The Bees are Buzzing Back! – Wheeler’s Pest Control

Urban Bee Keeping May be the Answer.
Back in 2006 bees started abandoning their colonies and dying off. It was called Colony Collapse Disorder. According to the U.S Department of Agriculture no one really knew what was causing the problem. Most of those bees just disappeared with no bodies left behind to determine what was happening.
I wrote an article earlier that talked about this happening before and no one could explain it then. (READ- BEE COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER-HAVE WE SEEN THIS BEFORE?)
Now the U.S Department of Ag has finished their latest study and found that there was a 23% loss of bees last winter. That still sounds high but that is a drop of 31% from the year before. It’s also below the 10 year average of 29.6%.
Several reasons were given why bees are coming back, just like they did many times before:

1. Bees are naturally nomadic, hives split and swarm and some will just leave an area. This behavior and when it happens hasn’t been nor can it be measured.
Private industry is getting more involved in pushing bee keeping. Bees add $15 billion in value to U.S Agriculture.

2. The U.S, and really globally, urban bee keeping is growing rapidly. It may scare some but maybe necessary. Because rural farming has reduced the natural eco system of bees their health is put at risk. They need a varied diet just like people. When you see farms there are no weeds or other flowering plants or trees, other than the one crop they grow. One plant eco systems are not good for bees. In an urban area there are all different kinds of plants, trees and other flowering plants that bees can forage on. Bees like urban area more.

3. This urban bee keeping is going to be important in the future since we, as humans, areeating into their natural environment. Bee sanctuaries are already being set up in New York City and there is talk about Los Angeles and other large city doing the same doing the same. We have to learn how to coexist with bees.

Sometimes bees have to be exterminated, when their hives are in an area near doors or where people walk, when they are the Africanize type. They must go.
They have their place.
Wheeler’s Pest Control knows what to do if you have a bee control problem. Give us a call if you have a problem.

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