Limestone County residents press commissioners to delay roadside herbicide spraying after reported bee losses

Residents and beekeepers urged Limestone County elected officials to pause proposed roadside herbicide spraying and reconsider a countywide weed-control plan, saying recent applications coincided with heavy honeybee losses and could harm water and livestock.

At a public comment session, a resident who keeps commercial hives described losing colonies after a utility sprayed near her apiaries and said the losses matched areas near the spray. "If y'all spray these county roads with poison, there may not be a recovery next year," she said, adding she had to re-create colonies in other counties to replace losses. David Hamilton, a Limestone County resident, told the court that herbicide runoff from sprayed bar ditches drains into creeks and stock tanks and could affect residents' livestock and fishing areas. "Those creeks feed your livestock tanks," Hamilton said. Tyre Barden, another local beekeeper, said bees can carry…