Ortho will stop using Neonicotinoids

[MissS]

Ortho has announced that it will begin to stop using neonicotinoids in their products. This is wonderful news for the bees. I for one am thrilled to hear this.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wir...lines-38328734

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/...bees/82926930/

https://www.yahoo.com/news/major-gar...903.html?nhp=1

Now if we can have the Bayer and Syngenta see the light, the pollinators just might have a fighting chance. The finding of neonicotinoids in most of our purchased plants and in 90% of our food crops has been alarming. I hope that Ortho's decision is a move towards a brighter future for both the pollinators health as well as our own.

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by MissS

Ortho has announced that it will begin to stop using neonicotinoids in their products. This is wonderful news for the bees. I for one am thrilled to hear this.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wir...lines-38328734

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/...bees/82926930/

https://www.yahoo.com/news/major-gar...903.html?nhp=1

Now if we can have the Bayer and Syngenta see the light, the pollinators just might have a fighting chance. The finding of neonicotinoids in most of our purchased plants and in 90% of our food crops has been alarming. I hope that Ortho's decision is a move towards a brighter future for both the pollinators health as well as our own.

Good news. I love bees and birds.
In what products neonicotinoids" are used ?

Gardeneer

[MissS]

Neonicotinoids are systemic insecticides. They are in almost every product used for insect control from lawn grub control products to those sprayed on your plants.

[PureHarvest]

MissS, could be something good, but really it just means they will spray with something else.
Just like when a company says roundup will stop being used, then you find out they up the frequency of 2-4D use instead.
What we really need is to create 1,000s of acres of habitat for pollinators. When we have large monoculture farms and urban sprawl, there is not enough habitat for the pollinators. They almost have to hang around or in the vast acres of corn and beans. So even if neonics are not being used, they are gonna co-mingle with some other chemical.
We need to have some way of planting buffer strips or shelter belts on farms to give the pollinators a place to go to forage and live on the proper type of habitat, not corn beans and wheat.
The research I read shows that the bees are most harmed by neonics when it is planting season.
The seeds are treated, and when planted, some of the chem mixes with the dust/planter and goes airborne. After planting is over the numbers drop off the map.
If there was 20 or so proper species in bloom away from the fields, the bees would be there instead.
Urbanization and land clearing has destroyed pollinator habitat. That must be restored.
I am taking an acre out of my 12, and starting a pollinator buffer this spring. 31 species of flowering trees, shrubs, grasses , and perennials for pollinator forage and habitat. 2 of the rows will densely planted Eastern Red Cedar to create a permanent wall/barrier to seal of the farm to my north and block any dust/drift. The rest of the rows will be the habitat.
What really should be curtailed or stopped is the amount of chemicals the homeowner is able to get their hands on. It is scary how many chemicals are in the hands of people that are nowhere near qualified to use chemicals.
Homeowners can do their part to provide habitat in their yards, but should not be able to get most of the Chems they do when everyone else who applies them for a living has to go through certifications, testing, and continuing Ed credits to maintain a license. I have seen too much in over 25 years working in a garden center with customers trying to kill bugs and what they can get their hands on and how the mentality is for spraying. Sadly, people talk a good game about the environment, but when it's their lawn our garden under attack, most just want the product that is gonna knock the evil bugs dead the fastest.
I guess there is too much money to be lost by big chem companies for this to be curtailed.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by PureHarvest

MissS, could be something good, but really it just means they will spray with something else.
Just like when a company says roundup will stop being used, then you find out they up the frequency of 2-4D use instead.
What we really need is to create 1,000s of acres of habitat for pollinators. When we have large monoculture farms and urban sprawl, there is not enough habitat for the pollinators. They almost have to hang around or in the vast acres of corn and beans. So even if neonics are not being used, they are gonna co-mingle with some other chemical.
We need to have some way of planting buffer strips or shelter belts on farms to give the pollinators a place to go to forage and live on the proper type of habitat, not corn beans and wheat.
The research I read shows that the bees are most harmed by neonics when it is planting season.
The seeds are treated, and when planted, some of the chem mixes with the dust/planter and goes airborne. After planting is over the numbers drop off the map.
If there was 20 or so proper species in bloom away from the fields, the bees would be there instead.
Urbanization and land clearing has destroyed pollinator habitat. That must be restored.
I am taking an acre out of my 12, and starting a pollinator buffer this spring. 31 species of flowering trees, shrubs, grasses , and perennials for pollinator forage and habitat. 2 of the rows will densely planted Eastern Red Cedar to create a permanent wall/barrier to seal of the farm to my north and block any dust/drift. The rest of the rows will be the habitat.
What really should be curtailed or stopped is the amount of chemicals the homeowner is able to get their hands on. It is scary how many chemicals are in the hands of people that are nowhere near qualified to use chemicals.
Homeowners can do their part to provide habitat in their yards, but should not be able to get most of the Chems they do when everyone else who applies them for a living has to go through certifications, testing, and continuing Ed credits to maintain a license. I have seen too much in over 25 years working in a garden center with customers trying to kill bugs and what they can get their hands on and how the mentality is for spraying. Sadly, people talk a good game about the environment, but when it's their lawn our garden under attack, most just want the product that is gonna knock the evil bugs dead the fastest.
I guess there is too much money to be lost by big chem companies for this to be curtailed.

