Round-up and bee deaths - Monsanto

I just came across this about glyphosate and it makes interesting and convincing reading.

I’ve been using Slasher in my garden, where I can’t pull weeds. It works fairly well and is certified organic.

Just did a quick Google but it doesn’t claim to have no effect on bees, so have you found it safe to use in an apiary situation?
I use a salt/cleaning vinegar/water solution for weed and SHB control. It needs to be applied liberally but is cost effective and no harm to bees.
Cheers

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If you spray on insects, it will kill them Peter, so of course I do not spray on the hive. It is an acid. However I do notice that it has a smell that insects actually avoid, so bees don’t go on vegetation sprayed with it. It is however my anecdotal evidence only.

Mind you that salt and vinegar solution you are using will also probably kill the bees if you spray on them accidentally. I used to use that and worked very well too, but slasher turns out to be a tad cheaper than the commercial salt/vinegar solution at the recommended rate.

Unfortunately I can only control what chemicals I put on my half acre, and the bees are free to go to any chemically drenched backyard they like…

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Really?

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I disperse the salt/vinegar/water thru a watering can with the rose attached so it is not sprayed but more like a drenching rain right at the level of the weeds, and obviously not put on the bees or the hive. Doing that won’t kill the SHB. As I said I use it for SHB and weed control under and around the hives, I think you have missed my point.
Cheers

Bureaucrats and local government, a combination for complete stupidity and I sighed the petition. I would even send them an email if I thought they could read. Like how can the council not know about Glyphosphate , or are they owned by Monsanto???

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I signed it too. Monsanto is a US company :pensive:

Good on you Eva and yes sadly they are a US company that will sadly poison the world for a profit for their shareholders and a big fat bonus to the executives of the company… Meanwhile our equally corrupt governments will do nothing to help the environment.:face_with_raised_eyebrow:

I use Zwinkle LLC End Weeds. The Natural Way! Vinegar Based Broad Spectrum Herbicide it kills ivy and weeds very quickly, I put it in a pump and spray away.

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Wonder how long it takes to de-weed a few acres with a watering can.
And how does the salt/vinegar solution know what’s a weed and what not? And what about those fields that are oversalinated naturally? Guess you just use vinegar then.
It’s not a fix all recipe and doesn’t replace glyphosate.
That mixture in a watering can sure be a solution for around the hives, but I would not use it on my gardens, where I’m working hard to achieve perfect ph for certain crops in certain areas.
All my gardens are hand weeded.
We even got rid of bindies in our lawns by adding nutrition, rather than poison.
After decades of using round up, people just don’t know any more how to live without it. But it can be done.
Monoculture doesn’t help there. Crop rotation is done, but those huge fields of the same crop are just unnatural and will always require chemicals.
It’s not just round up we should be concerned about, there is worse even found as residue in our food.
Round up is a biggy because it’s used in about every household with just a pot plant.

I’m also against using herbicides which if the bees come in contact with it will kill the bees. A solution of water, salt and vinegar is much better for the environment and will not kill bees – unlike Round-Up, which is also a know carcinogen.:thinking:
Cheers Sharon, Peter

Based on the article, all of my hives should have died 10 years ago yet there they sit, on the edge of a known round-up ready soybean, corn, and wheat field.

It may not have killed them- but I severely doubt it’s done them any good…

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I would say get a lot of friends and wine to do a whole field =) It gets rid of weeds within days, I tried salt soap and vinegar mix and it didn’t do anything. i hand weed garden and use a direct spray for problem areas.

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Very valid points Sharon, I regarded the questions from Webclan as being not relevant and unworthy of an answer from me. :wink::face_with_raised_eyebrow:
Cheers

Really Peter? It seems to me you did answer… No need for this comment mate.
I am a self confessed tree hugger but…
Me, I use a round up equivalent on my block, in my opinion it is the most effective and economical. Pulling weeds by hand only brings seeds up from the sub soil. Of course I spray responsibly as I have bees and as years go by I need to spray less and mulch more on my 4000 squares.
Each to their own and let’s respect that.

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There must be degrees of “tree hugger”. I don’t think a serious tree hugger would use a roundup equivalent to control weeds. I have a HEAP of wandering jew that I intend on pulling by hand in the coming days.

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Interesting on the news in the past week the story about Blacktown City Council in NSW has seen the light about using Round-Up for weed control, I wonder if the number of employees who are suffering medical problems to such a high degree that their insurance company has threatened that they will no longer cover the council if they continue to use round-up. Though Monsanto or Round-Up was not directly named the message was clear about it.
I agree Jeff about there being degrees of hugging a tree but I’m glad the uncontrolled and unnecessary use of poisons to us and our environment is ending.
Cheers

Actually it is now owned by Bayer which makes it European now.

I use roundup around my hives with no problems that I have seen.

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