Natural Beekeeping International Forum

[Mark Young]

A local farmer has been in touch and advised that on Friday he will be using a pesticide called Equidor or perhaps Ecuador. (something like that) and he said its not a very nice one if you are an insect. He is aware my bees are nearby.

So I guess closing my hives up is going to be necessary. I am concerned about the temperature regulation within the hive for an all day closure.

On my TBH I was thinking;
Block the entrance using the fine mesh I have, remove the Varroa draw beneath and expand the space within by adding excessive empty bars to reduce heat build up.

On National Hive
Block entrance using fine mesh, remove Varroa board beneath and add a completely empty brood box above the nest to reduce heat build up.

Any thoughts?

[Dexter's shed]

sounds good, but surely the pesticide will still be around when you let them out, be it in a dried form, most pesticides I use (pest controller) are made to work in their dry form

[Mark Young]

Perhaps so. This is for pears & Apples so once its settled on the trees which are no longer in flower it should be a minimal (relative term) risk to my bees. I was mostly worried about the bees flying through the orchards en route getting caught in the active spraying. I'm surrounded by these orchards on all sides.

Edit* I am tempted to leave a saucer of water in each hive for a drink - That may just be silly though.

[zaunreiter]

Water is a must. Make sure you use either moss or a sponge or something to prevent the bees drowning. Shade the hives. Close up very early in the morning.

Provide fresh water nearby the next days.

[Mark Young]

I have moss so I will put that in the hive soaked with water. I was going to close the hives before the first light.. Thanks for the advice.

Plenty of water nearby as I am lucky enough to have a pond. I will try to find out the pesticide name so I know what I am up against and let you know how it goes.