New study shows that more than half of “bee-friendly” home garden plants sold at garden centres in Canada contain bee-killing pesticides!

Gardeners Beware 2014, released by Friends of the Earth Canada, Friends of the Earth U.S. and the Pesticide Research Institute (PRI) has found that more than half of garden plants sampled in the U.S and Canada contain levels of neonicotinoid pesticides harmful to bees.

• 51% of the garden plant samples collected across 18 cities in Canada and the U.S. were found to contain neonicotinoid pesticides.
• 40% of the positive samples contained two or more neonicotinoid pesticides.
• 60% of the Canadian samples tested positive for neonics, and 100% of the samples collected in London, Ontario contained at least one neonicotinoid.

What does this mean? It means that the plants you are buying to protect the bees could actually be killing them!

Based on the analysis of flowers, some stems and leaves, 62.5% of the plant samples in Canada tested positive for one or more neonicotinoid pesticides.

Concentrations of neonics associated with effects on bees:

Friends of the Earth and allies are asking consumers, retailers, suppliers, institutional purchasers and local, county, state and federal regulators and policymakers to take action to avoid neonicotinoid pesticides to help protect bees and other pollinators.

Read our national press release here.

  to help Friends of the Earth with The Bee Cause.