Poisoned Bees from Home Garden Plants

New Friends of the Earth Report  ID's bee-killing pesticides in garden plants

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Many "bee friendly" home garden plants sold at Home Depot, Lowe's  and other leading garden centers have been pre-treated with pesticides shown to harm and kill bees, according to a first-of-its-kind pilot study released today by Friends of the Earth-US and allies. The new study is at http://www.BeeAction.org.  

The pilot study, co-authored by the Pesticide Research Institute, found that 7 of 13 samples of garden plants purchased at top retailers in Washington DC, the San Francisco Bay Area and Minneapolis contain toxic pesticides known as neonicotinoids that studies show could harm or kill bees and other pollinators.

A growing body of science has implicated neonicotinoids (neonics) as a key factor in recent global bee die-offs.  The European Union is set to suspend use of three neonic pesticides later this year, after a scientific review by European Food Safety Authority found that neonicotinoids pose an unacceptably high risk to bees.

"Our investigation is the first to show that so called 'bee-friendly' garden plants contain pesticides that can poison bees, with no warning to gardeners," said Lisa Archer, director of the Food and Technology Program at Friends of the Earth-US. "Bees are essential to our food system and they are dying at alarming rates. Neonic pesticides are a key part of the problem we can start to fix right now in our own backyards."

Friends of the Earth, Sum of Us and allies sent letters today – along with petitions signed by more than 175,000 people -- to Lowe's, Home Depot, Target and other top garden retailers asking the stores to stop selling neonicotinoids and plants pre-treated with the pesticides.  Large retailers in the UK, such as Homebase and Wickes, have already stopped selling neonics.

Neonics are the most widely used class of insecticides in the world. Bees are exposed through multiple routes, including — as the pilot study highlights—common home garden plants.

"The pilot study confirms that many of the plants sold in nurseries and garden stores across the U.S. have been pre-treated with systemic neonicotinoid insecticides, making them potentially toxic to pollinators," said Timothy Brown, Ph.D., of the Pesticide Research Institute. "Unfortunately, these pesticides don't break down quickly — they remain in plants and soil and can continue to affect pollinators for months to years after the treatment."

The high percentage of contaminated plants and their neonicotinoid concentrations suggest that this problem is widespread, and that many home gardens have likely become a source of harm for bees.

"Bees have enough troubles; there's no need for home gardens to add to the problem," said Emily Marquez, staff scientist at Pesticide Action Network. "Studies indicate that widespread use of systemic pesticides like neonicotinoids is contributing to major bee kills around the globe. And even at doses that don't kill bees, neonics weaken bee immune systems and impair critical brain functions, making it hard for bees to find their food sources and return to the hive." 

"We must take immediate action to address this crisis. Europe has banned bee-harming pesticides, retailers in the UK are refusing to sell them, and stores like Home Depot and Lowe's have a moral obligation to make the same commitment here in the U.S.," said Lisa Archer. "In the meantime, gardeners should start their plants from untreated seeds or choose organic plants for their gardens."

SOURCE Friends of the Earth-US