Beekeepers in the Kherson region have been asked to isolate their bees for five days due to locusts

Beekeepers, farmers, and residents of border communities in the Beryslav District of the Kherson Region have been warned about the chemical treatment of locust breeding grounds in the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk Region.

This was reported by the Beryslav District Military Administration.

It is noted that the executive committee of the Zelenodolsk City Council in the Kryvyi Rih District of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast will carry out the treatment of locust breeding sites from 6:00 p.m. on July 3 through July 6, 2026.

To combat the pest, the insecticide-acaricide “Twix” (active ingredients: chlorpyrifos and cypermethrin) will be used in combination with the adhesive “Tandem.” The treatment will be carried out via ground application.

The district military administration emphasized that the product is classified as a Class 1 hazard to bees and is highly toxic. For this reason, it is recommended to restrict bee flight for up to five days, and the safety zone around apiaries should extend up to 10 kilometers.

Since the treatment area borders the Kherson region, beekeepers in the Beryslav district have been urged to take all necessary measures in advance to protect their bees and prevent their death.

The insecticide and acaricide “Twix” is completely banned from use and sale within the European Union.

Its active ingredients—chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl—were banned in the EU due to their high neurotoxicity and risks to human health (particularly their impact on brain development in children) and the environment. The ban took effect in 2020, and these substances were subsequently added to the list of persistent organic pollutants.

 As a reminder, special plant protection measures have been implemented in the Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk regions following the detection of locust outbreaks. At the same time, the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection is warning of the risk of this dangerous pest spreading to the Mykolaiv, Odesa, and Zaporizhzhia regions.

 The locust invasionin Ukraine was first recorded on July 15–20 of last year in the Kushuhum territorial community in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Within the first few days, the pest had already spread across approximately 2,991.6 hectares in the region. Later, locusts were detected in the Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, and Odesa regions. There were also reports of swarms from residents of the Vinnytsia region.

Андрій Колісніченко