Question: I was at my doctorβs office and noticed a guy spraying pesticide on flowering plants with bees. I asked in the doctorβs office and they said the bees were flying around the door and bothering some of the patients as they came and went so they called this guy to spray the bees. Isnβt there another way to fix this besides killing the bees?
Answer:Β Yes, there is a way to fix it. The bees are attracted to nectar and pollen so you must remove the food source or they will return. Unfortunately, what sometimes happens is an uninformed client asks for help from a pesticide applicator that either canβt or isnβt willing to think critically about the situation. In this case, the applicator treated the symptom instead of the problem. He may have killed some bees but more will return later. Hopefully they will not continue to pay this applicator to kill more bees when they return. Pesticide applicators arenβt all this bad. Most applicators are trained to think about the entire landscape as an ecosystem and to watch out for non-target organisms, including beneficial insects like bees. This is a good teaching moment for the doctor office as well. Bees are not aggressive unless defending their home so their presence on flowers doesnβt necessarily equate to a dangerous situation. There are some pesticide applicators that are also beekeepers or at least have knowledge of bees and their behavior. I recommend seeking someone like this to deal with bee problems.Β
Peter L. Warren is the Forest Health Program Coordinator for the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management. Questions, photos and videos may be emailed toΒ tucsongardensage@gmail.com
