An aerial mosquito-spraying operation in Dorchester County, South Carolina triggered an ecological disaster when planes rained down the neurotoxin Naled at dawn, instantly killing over 2.5 million honeybees. Implemented to combat Zika-carrying mosquitoes, the county’s first-ever aerial fumigation bypassed standard truck-based protocols and failed to adequately warn local apiaries. Because the planes sprayed between 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. on a hot morning—a peak timeframe when bees leave their hives to forage and cool down—the insects were left completely exposed to the acute pesticide poisoning. Within mere minutes, thriving honeybee sanctuaries like the Flowertown Bee Farm and Supply in Summerville were entirely decimated, leaving despondent beekeepers to describe their chemical-shrouded, carcass-littered properties as looking like they had been “nuked”. 😭
An aerial mosquito-spraying operation in Dorchester County, South…
Create new listing
×
Post an Ad
Discussion
Send a private message
Comments
No bees, no food. I suppose there is a fake food that they would like t osell us in place of the real stuff just in time.
Why are they using something that kills the bees?! Use something natural that won't harm the bees! We have a natural company treat the yard for ticks and mosquitoes and there's no harm done to the wild bees that enjoy all my flowers, especially my sunflowers and wildflower garden.
A lady in our neighborhood posted anonymously to a FB group, celebrating the recent mosquito spray. So many of us were angry, stating that beneficial pollinators could be affected. The lady laughed at us and taunted saying, "it's done. No harm, it's the way it's always been." I told her she was willfully ignorant. Now, seeing this post, I just want to cry! What I feared has happened. Our environment can't take much more!
Although I don’t like what I read here about pesticide spray… I will say that 2.5 million bees is not a massive scale loss. A single bee colony contains an average of … 40,000 bees (probably less this time of year in South Carolina). Possibly 65 colonies total were lost? There are 2.5 million COLONIES of bees in the United States with each containing an average of 40,000 bees. Still …it is a loss for someone….FOR THOSE OF YOU BASHING ME… I AM PUTTING THIS IN PERSPECTIVE…THATS ALL. I already stated I didn’t like pesticide loss and that it was a loss for someone. And yes, I know about bees and pollinators. I am a Sideliner beekeeper for the past 7 years now.
Those idiots! Yes, it killed those mosquitoes but the ones a mile down the road will make their way to wherever was sprayed eventually. Will they spray again and again, showing their stupidity? Instead, encourage mosquito eating hummingbirds, bats, lizards. Plant foliage that repellent mosquitoes. Be proactive and stand up for yourself, our pollinators, your pets...yes it can kill them too, and our environment, our planet.
What about warning the general public...? I'm assuming it's probably not exactly "healthy" for humans either. While it may not kill us instantly, I imagine it's still bad. We may not be allowed to say no, but we should at least be given the option to stay clear. **Side note... as others pointed out... this event happened in 2016... a decade ago. Why are we digging up old dirt, other than for rage bait?*
Odd, maryland just did the same thing or is about to do it i just read. Its very odd that they are waiting this late to do it beings they will start dying off soon as its getting cooler
Mosquito pesticides are usually like... caffeine related I think. I never knew they effected bees like that! 🥺
Time to clamp down on this spraying I'll take an itch over loss of pollinators any time