Imagine planting a “bee friendly” garden only to discover those same plants were actually killing bees. Gardeners nationwide who purchased plants last year at Loweʼs, Home Depot and other major retailers ended up killing or harming bees, butterflies and other pollinators they intended to help. In Portland, Ore., more than 50,000 bumblebees died in June 2013. This massive bee kill occurred after the pesticide Safari was sprayed on linden trees in a Target store parking lot.
Our gardens, city parks and roadside plantings can be of great value for bees and other pollinators, but these same areas turn deadly with the use of pesticides, especially insecticides.
One of the most widely used garden insecticides in our country is a group of seven chemicals called neonicotinoids (sometimes called ʻneonicsʼ) introduced into the U.S in the mid-1990s. More than 300 insecticide products containing neonics can be purchased at a store near you and their labels do not mention toxicity to bees. They are legal for use around our homes, schools and parks at much higher rates than used in agriculture. Commercial nurseries use neonics for ornamental plants, many of which are attractive to bees.
Rain does not wash the chemicals off. They persist in the soil and in plants for months or years after a single application. This means that untreated plants can absorb the chemical in the soil from past years.
Neonicotinoids can be used as a seed coating or a spray. They can be injected into trees, dissolved into irrigation water or drenched into the soil around a plant. As the plant grows the pesticide is absorbed and distributed into the plant tissues. This means the entire plant is toxic. Leaves can kill butterfly and moth caterpillars or beetles and the nectar and pollen can kill butterflies, wasps, flies, beetles and bees.
Even a small exposure to neonics harms bees and other pollinators. Bumblebee populations are reduced because they raise fewer queens and their colonies grow more slowly. And honeybeesʼ ability to forage, navigate and reproduce becomes impaired.
Ontario, Canada, has banned the use of neonicotinoids for cosmetic purposes on ornamental plants. The European Union has a two-year moratorium on these chemicals that threaten their bee populations. In the U.S. the Environmental Protection Agency has started to re-evaluate two of these chemicals, but that process will take three or more years. Bees and other pollinators cannot wait that long.
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture recently announced plans to study the impact of neonics on pollinators. However numerous studies have already addressed this issue.
The time has come to act. Here are some ways we can help bees now.
1. Use untreated seeds to start plants. Buy organic bedding plants for transplant. Use organic potting soil for your vegetable and flower gardens.
2. Tell local nurseries you will not buy plants treated with neonicotinoids.
3. Read labels to see if a product includes neonicotinoids. If you see imidacloprid, acetamiprid, dinotefuran, clothianidin or thiamethoxam, do not use that product.
4. Ask your lawn service if they spray or use these chemicals on your yard.
5. Encourage your town, city or township to avoid pesticides or to use alternatives to neonics on or near plants visited by bees, butterflies and other pollinators (e.g., roses, maples, basswood/linden trees, crabapples, lilacs, flowers)
6. Visit xerces.org for brand names of dangerous garden products and ways to garden for bees and pollinators. Share this information with neighbors and your community.
7. Information, including names of products containing neonics, is available from Friends of the Earth at foe.org, and their bee action campaign at beeaction.org.
8. Visit entomology.umn.edu/. University of Minnesota researcher Dr. Vera Krischik has been studying this issue for over 10 years.
9. Read the bill introduced by U.S Representatives Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, and John Conyers, D-Michigan: “Save Americaʼs Pollinators Act” (HR 2692) Be sure your representatives know you support this bill and expect them to protect our pollinators.
Pat Thomas is a wildlife garden educator and photographer. Her photographs have appeared in the Duluth Photo Instituteʼs membersʼ shows. Each spring she teaches classes on pollinator, butterfly and bird gardens. She’ll teach a class on gardening for pollinators from 6:30-8 p.m. April 1 through Duluthʼs Community Education program at Ordean school. Wildwoods is a 501(c)(3) wildlife rehabilitation organization in Duluth. For information on wildlife, including volunteer opportunities, visit www.wildwoodsrehab.org
