Bees are quite sensitive to insecticides and most importantly, subject to more exposure to insecticides based on  how they behave. Any insect which is mobile and typically likes to land on plants all day long is a prime candidate for some kind of toxin exposure. Compared to other insects like Cave Crickets which live and thrive in dark caverns away from the sun, people and other extreme influences, it's amazing bees, wasps and other social insects are able to live more than a day in our dangerous world. With this in mind, anyone that keeps or cares about bees should make an effort to decrease the liklihood of exposing them to undue levels of pesticide. And one way to do this is to use products which don't last long after they're applied.

The product you inquired about is in fact one such product. Certified for organic gardening, MP INSECT KILLER has a short life span. It has just 1 day to harvest which means it's pretty much gone in a day of being applied. Having a "1 day to harvest" means in one day, crops which have been sprayed with it are suitable for human consumption. Such labeling is only extended to products which break down rapidly. By dissipating rapidly, there is less chance of a toxic exposure to non-target insects like bees since the product isn't effectively hanging around killing everything that lands on it. The mindset here is you're spraying a target insect you see and know about; a good effort on your part should eliminate the real targeted insect and then afterward, within a day, the product used will be gone and the plant can go back to as it was prior to being sprayed. The big plus is that the targeted insect is now gone so that in theory, the plant should benefit (assuming the targeted insect was targeted because it was doing some kind of damage). Plants treated with long lasting residuals can in fact impact hundreds if not thousands of insects during their course of life and if you keep bees, you know exactly what I'm talking about. In general, it's best to avoid using such products unless the situation warrants such applications or the host plant is one bees, wasps and other beneficial insects avoid.

In summary, products like INSECTICIDAL SOAP and MP INSECT KILLER are two good choices if you need to spray around the home, out in the yard, on plants which bees like to frequent. Both products do an admirable job of controlling most any insect and though they won't last more than a day, they won't have a profound impact on non-target insects that aren't causing any damage in the first place.

As explained on our web site NON TOXIC PEST CONTROL article, the words "non toxic" and 'insect control" don't really go together since something must be toxic to at least the target insect if it's to provide any level of control. The word that's acceptable to use would organic. Organic products can obtain the same end result (in this case a dead insect) but they tend to not last as long. This means the inherent risk or danger is much less compared to traditional pesticides. The "pros" of using something organic is that most actives are less persistent in the environment so the risk of over applying them or contaminating something is less. And because of this feature, many organic products are ideally suited for use on food crops because they dissipate so quickly. The "cons" of using something organic is that most situations will require repeated treatments since the active is not long lasting. In other words, the short length of residual action means you should expect to be applying more sooner compared to using the traditional products.

Currently there are a lot of products which are both organic and effective. We have narrowed the field and list several that can be used effectively for spider control. First, you should review our online SPIDER CONTROL ARTICLE which has all kinds of details about how to treat for spiders. It also features many "traditional" products that can be used safely in and around the home. When used according to their respective labels, these products can be safely applied in and around the home. Be sure to review the safety video's which cover this in great detail.

If you'd like to "go organic", there are plenty of replacement products one can use in place of what we have listed in our article. For example, the ECO IC EXEMPT can be sprayed in place of the concentrated listed in the article. The ECO GRANULES would be the replacement for the Bifen Granules and the ECO KO AEROSOL in place of the Baygon. In our experience, these new products have performed well and really the only trade off is that you might find yourself using them a little more frequently compared to the traditional actives.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Outside Spider Control:  http://www.brownrecluse.com/brown-recluse-spider-control/spiders-outside

ECO IC:  http://www.non-toxic-pest-control.com/concentrates/eco-exempt-ic-concentrate

ECO Granules:  http://www.non-toxic-pest-control.com/granules/eco-exempt-granules

ECO KO Aerosol:  http://www.non-toxic-pest-control.com/aerosols/eco-exempt-ko-contact-aerosol-14-oz