Bee Careful

At PesTecs we are very concerned with declining bee populations. For this reason we have designed our workday around minimizing the negative effects of pesticides on bees.

The State of Connecticut, through the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, puts out a lot of good information on how to protect bees from the effects of pesticide use. PROTECTING HONEY BEES FROM PESTICIDE POISONING by ROGER G. ADAMS and CANDACE BARTHOLOMEW gives the following guidance, “Apply pesticides when bees are not actively foraging. Honey bees are active primarily during the morning and early afternoon. Many pesticides can be effectively applied in the late afternoon or evening with relative safety to bees.”

And even the pesticide companies agree with this approach… Bifenthrin is the active ingredient in Talstar, a common insecticide used in mosquito and tick treatment programs. Bifenthrin, a Pyrethoid, is a chemical that is widely used in a variety of pest management applications. The Talstar label says with respect to mosquito management, “For best results apply when the mosquitoes are most active. Application during the cooler hours of the night or early morning is recommended.”

So ask yourself, why would any pest control company treat your yard in ways that are not recommended by even the companies that manufacture these chemicals? Because it’s easier and more convenient.

But at PesTecs our workday for outdoor broadcast pesticide applications begins in the early evening and goes until the work is done. Our later work day is safer for bees at the time of treatment, and is more effective on mosquitoes, which are active in the evening, which means we can achieve the same results with fewer applications.

As new products and recommendations come along we will continue to research and use best-practices.