By Matthew Strickland
North Carolina Cooperative Extension-Bladen County Center
Mosquito hatch season is approaching, and it’s strongly recommended that beekeepers in Bladen County register their hives with BeeCheck. BeeCheck is an online mapping registry for beekeepers. It allows beekeepers to map the locations of their apiaries and provide contact information. There is no minimum or maximum number of beehives that can be placed on the site.
BeeCheck is for hobbyists, sideliners, and commercial beekeepers alike. The site can be found at www.beecheck.org. From there, beekeepers can create an account to access the map and then add their location to the registry.
BeeCheck is a voluntary communication tool that enables beekeepers and pesticide applicators to work together to protect apiaries through the use of the BeeCheck mapping program. It is not a substitute for any state regulatory requirements. Applicators must follow the recommendations on the chemical label of any products that they will be applying.
If you are an applicator that will be spraying pesticides and would need to access the map of registered apiaries or sensitive crops, you would access DriftWatch and access the FieldWatch Map.
The site is a voluntary communication tool that enables crop producers, beekeepers, and pesticide applicators to work together to protect specialty crops and apiaries through use of mapping programs. It is not a substitute for any state regulatory requirements.
The applicator will be able to search the area near the intended application site to determine if there are any sensitive crops or beehives and make adjustments to the planned application if necessary. The applicator will be able to see any notes or contact information the specialty crop producer or beekeeper may have made available on the registry. To access the map, follow the link: https://driftwatch.org/map.
Applicators (commercial or government municipalities) are required to give apiaries notification not less than 48 hours, nor more than 10 days prior to the beginning of a single application or a seasonal spray schedule, giving the approximate time of day of application and type of pesticide used if they are going to be within a mile of apiaries by ground or two miles by air.
If you need assistance registering your apiary, you can either contact BeeCheck by emailing support@fieldwatch.com, or Bladen County Cooperative Extension by calling 910-862-4591.
Author: Sonny Jones
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