some of the mosquito insecticides used dissipate and become less toxic quickly – requiring the beehives to be closed for a shorter period.

4. Some beekeepers create large wire cages (similar to tomato plant cages) that will loosely fit over their hives. These are covered with cotton sheeting material. 

This allows some air to flow through while containing the bees inside the hive with a rolled wire entrance block.

In areas where early morning spraying is done, confining the bees for a few hours may give the chemicals time to become less volatile. Ask local officials what they plan to use as their mosquito insecticide.

Good planning and possibly hive coverings can help save some bee lives. Also, providing a water source for bees that you control is a great way to lessen the chance of them collecting contaminated water.

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Bee-Friendly Alternatives

Municipalities are not the only ones involved in the war against insect pests. You can help reduce problems in your own backyard and help protect bees from mosquito spraying.

• Remove containers of standing water-this is where mosquitos breed
• Use granular pesticides and insecticides instead of sprays where possible
• If you must spray do so late in the evening
• Try mosquito dunks (Bacillus thuringensis israelensis)
• Do not spray pesticides on blooming plants
• When hives are nearby – do not spray on windy days
• be an advocate for pollinators with local agencies
• encourage bats to live nearby – bats eat bees on a very limited basis but they do eat mosquitos.

FAQs

A Final Word

The beekeepers goal to have healthy honey bee colonies involves some things that are out of our control. We must do the best we can to mitigate adverse effects and protect bees from mosquito spraying. The interest of the beekeeper and public agencies can collide over this issue. Still, this necessary service protects public health. 

Additional Resources:

• Pollinator Protections
• National Wildlife Federation