Protection Against Poisoning

By products for protecting bees against poisoning we should understand not a medicine or "antidote" that protects bees from pesticides, but equipment that reduces the risk of poisoning, water and food support, materials for temporarily closing and moving hives, and sampling tools for documenting poisoning. There is no known cure for bee poisoning. The most effective protection is a good choice of site, communication with farmers, knowing the spraying calendar and reporting quickly when in doubt.

Is there a "cure" for poisoning?

No. Bees encounter agricultural pesticides on flowers, in water, in spray drift or in residue-laden pollen carried into the hive. The most dangerous group is insecticides; some fungicides can also increase toxicity when used together with insecticides. Once the poison has entered the body, there is no authorised product that can be given in the hive to neutralise it. There is no reliable evidence that feed additives sold with claims such as "detox", "liver support" or "toxin flush" protect bees from pesticides.

So the "products" on this page fall into two groups: tools and practices that prevent exposure, and materials that support the colony and gather evidence after damage has occurred. For symptoms and differential diagnosis, see the Pesticide and Insecticide Poisoning page.

Apiary location: the cheapest protection

Most poisonings result from insecticide applications made during flowering or while flowering weeds are present. When setting up an apiary:

• Do not put hives right next to heavily sprayed orchards and field crops, especially during the spraying season.
• Place hives where wind-borne spray drift will not reach them directly, sheltered in front by a hedge or a screen of plants.
• In migratory beekeeping, find out in advance the planting and spraying calendar around the site.
• Register your apiary in the official registration system and with the local village or neighbourhood administration; you can only hear about spraying announcements if you are registered.

Protective materials that can be used before spraying

When you learn in advance that spraying will take place nearby, your options are:

Moving the hives

The safest way is to move the hives several kilometres away for the duration of the spraying. For this you need hive straps, a ventilated travelling screen (a mesh top) and an entrance closer. The move is made in the evening, after all the bees have returned to the hive.

Closing the hive temporarily

If moving is not possible and the spraying will be brief, in some cases hive entrances can be closed for a short time while the bees are inside. This is a risky practice:

• Do not close the entrance completely with wood; use a mesh closer that bees cannot pass, and provide ventilation from above as well.
• Shade the hive; a colony shut in without air in hot weather can suffocate quickly. Some beekeepers keep the hive cool by covering the top with a wet sack.
• Keep the closure as short as possible; the risk is higher in strong, populous colonies.
• With persistent pesticides (those that remain effective for days), a short closure gives no protection; in that case moving is the only safe option.

A clean water source

Setting up a clean water point near the apiary that is always full reduces the bees' tendency to visit containers where pesticides are mixed, field puddles and droplets on leaves. Put floating pieces of wood, gravel or moss in the water point to stop the bees drowning.

Support and documentation materials after poisoning

Keeping a small "incident kit" in the apiary or in your vehicle makes the work after a poisoning easier:

Residue analysis usually needs hundreds of freshly dead bees; ask the laboratory in advance how many it needs and how they should be sent. Samples of fresh pollen and nectar from the comb should also be kept in separate containers.

Watch your own chemicals

Some poisonings come from inside the apiary. With the products you use yourself:

• Do not apply insecticides, fly sprays or ant powder around the hives.
• Choose hive paints and wood preservatives that are harmless to bees and suitable for hive use; the inside is not painted, and the hive is used only after the paint is completely dry.
• Use varroa treatments only with authorised products and in the amount on the label; an overdose is also poisoning.
• Do not use naphthalene or similar moth repellents in the comb store.

Communicating with farmers: the most effective protection

No material can replace spraying not being done at all, or being done at the right time. So the real protection is communication:

• Get to know the growers around you; share your phone number and the location of your hives so that they can let you know before spraying.
• Ask that insecticides with a bee warning on the label are not used during flowering.
• Ask that spraying is done in the evening, when bees are not flying, and in calm weather, and that flowering weeds under trees and along field edges are mown before spraying.
• Remind them not to leave pesticide containers, leftover mixture and rinse water in the open; bees are drawn to this water too.
• Take part in regional spraying notification schemes through your beekeepers' association.