North Carolina is a great place to keep bees—not just for its varied nectar sources and hospitable environment but also for the services the state provides for free or nearly free of charge to beekeepers. Here are some services you might find useful:
Apiary Inspections: The NCDA & CS Plant Industry Division provides NC beekeepers with free apiary inspections. Inspections are necessary for those selling queens and bees (packages, nucs, and established colonies) above a certain number, but they’re also for people who want professional advice concerning disease management. This is especially true if you suspect American foulbrood in your apiary!
Fumigation: You may come across some perfectly usable beekeeping equipment from days gone by, and like a good beekeeper, you’re worried about disease (American foulbrood can hang around for 80 years as a spore). You can put your worries aside and get all the woodenware fumigated. NC has one of only two fumigation services in the country, and for a nominal fee, you can get peace-of-mind and help protect you and your neighbor’s bees from infection. This service typically ranges from $0.50 to $1.50 a super depending on size, and in most cases, the inspectors will pick up the equipment at your home.
Apiary Registration: For those living in vast agricultural areas, particularly in the eastern part of the state, you may register your apiary with the NCDA & CS. If your apiary is registered, it becomes the burden of the pesticide applicator to notify you of their intent to spray, by aerial means, pesticides that carry a warning of toxicity to honey bees.
In addition to this, the NCDA & CS provides NC beekeepers with services they may never be aware of but are vitally important. In order to sell bees in NC, beekeepers must have their hives inspected or they must submit appropriate documentation from their state certifying that their apiaries are free from disease. This is important because it limits the importation of disease and protects NC’s bees and beekeepers.
Furthermore, the NCDA & CS acts as an advisor and implementer of policy concerning honey bees in the state. The NCDA & CS has worked toward preparing the state for the arrival, should the day ever come, of Africanized bees. The NCDA & CS has also worked in unison with the NC State Beekeepers Association to preserve and promote NC beekeeping, including the preservation of the above services, which have run the risk of losing funding on several occasions.
June 19, 2009 • Beekeeping
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