Save our bees...

It seems that Angela Leadsome is to keep the ban on pesticides that kill our bees.
THAT was a good petition to sign

 

I'm all for saving bees and all kinds of wildlife.

But cant understand one thing about pesticides.
Why is it only since the, so called, dangerous pesticides of the 60s and 70s have been phased out have we had this problem of pesticides killing bees.
Bees were everywhere a few years ago.
We are led to believe the modern pesticides are safer, but at the same time we have reports of them killing bees, it dont really add up to me and someone is telling a whole lot of porkies.

Where I work is a commercial apple and pear orchard, and bee hives are introduced in order to help pollination, now they spray regularly against various pests and fungal attacks.
No bee keeper is going to put his bees in a place like that if they were to be killed by spraying.

As I say, nothing adds up.

 

Yes, really, I cant buy Malathion anymore or Nimrod T, or the one that was good on aphids but didn't kill ladybirds, forgotten the name it was a long time ago.
Benlate was a good fungicide.

All the stuff we buy now is pretty ineffective, which means we repeat spray much more.

As to what the farmers are using, god knows, but I'm sure most of the stuff they have is pretty effective,.............. at the moment.

 

Very thought provoking Pete. Seems you must be in the same neck of the woods as me. This subject is one that makes me want to investigate a thing or two. There is a bee keeper in our local orchards - think I might go have a chat, maybe learn more.

I understand that some kind of mite was attacking some of our bees, but have not actually followed the subject up...

 

Well the numbers of bees here have drop and so have birds, some farmers around here have now started to spray fields which they never used to sprays before, one has just sprayed all he's danelions off, but the danelions were in full flower, now the spray has work they have all seeded, so that was a waste of time and money but the ones that the sprayer missed are still in flower

Doing things at the right time is best as you don't have to do it again later

If things are made to kill then they will kill

 

In the past I used to spray against bugs in the garden but then a few days later found dead bumble bees on the drive at odd times and I felt so guilty that I stopped using sprays,but then read on line a few weeks later that the life cycle of the bees is quiet short so perhaps I hadn't nuked them after all.The only time I spray now is when there are greenfly on my greenhouse plants as I can't see birds flying into my greenhouse to feed on greenfly as this time of the year we have the door and windows shut anyway

Being housebound though these last five weeks and at other times I have been watching male and female sparrows and the odd Blue tit coming to feed on the greenfly on one of my roses by my garden gate so they are doing a cracking job of keeping the pests down and they are getting some much needed protein

 

Talking of which I saw these house sparrows last night feeding on my rose aphids and then just managed to catch a quick glimpse of a blue tit down in my flowers looking for a tasty morsel yesterday

 

Can you provide more info on this Tetters? What is it referring to? neonotinoids? If so this is very good news. A link would be helpful. I googled but couldn't find anything . Neonics are very harmful to bees and other pollinating insects. It is my understanding that it is applied as a seed dressing and not a substance applied during the growing phase by farmers.

This is a specific topical discussion and an important one. I think bringing up general pesticides/fungicides is a distraction from the problem of neonics.

 

Only just found this thread Tetley. Very pleased, as was concerned majorly when I saw us vote to leave the EU. However, does this still apply as Leadsom is the leader of the commons now and not Environmental sec?

 

Although My personal concerns for wildlife are very genuine and sincere, I cannot even try to pretend to know the ins and outs of pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides or any other 'cides' there might be. As for politics, even the politicians struggle to understand, or at least make us believe they understand what it`s all about......so when it comes down to basics, I really just try to take care of my own little corner whilst I am able. I noticed a plant today smothered with black fly, and thought ''jolly good - dinner there for someone''

When it comes to leaving the EU, why be so majorly concerned? We are just as able to think for ourselves in the United Kingdom, and make rules and regulations to follow. It seems like you are saying that we kill everything, and we need some dictator in Brussels to give us a smack and tell us how naughty we are.