A PLEA FROM THE BEES ….& ME

The Bees are asking you, as a land owner, as a gardener, as an inhabitant on this place that we call Earth, to PLEASE, PLEASE stop using the chemicals that are killing her.

Spring is upon our doorstep and we are all getting the itch to get outside, clean up those garden beds, start new beds, clean out old growth from last year’s plants.

My Honey Bees and ALL bees (there are many types) are asking that you NOT spray all those things that you usually spray everywhere to control whatever it might be. Weeds or maybe bugs that you think are harmful, invasive plants (we do have tons of those!!!)

They are asking this because those things that you are spraying are KILLING THEM!! I know this for a fact, numbers do not lie and this past year of 2020 and this current year of 2021 have been the hardest and most deadly year for my bees!!

I am on my 12th year being a Beekeeper and I have never had so many deaths in my apiary!! I have lost 5 out of 8 hives. Those ARE NOT good numbers.

You and so many other ask, “Why are the bees dying?” The answer might be…..you??

What are your garden practices? Do you own a sprayer and fill it with weed killer and spray it everywhere, “just to keep the weeds under control?”

Then you my friend, are part of the problem!!

Bees fly up to 4-5 miles to forage so my losses in my apiary would not necessarily be due to a close neighbor using these products. This fact alone makes it very difficult to determine where the poisoning came from. The bees travel quite a distance. A sustainable farmer friend several miles away says that he sees bee on his crops. It could be another beekeeper’s bees, but it also most certainly are my bees too.

It is well known that any product containing glyphosate is deadly to bees. If they ingest it, it disrupts their gut biome and if brought back to the hive (which face it… that is what bees do!!) can kill the entire colony!!

This glyphosate product is on every store shelf in the United States!! It is sold in our grocery stores, right along side out food!! You will hear some say, “Oh, it is safe to use and goes away after a while.”

NO MY FRIEND…it does not go away. You have heard reports that they are now find glyphosate in the umbilical cords of babies. Yes, REALLY!!

My PLEA to you and the Bee’s PLEA to you….STOP buying and using these products. I will include a recipe for an alternative weed killer so that you can make a transition. I understand as a gardener myself, that things are growing in some of my garden beds that I do not want there. I use this recipe to spray on vegetation the I have just trimmed back.

Is that maybe a little more work for me? Maybe, but I would rather keep my bees alive and you should want that too.

For without our pollinators, our food supplies will be no more. Unless you want to do what China has been reported to do, sending workers out with little bushes to move the pollen from one blossom to another.

I would rather stick with God’s creation, that does it so much more efficiently.

RECIPE FOR WEED KILLER Sprayer filled with white Vinegar – Salt – I used sea salt but regular table salt is fine Depending on the size of container, I usually put a couple of tablespoons per quart. Dish soap – a good squirt – acts as a binder to the weed. Add all contents and shake.  Ready to use. Pretty simple – right?

Queen found dead in bottom of hive
Worker bees – Proboscis protruding from bee’s mouth. Sign of poisoning.

When I went into the hive, I found a couple hundred bees on the bottom along with the Queen. Upon examination of the bees, at least 1/3 of the bees had their tongue (proboscis) protruding from their mouth. This is a known sign that the bee died from being poisoned.

Oh yes, if we are keen to look at things, the bees will tell us!!

Could we please resolve to STOP THE SPRAYING?! For the Bees Sake??

Do you know that most of what humans call weeds are actually the very first food for the bees??? More on that next month.

Namaste”

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