Category: bees

Upcoming Gardening Events for August 2024

On By durhammastergardenersIn bees, beneficial insects, Common questions, Durham, Durham NC, Garden events, gardening, Gardening information, gardening NC, insects, Learn With Us, pollinators, Uncategorized, Upcoming gardening events

Ask a Master Gardener

(Image credit: Allie Mullin)

The Ask a Master Gardener Program is an opportunity for members of the community to ask questions about gardening and learn more about the NC State Extension Master GardenerSM program. Durham County Master Gardener volunteers are available to provide answers using research-based information about plants and plant problems. They come prepared with a variety of gardening handouts, seeds for planting, and even some games for children!

You’ll find Master Gardener volunteers at the following community events this month ready for your questions:

August 20: Durham Farmer’s Market at Central Park, 8 am-12 Noon and North Durham Farmer’s Market, 12 Noon-4 pm

August 31: South Durham Farmer’s Market, 8 am-12 Noon (now located at Hub RTP, 500 Park Offices Dr., Durham)

Durham Garden Forum (DGF)

Matt Archibald, ISA board certified master arborist at Leaf & Limb, will deliver the DGF’s annual keynote address titled “Nine Ways to Help Heal the Earth” on Tuesday, August 20 at Sarah P. Duke Gardens from 7-8:30pm. Come early from 6-7pm and take part in the plant swap! Free for Durham Garden Forum members and $10 for non-members. Free parking provided for the event. To learn more about DGF and how to become a member, check out their site at https://durhammastergardeners.com/durham-garden-forum/.

Durham County Public Library

(Image Credit: Allie Mullin)

Sprouting Connections Garden Lecture Series: Fall Vegetable Planting with Master Gardener volunteer Monica Mense. Saturday, August 3, 10-11am. Main Library.

Plant Swap (Bring a plant, take a plant). A Master Gardener volunteer will be on hand to answer questions. Saturday, August 17, 2-3pm. Southwest Regional Library.

Please check website. Registration required; spaces limited. https://durhamcountylibrary.libcal.com/calendar?cid=14288&t=d&d=0000-00-00&cal=14288&inc=0

Pollinator Identification Workshop

(Image credit: Melinda Heigel)

Join the NC Wildlife Federation and NC State Extension for a Pollinator Identification Workshop at Briggs Avenue Community Garden in Durham. NC State ecologist Dr. Hannah Levenson will teach participants how to identify various bees and pollinators in preparation for the Great Southeast Pollinator Census 2024 (see below). Saturday, August 3, 9-10:30 am.

This in-person event is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is required. For details, see https://ncwf.org/event/pollinator-identification-workshop/.

Great Southeast Pollinator Census

Created by University of Georgia Extension, this citizen science project is open to all NC residents for participation in counting pollinators in your own yard or community. The event takes place on August 23 and 24 and aims to educate citizens about pollinators, generate useful data, and create more pollinator habitat. For more information on how to take part in this event, including how to count pollinators and report your findings, visit https://gsepc.org.

Article Short Link https://wp.me/p2nIr1-4Q3

Give Bees a Chance

On By durhammastergardenersIn bees, pesticides

by Mark Powers and Karen Lauterbach, Extension Master Gardener Volunteers

Last summer we noted with concern the rapid proliferation of roadside signs advertising spraying to rid yards of mosquitoes and ticks.

givebees
Photo by Mark Powers

We have kept honey bees for several years and shuddered to think of the risks these chemical ‘treatments’ would pose to our hard working bees. Last week, we saw the signs nearby, with one across the street from our hives.

Honey bees face multiple challenges in 2019, the worst being the parasitic varroa mites that invaded North America in 1987. These mites attach to honey bee larvae and adults, drain them of vital fluids, and infect them with destructive viruses. We test and treat for mites on a regular basis to control this blight and keep our hives alive. We don’t need another insult to our honey bees, especially one that is man-made.

There are safe, effective ways to control mosquitoes, such as removing any standing water from your property.  North Carolina State University’s Dr. Michael Waldvogel, an Extension specialist in Entomology and Plant Pathology, points out some of the risks of chemical treatments. Pyrethroid pesticides, he explains, do not selectively eliminate mosquitoes and ticks. They kill all insects, including beneficial species like ladybugs, butterflies, and honey bees. Pesticides may knock down mosquitoes for short periods of time. For some application methods this is measured in hours. Mosquitoes don’t respect property lines, and ticks may return on the hides of passing deer and squirrels soon after a yard is sprayed. The $40 a month for spraying can buy little.

Honey bees forage for their nutrition as far away as three miles during daylight hours while plants are blooming. Spraying during these hours is most hazardous to pollinators. If bees forage on toxin-coated plants, they may not make it home. If they do, they could share chemicals with their hive mates.

An online resource, DriftWatch, aims to inform pesticide sprayers about locations of beehives across North Carolina. Homeowners can view the locations of hives near them, and all beekeepers should be sure to register their hives.

As the weather warms, signs advertising spraying for mosquitoes and ticks will sprout like dandelions. But think before you act. If you use practical and nontoxic pest management strategies, you can avoid sprays that indiscriminately kill the insects in your yard and introduce toxins into your environment. Many of our bugs are helpful.

Give bees a chance.

 

Sources & Further Reading

An article by Dr. Michael Waldvogel describing safe, effective ways to control mosquitoes: https://entomology.ces.ncsu.edu/mosquito-control-around-homes-and-in-communities/

Drift Watch: https://nc.driftwatch.org/map