Bring Back The Pollinators: Avoid Pesticides

Insecticides are designed to kill insects, and are often highly toxic to pollinators and other invertebrates. Some commonly used insecticides include current use include neonicotinoids, organophosphates, pyrethroids (often used in mosquito management), and many more. Broad-spectrum insecticides can harm a wide range of insects. Neonicotinoids and other systemic insecticides pose an additional exposure risk since they can persist in plants for months to years after an application.

Herbicides kill plants, and pre-emergent herbicides applied to the soil prevent plants from germinating from seed. Herbicides impact pollinators by killing the flowers that these species rely on for food in the landscape. Scientists have also discovered that some herbicides can directly harm insects: the commonly used herbicide glyphosate disrupts honey bee navigation and can interfere with microbes in their guts, making exposed bees more susceptible to harmful pathogens.

Fungicides are used to control plant diseases and fungi like powdery mildew. A growing body of research suggests that some fungicides can cause subtle yet significant harm to pollinators. Certain fungicides can kill insects directly. Others have been linked to increased risk of disease in pollinators, and some can even enhance the toxic effects of insecticides when they are present together. 

Pesticide use is a major contributor to insect declines. Each year in the United States, more than a billion pounds of pesticides are applied across home gardens, parks, and farms to manage unwanted weeds, insects, diseases and other “pests”. The majority of pesticides used are “broad-spectrum” meaning they kill broadly. Contamination resulting from the extensive use of pesticides has been tied to the decline of species important to ecosystems, including pollinators. 

We don’t want to create pollinator habitat, only to have it be contaminated by toxic pesticides that sicken or kill the animals we are trying to support.