Honey Bee and EEE Pesticide Spraying

Great Lakes Bee Supply recommends, to all beekeepers in Southwest Michigan and those affected in other counties, that starting no later than 7pm Sunday Sept. 29th, 2019 , all beekeepers put an entrance reducer on their hive and block the bees into the hive for the duration of the spraying.

(The map shows areas covered in blue where aerial spraying is to take place. If you are in or near these areas, take precautions)

Furthermore, we recommend leaving your bees blocked in the hive for at least 12 more hours after all spraying has stopped. If you are concerned about food or water supplies during this time, add water or sugar water to your hive.

The residual effects of this pesticide are unclear, so we would also recommend that you pull any honey you wish to process and consume for the 2019 season, from your hive before the spraying begins. We would NOT recommend eating any honey from your hive after the spraying has occurred for the rest of the year.

Lastly, to further reduce losses, we recommend putting a boardman feeder or other type of feeder, with CLEAN water inside your hive for the next week at minimum. Access to clean, uncontaminated water will be crucial and providing water inside the hive will help reduce the chances the bees will seek out other water sources.

This spraying WILL kill honey bees, butterflies and other insects. “The pesticide product can be toxic to honeybees or butterflies” said Laura McGowan, spokesperson for Clarke.

Please take precautions and use your best judgments, the state is spraying a poison broadly into the air. There will be drift, run off and residue. Please try to safeguard your pets, honeybees and yourselves.

Please do your research and actively watch for updates about the spraying areas and schedule changes. They may change due to weather, so you may need to change your schedule for blocking your bees in the hives, etc.