Bees are one of the important organisms on the planet. They are responsible for a large portion of plant fertilization, and without them, plants do not do very well. Many who have a healthy lawn must use fertilizers to maintain it, but how does that affect bees? Does lawn fertilizer hurt bees?
Organic lawn fertilizers and fertilizers without any pesticides are safe for bees and will not hurt them. Fertilizers that contain pesticides will hurt bees, and those with herbicides may hurt bees indirectly. Most lawn fertilizers will not hurt bees at all.
Lawn fertilizers are targeted at promoting the growth of grass, and unless they contain pesticides, they are relatively harmless. Let’s discuss lawn fertilizers and their effect on local bee populations.
Does Lawn Fertilizer Hurt Bees?
There are two main types of fertilizers: chemical-based fertilizers and organic fertilizers. While some may state that organic fertilizers are safe for all insects and chemical fertilizers will hurt them, this may not always be the case.
The fertilizers that are typically used on laws are not designed to do anything except promote the growth of the grass that it is applied to. This means that they do not usually have any impact on any nearby animal life.
This means that the majority of lawn fertilizers are safe for bees and will not hurt them.
However, there are some lawn fertilizers that will hurt bees, and may severely impact their habitats, and starve them of food which will cause them to either die or move out of the area.
To ensure that lawn fertilizer is safe for bees, it is very important to be sure that any fertilizer that is used on a lawn specifically states that it is not harmful to animals or insects.
Commercial fertilizers must undergo a process of testing to determine whether or not they are harmful to insects such as bees, and the findings of these processes are clearly available to the public, so be sure to check if your fertilizer is safe for bees or not before using it.
There are plenty of fertilizers available that are bee-friendly, and there are a handful of them that are incredibly harmful to bees, but for the most part, if there are bees in your area, it is safe to say that any fertilizer that has been used so far has not affected them much.
Most lawn fertilizers will not hurt bees at all, but there are some that do. Let us look closer at the types of lawn fertilizers that are safe for bees and those that are not.
Which Lawn Fertilizers Do Hurt Bees?
The two types of lawn fertilizers, organic and chemical, are usually grouped into “safe” and “unsafe” for bees. Many believe that organic fertilizers are safe for bees, while chemical fertilizers are harmful to bees, but this is not always the case.
There are many organic fertilizers that are harmful to bees, and some of them may even be more harmful than chemical fertilizers.
It is true that chemical fertilizers are more likely to have a negative environmental impact and are therefore more likely to hurt bees, but not all of them do.
Some organic fertilizers contain heavy metals that are more damaging to bees than chemical pesticides. They are good deterrents for other animals and may even help plants grow, but heavy metals are particularly harmful to bees.
At the end of it, any lawn fertilizer, whether organic or chemical, that contains any form of herbicide or pesticide will hurt bees in one way or another.
Lawn fertilizers that contain pesticides will directly hurt bees and will potentially kill them off before they even manage to move out of the area.
Herbicidal lawn fertilizers will hurt bees indirectly but damaging the growth of flowering plants. A plot of green lawn is a desert of no food for a bee, and thus the fertilizers that kill off flowering plants deprive bees of food over time.
All fertilizers that are intended to remove something from the environment rather than just cause growth are harmful to bees in some way. If there are bees in your area that must be preserved, it is best to avoid them.
Which Lawn Fertilizers Are Safe For Bees?
We have established that there are lawn fertilizers that are harmful to bees that are both organic and chemical, but which lawn fertilizers are safe for bees?
The truth is, any fertilizer that is designed to only promote growth and has no pesticides or herbicides in them are entirely safe for bees.
Whether the lawn fertilizer is chemical-based or organic, if it contains nothing that kills, then it is safe for bees.
Bees are particularly sensitive to heavy metals such as copper sulfate, so it is best to steer away from any fertilizers that contain metals as well.
Most lawn fertilizers have been certified to be safe for bees, so it best to search for a fertilizer that bears this certification to ensure that any fertilizers that you use will not harm bees in any way.
These fertilizers may not be as simple to use as other fertilizers, but the extra effort to maintain the lawn is worth the fact that the bees in the area will be unaffected. A thriving bee population is far more beneficial to your garden than a flower-free lawn.
Comclusion
Lawn fertilizers that contain herbicides or pesticides are not safe for bees. Pesticides will hurt bees directly, while herbicides will harm the environment that bees require to survive, hurting them over time.
Most lawn fertilizers do not hurt bees, but there are some that do, so it is vital to find one that will not cause any harm to them if you want to help preserve the bee population.
If the lawn fertilizer that you are using is pesticide and herbicide-free, organic, and free of any other chemicals that may harm insects, such as those that contain heavy metals, then it is safe for use around bees and will not harm them in any way!
References
Recent Posts
All plants have necessary requirements which help them to grow. Without sunlight, water, fresh air, the correct temperature, and essential nutrients, plants would not thrive. Combine these factors...
Keeping a well-manicured lawn and a tidy garden does take hard work and regular maintenance. Having the correct tools to use for the job at hand makes the job easier. Knowing when and how to use the...