# Fungicide Spraying During the Day While Bees are Flying



## GageFamilyBeekeeping (Mar 10, 2011)

I stopped by my 30 hives on 15 acres of Strawberries and found the farmer, during the middle of the day, spraying Captan, a Fungicide. I had thought he and I had an understanding that we don't spray anything during the day while the bees are flying. My question to those of you with larger operations or folks who do almonds, do your contracts forbid any daytime spraying or am I just being a big baby


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## SowthEfrikan (Mar 2, 2015)

Watched a documentary just a few years ago and it showed bees being sprayed in almond orchards during the day while the bees were out, _despite_ being asked by beekeepers not to do so.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

Our canola fungicide treatment goes on through out the heart of the day, crop 20% bloom. Im sure there are negative effects from this. My hives are thriving all the same. It is when insecticide is tank mixed is what gets my bees... that does not happen here often.


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## TWall (May 19, 2010)

Captan is described as being relatively non-toxic to honeybees with a contact LD50 of >10 ug/bee. Here is a link to my source: http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/captantech.pdf

Tom


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## stevethebeeman (Mar 27, 2013)

TWall said:


> Captan is described as being relatively non-toxic to honeybees with a contact LD50 of >10 ug/bee. Here is a link to my source: http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/captantech.pdf
> 
> Tom


From what I've seen in my bees the damage is tremendous lost countless cycles of brood its toxic I don't care what they say


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>Captan is described as being relatively non-toxic to honeybees

http://scientificbeekeeping.com/the-future-pesticides-and-fungicides/

Read the section on "Fungicides"


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## camero7 (Sep 21, 2009)

stevethebeeman said:


> From what I've seen in my bees the damage is tremendous lost countless cycles of brood its toxic I don't care what they say


I agree, hives go downhill. 


> My question to those of you with larger operations or folks who do almonds, do your contracts forbid any daytime spraying or am I just being a big baby


Get a written contract that specifies no spraying while the bees are in the field. You're correct to be concerned IMO.


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## B&E (Dec 27, 2011)

Ian said:


> Our canola fungicide treatment goes on through out the heart of the day, crop 20% bloom. Im sure there are negative effects from this. My hives are thriving all the same. It is when insecticide is tank mixed is what gets my bees... that does not happen here often.


Ian, I don't disagree that spraying a field crop with fungicide shows terrible damage on bees, but it is just not the same in an orchard. Firstly, the pressure coming out of a "turbo mist" sprayer is slightly different, as needed to penetrate the canopy. Try putting your face by one of those. 

Our home farm is a plum orchard , and I watch when the crop is sprayed in full bloom with fungicide as every bee in the air is soaked and falls to the mud, not returning to the hive. No matter if it is water,
or chemicals that isn't good. from a grower perspective, it simply doesn't make sense to kill the foragers you have paid for.

We have several growers that only spray fugicides at night while the bees are in their orchards. It just makes sense. 

I actually think the best farmers only spray at night. Not just for the bees, but because there is less drift, or waste due to wind, and no burn due to sun heat.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

B&E said:


> but it is just not the same in an orchard...sprayed in full bloom with fungicide as every bee in the air is soaked


Oh I am sure, I don't discount that at all. But I doubt your making the argument that its the fungicide affecting the bee itself...? Which ever way the flower is treated with the fungicide, I am saying its more so the fungicide affecting the pollen and the fermentation processes...which lead to the countless issues in relation to that.

We spray our fields during the day. Same reason as everyone else, day time is when work is done. I would assume the same for orchard growers.


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## B&E (Dec 27, 2011)

True, but couldn't that change? There are many good grape growers here spraying at night cause they get the best results. Just like you catch chickens at night or move bees at night, because the result is better.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

I cant speak for orchard growers but application of fungicide on our crop show no substantial benefit if applied at night. Our farm has worked throughout the night when ever needed, and I can honestly say we have never sprayed at night. Early moring, dusk, but never at night. 
I know its easy to say, but hard to do.


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## justin (Jun 16, 2007)

the almond pollinators sure seem quiet on this subject. in my limited experience i would say it happens a lot and is factored into the equation. good clean syrup and pollen sub and hope.


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