Fertilizer Safe for Bees | Biofeed Solutions (2024)

FAQs

What fertilizer is safe for bees? ›

Fertilizer Safe for Bees are Biofeed Products. Fertilizer Safe for Bees are any product that is designed to only promote growth and has no pesticides or herbicides in them. If a fertilizer contains nothing that kills, then it is safe for bees.

Properly used, both organic and inorganic fertilizers are safe for plants and the environment. The purpose of this guide is to provide general selection and use information for organic fertilizers. See the related guide, Selecting and Using Inorganic Fertilizers for similar information on inorganic products.

Bees contribute to biodiversity by pollinating flowering trees and plants (15.5) and beekeeping can contribute to forest conservation (15.1).

In the United States, more than one-third of all crop production – 90 crops ranging from nuts to berries to flowering vegetables - requires insect pollination. Managed honey bee colonies are our primary pollinators, adding at least $15 billion a year by increasing yields and helping to ensure superior-quality harvests.

b. Spray formulations are usually safer to bees than dusts, but there are differences among spray types. Generally, water soluble formulations are safer than emulsifiable formulations, and fine sprays are less dangerous than coarse sprays.

Studies have shown that synthetic chemicals can harm the bees that are vital to the pollination of plants. New research now indicates that fertilizers disrupt bees' ability to identify flowers, reducing the likelihood of the insects landing on them.

After the fertilizer has been completely absorbed into the soil, yes. It's generally recommended to wait about 24-72 hours after a fertilizer application before letting your kids go back onto the grass and to also ensure your lawn is watered well before the kids go back to playing in the grass.

Examples of natural fertilizers include manure, compost, and minerals. Compost is made from decomposing organic matter such as scraps of food and leaves. Decomposers, such as fungi, bacteria, and worms, help to speed up the decomposing process.

It's for a plethora of reasons — from the rampant use of toxic pesticides to habitat loss. Bees are losing habitat to urban sprawl, plowing up grasslands and prairies for agriculture, and the changing climate. And most agricultural farmland in the U.S. is contaminated year after year with toxic pesticides.

In time we would likely lose all the plants that bees usually naturally pollinate. All the wild animals that eat those plants would also struggle to find food. This plant based food shortage could continue along the food chain and eventually affect almost all living creatures on the planet.

Are bees still endangered? ›

Although we have seen colony losses, honey bees are not at risk of extinction. In fact, it is estimated that there are more honey bees on the planet now than at any time in human history. In contrast, there are more than 3,600 bee species native to North America, some of which are facing a real risk of extinction.

Bee populations in the United States are declining at a rapid, unprecedented rate. Since 2006, commercial beekeepers in the United States have reported honey bee colony loss rates averaging 30 percent each winter — startling, when compared to historical loss rates of 10 to 15 percent.

Go Chemical-Free for Bees

Regardless of which flowers you plant, avoid using pesticides and herbicides. Synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides, and neonicotinoids are harmful to bees, wreaking havoc on their sensitive systems.

Answer: Miracle-Gro Garden Feeder does not contain insecticide therefore should be safe for bees if used as directed. Some blooming plants that have been treated with insecticides may be less attractive to bees over time.

For beekeepers with a small number of colonies, feeding common table sugar is the traditional bee feed. For Winter feed, mix two parts granulated sugar to one part water by either weight or by volume. Heating the mixture will help it go into a more concentrated solution.

Organocide^® BEE SAFE 3-in-1 Garden Spray is an insecticide, miticide and fungicide that has been used in organic gardening for nearly three decades.

Fertilizers change how bumblebees 'see' flowers by changing the electric field that attracts them to pollinate, study finds. Bees leave an electric trace on pollinated flowers, telling other bees the flower is tapped out. A study found fertilizers change that electric field and put bumblebees off from fertilizing.