Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Help honeybees in Idaho this year



    Most people are aware that bees are in peril. Between parasitic mites, viruses, pesticides and a lack of good forage, bees are struggling, and since our food supply depends on bees to a large degree, it is in the best interest for everyone to do what we can, individually, to assist them.
    Many hobby beekeepers have started up in recent years to help “save the bees”, and while it is a noble theme, improvement can only come from a total public effort. While mites and bee viruses can be fought though improved hive management, better forage for bees can be increased by anyone. Even small yards can support a few bee plants, while those with large yards could devote a large bed. Farmers could make a huge difference if they were to leave just one corner of a field or fence line unsprayed, and scatter flower seeds on those spots. While the mindset is to spray weeds with weed killer, those blooms provide a variety in the bee diet, which equates to better nutrition, so the spot back of the shed, or the fence row that usually gets denuded, can play a very important role in helping bees survive.
    Bee-friendly seed mixtures are readily available. Whether you use seeds or purchased plants, bees will benefit most from later-blooming varieties like asters, salvia, mint and sage, as late summer is when bees have less food available, since we live in a desert, and the nectar flow has fallen off by then.
    Spraying of pesticides seems normal these days. We all fight bugs somehow. If you read the label before you purchase pesticide, it will indicate how toxic it is to bees. Choosing the mildest poison in the smallest quantity that will work is the best policy both for bees and your pocket book. If you care about bees, never spray pesticides in the middle of the day. For yard and garden, there are organic methods that will work well, but if you are going to spray bugs anyway, spraying in late evening is the best policy. The bees have pretty much gone to bed, and it gives the pesticide several hours to break down before bees begin to forage again. If you spray in the daylight, pesticide-laden pollen is brought back to the hive and fed to the young. So we all can play a role—the beekeeper by using best management practices, and the property owner growing bee forage, and using common sense with chemicals.
    When bee habitat improves, we all benefit with increased farm production and gardens that show significant improvement, so let’s work together.
Frank Grover
Boise beekeepe




About Comments

Comments with content that seeks to incite or inflame may be removed.

Comments that are in ALL CAPS may be removed.

Comments that are off-topic or that include profanity or personal attacks, libelous or other inappropriate material may be removed from the site. Entries that are unsigned or contain signatures by someone other than the actual author may be removed. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or any other policies governing this site. Use of this system denotes full acceptance of these conditions. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.

The comments below are from the readers of mtexpress.com and in no way represent the views of Express Publishing, Inc.

You may flag individual comments. You may also report an inappropriate or offensive comment by clicking here.

Flagging Comments: Flagging a comment tells a site administrator that a comment is inappropriate. You can find the flag option by pointing the mouse over the comment and clicking the 'Flag' link.

Flagging a comment is only counted once per person, and you won't need to do it multiple times.

Proper Flagging Guidelines: Every site has a different commenting policy - be sure to review the policy for this site before flagging comments. In general these types of comments should be flagged:

  • Spam
  • Ones violating this site's commenting policy
  • Clearly unrelated
  • Personal attacks on others
Comments should not be flagged for:
  • Disagreeing with the content
  • Being in a dispute with the commenter

Popular Comment Threads



 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.