When we have bees or bugs in or around our house, many of us in the Phoenix area will take bee removal into our own hands and grab a spray bottle of a pesticides that we bought at the store to get rid of them. If this doesn’t solve the problem, our next step may be to call a bee control company that will spray our home and surroundings.

If we kill a bee sitting on a flower, it could die immediately and not return to the hive. In that case no harm is done to the queen and colony. However, sometimes the bee may not be killed immediately. When that happens, this bee will bring the insecticide back to the hive either as contaminated pollen or nectar on its body, thus destroying the entire colony.

Pesticides are substances that we use to eliminate unwanted pests. Bees can definitely be a pest, but bees are also very useful to us humans.

Benefits of Bees

The “New Agriculturist” discusses the benefits of bees: “What if we lived in a world without vegetables, such as carrots, beans, tomatoes or without oilseeds and fruits? All of these depend on bees for pollination. Also, livestock is dependent on plants pollinated by bees. None or our human activity could ever replace the work of bees, but we usually do not realize that. Without bees, many flowering plants fail to set seed and without flowering plants, there is no food for bees.”

Pesticides Found in Honey – Threat to Bees and Humans

In the last few years, wild honey bee populations have decreased to almost 3% of their estimated original population. When pesticides find their way into a colony or beehive, the honey will be contaminated as well.

A UK study found three-quarters of honey produced worldwide contains pesticides that can harm bees and pose a potential health hazard to humans. They called the findings “alarming and a serious environmental concern” with residue levels in honey well below the safe limits for human consumption.

How Can We Reduce Honey Bee Mortality?

GETRIDOFTHINGS.com provides two great tips for the reducing honey bee deaths:

First, apply pesticides in the evening. The website states:

“Many pesticides are extremely toxic to honey bees and other beneficial insects. Honey bees are attracted to blooming flowers of all types. If at all possible do not spray blooms directly with pesticides. If the bloom needs to be sprayed, apply the pesticides in the evening hours. Honey bees forage during daylight hours when the temperatures are above 55-60°F. As the sun begins to set, they return to their hives for the evening. Thus, spraying pesticides in the evening hours can greatly reduce honey bee mortality because the bees are not in the fields.”

Second, it recommends we use pesticides that are not only less toxic but also rapidly degradable:

“Using less toxic pesticides that degrade rapidly is also important in reducing honey bee mortality. Many of the newer pesticides being marketed today have a faster residual time which is the time required to reduce the activity of the chemical to safer levels for bee activity.”

Call The Beehive for Bee and Wasp Removal

If the bees are in your attic or under your roof, they can do damage to your home and should be removed as soon as possible. Call The Beehive for live bee removal. We’ll find them a new home where their colony can continue to thrive. The bees will be able to do the work they’re meant to do: pollinating flowers and plants, as well as producing wholesome and healthy honey.