Choose The Bee-Friendly Pesticides To Help It!
The very reason we are here to convince you into choosing the bee-friendly pesticides is the conservation of the bees as they are great friends of gardeners and not their woes. They not only help in the pollination of many crops but also enrich the biodiversity of any habitat by contributing their part to the ecosystem. Thus, it is important to understand why and how the bees need to be saved from the harmful impacts of commercial pesticides and weed killers and we are going to help you with that.
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Impact of pesticides on bees
Most of the commercial crop treatments contain a compound called Glyphosate that is the prime danger for the bees. There are many ways in which the pesticides can affect the bees like:
- Poisoning through direct consumption from the blooming plants
- Slow toxic spread with time
- Different toxic effect as per the pesticide formulation
- Impact through the insecticide residue
- Low temperatures after pest treatment increase the toxicity
- Passage over the treated crops also affects
- Application time of the pesticide has differing impacts
The toxic compounds sink into the system of the bees and affect their cognitive abilities and the smell sensors. They change the gut microbiome inside the bees and they become insensitive to sugar. The prolongation of this effect continues to harm the bees and they die very soon.
Top organic substances for pest and weed elimination
Organic is the most sustainable choice and we are going to give you a list of some of the great organic alternatives to the commercial pesticides that also acts as bee-friendly pesticides.
Neem oil
The wide uses of neem are known to everyone as it is one of the most versatile vegetation-friendly treatments too. Organic neem oil is highly capable of treating a wide variety of pests and diseases like aphids, mites, powdery mildew, etc. The best part is that it is completely safe for everyone and everything that comes in contact with the oil-treated crop, like bees in this case.
A solution with only 3% neem oil acts powerfully over the pests and weeds without leaving any trace on the crop at all.
Vinegar
The acid that can be your best bee safe weed killer that is completely natural too is Vinegar. The two types of vinegar that we are referring to here are Apple Cider vinegar and White Wine vinegar. There are different solutions that you can make with vinegar for treating weed-
Epsom salt
This great substance is not just one of the great bee-friendly pesticides but also plays the role of being fertilizer for certain crops that need magnesium for good growth like pepper and tomato. Epsom salt is also one of the safest substances that can effectively prevent creeping insects like snails and slugs from visiting the crop. All you need to do is sprinkle this salt at the base of the target plants or spray the salt-water solution on the leaves and wait till you see the entire problem solved in some time.
Pepper, onion, and garlic concoction
Just like the hot flavors and pungency, these condiments add to the food, they affect the insects in a similar way which unlike the effect on us, kills the insects. You can utilize that factor and make the effect even better by making a mix of pepper, onion, and garlic to treat the pests without affecting bees.
Just take an equal amount of chili peppers, onion, and garlic followed by blending them with some water to get a runny paste. Boil this mix for some time and transfer it to a big container after it cools down. Make sure to mix more water in the final solution and then go ahead with spraying it on the target areas.
Essential oils
The pungent and strong fragrance of many essential oils acts as the key deterrent to pests, thus, these become one of the best bee-friendly pesticides to use. Oils from eucalyptus, rosemary, peppermint, and orange are good examples. You can directly apply these oils to the target area or make their solution with water and spray that.
Chrysanthemum
The plant of chrysanthemum is not just a beautiful addition to any garden or homely space but belongs to the group of bee-friendly pesticides too as the natural pest repellant plant. It owes this property to a compound named Pyrethrin that releases itself into the environment naturally to repel the pests from the surrounding plants. You can prepare the Chrysanthemum tea too, cool it down, and spray that on the affected vegetation area.
Castile soap
It’s the original and pure castile soap that can act as a great bee safe weed killer along with being gentle and non-toxic on the plants and other beings. The fatty acids present in this soap with the olive oil base treat the pests just right. You can make a solution with 2% soap, neem oil, pepper, vinegar, or cooking oil and then spray the mix over the target areas.
Beer
If you are visited by the snails and slugs very frequently, then all you need to do is keep a bowl full of beer open near the plants. Wait till morning when you will find the critters lying dead around the beer bowl.
Aluminum foil
This will take a little more effort but the foil works differently in repelling the pests. You can directly wrap the foil pieces to the base stems of the plants or mix them with the mulching base. The pests will get distracted by the light reflections and won’t be able to attack the plants.
Tips and methods to save the bees
Following are some other prevention and precautionary tips on saving the bees from the pesticides along with using bee safe pesticides.
Here are some alternative ways of pest removal:
Conclusion
We hope that you will surely be using bee-friendly pesticides from now onwards and that we were successful in making you understand that bees are not there to harm but only to help. Be aware of the hidden and magnanimous ways these pesticides affect us and other beings and take action wherever possible.
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