Sep 11, 20202 min read

How to Protect Bees from Pesticides

Updated: Oct 5, 2023

This is a great question to ask. Many bees die from a combination of poor nutrition, mites, and pesticide exposure every season, every year. There’s room for improvement in the communication about pesticides. Here are some other helpful tips:

Talk about pesticide use with your neighbors and pollination contracts

Start petitions like the Pesticides Action Network to enact legislative changes

Join groups like Fieldwatch.com and HoneyBeeHaven.org

Track publicly available pesticide application data to avoid direct spraying

Buy organic food

Importantly, pesticides remain in the environment long after the spraying occurs. These toxins can still impact the health of your bees days and weeks later. In addition to making sure your bees are getting the proper nutrition and mite control, using probiotics can make a big difference - not only in terms of gut health but also in terms of pesticide toxicity.

Science Can Help with Clean-Up.

The microbes in the soil play an essential role in decomposing pesticides. Did you know that bacteria are used in superfund sites to decontaminate pollutants and pesticides, even to clean up oil spills? Now, in the recent issue of Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology, a probiotic Pediococcus bacteria was found to protect honeybees from pesticide toxicity. There are multiple mechanisms at play - bacteria can clean up the toxins, and bacteria also stimulate honeybees' innate detoxification system. In the end, Pediococcus bacteria has a positive impact on honeybee health, in presence of thiamethoxam and boscalid.

Highlights of the study reported by the authors included:

The honeybee physiology was disturbed by Nosema ceranae and pesticides

Feeding Pediococcus helped honeybees infected by Nosema ceranae

Feeding Pediococcus rescued honeybees from adverse effects of pesticides

How do you keep your bees healthy?

Strong Microbials works diligently to understand how bacteria can help to prevent pesticide damage and restore health and vitality to honeybee colonies.