My neighbor lady has the Bug guy come by once a month.
I asked her once what she was using him for and it was for everything.
She like 90% of the rest of people dont give a hoot and don't care to educate themselves on what good and bad critters are.

Speaking of critters my cat gave me a stinging scorpion last night when I picked her up.
Now it is on my chest.
I got my hand under it put it on a flip flop and sat it down outside so it could crawl off.

[frankcar1965]

Well, to throw something else into the mix, Neonicotinoids are not only what ails pollinators- the mite and various virus are also to blame, read up on that too. It is easy to blame chemicals and big AG when trucking millions of bees around in semi trucks every year to do their job pollinating is also a very important factor. Undoubtedly the virus and mites were spread rapidly across the country, it is not natural to bus bees from one end of the country to another, no more than spraying Neonicotinoids, just try to get them to stop. Easier to blame the chemicals. It is apparently a combination of factors.

[PureHarvest]

very true about the mites.
But, Habitat loss and quality of pollen and nectar still outweighs that. If your nutrition is poor as well as your living conditions you are more likely to catch a cold etc. Bees are weaker than they should be due to lack of quality forage. So you then bring in the mites to the equation and they attack the weak bees. I don't think it works the other way, meaning the mites came into strong bees and made them weak.
Look at the studies on pollen and nectar quality, or lack therof.
I will try to dig those up, but basically access to monoculture flowers or whatever sugar the hive keeper puts out is not growing a robust bee. Then they are weak and open to issues like mites.
We would expect no different from any malnourished species, even us.
Eat poorly over time, get chronic disease, weaken further, don't improve nutrition, weaken further, decline, death or lack of reproduction.
With insects this cycle happens much faster but could also recover faster, so that is encouraging.
There are a lot of unused square footage in this country that could have seeds scattered on it to provide food plants for pollinators.
We need a seed bomb initiative on the level of the 1960s moon landing effort.

[PureHarvest]

Also frankcar, note that all those trucked bees are not even native.
We have a tremendous diversity of native pollinators and don't spend enough time thinkiing about using them. Instead we truck the imports around and wonder why they die.
In fact most of the conversations about bee deaths and alarm is based off of the managed hives because they are managed/trackable.
So we are running around talking about this stuff, but again, not enough attention on habitat and native population.
As always we are asking the wrong questions. Not how do we stop the bees dying?
How about why are we trucking a non native bee across be country, Giving them inadequate rest and forage diversity, and then wondering why "all" the bees are dying?
Of course the numbers at down when you are looking at that population.

[JerryHaskins]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

Good news. I love bees and birds.
In what products neonicotinoids" are used ?

Gardeneer

As of 2011, seven neonicotinoids from different companies are on the market:

Company--------------------------------------------------Products
Bayer CropScience----------------------------------------Confidor, Admire, Gaucho, Advocate
Syngenta--------------------------------------------------Actara, Platinum, Cruiser
Sumitomo Chemical/Bayer CropScience----------------Poncho, Dantosu, Dantop
Nippon Soda----------------------------------------------Mospilan, Assail, ChipcoTristar
Bayer CropScience---------------------------------------Calypso
Mitsui Chemicals------------------------------------------Starkle, Safari, Venom
Sumitomo Chemical--------------------------------------Capstar, Guardian

ETA: I love honey bees, and I miss them, but no Apis species (honey bees) existed in the New World during human times before the introduction of A. mellifera by Europeans.

[Gerardo]

Great news for many species. I hope the replacement isn't worse.

[MissS]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

Good news. I love bees and birds.
In what products neonicotinoids" are used ?

Gardeneer

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation reports that the following brand names may contain neonicotinoids:

Bayer Advanced 3-in-1 Insect, Disease, & Mite Control

Bayer Advanced 12 Month Tree & Shrub Insect Control

Bayer Advanced 12 Month Tree & Shrub Protect & Feed

Bayer Advanced Fruit, Citrus & Vegetable Insect Control

Bayer Advanced All-in-One Rose & Flower Care concentrate

DIY Tree Care Products Multi-Insect Killer

Ferti-lome 2-N-1 Systemic

Hi-Yield Systemic Insect Spray

Knockout Ready-To-Use Grub Killer

Monterey Once a Year Insect Control II

Ortho Bug B Gon Year-Long Tree & Shrub Insect Control

Ortho MAX Tree & Shrub Insect

Bayer Advanced All-in-One Rose & Flower Care granules

Green Light Grub Control with Arena

Amdro Quick Kill Lawn & Landscape Insect Killer

Amdro Rose & Flower Care

Maxide Dual Action Insect Killer

Ortho Bug B Gon Garden Insect Killer

Ortho Bug B Gon for Lawns

Ortho Flower, Fruit and Vegetable Insect Killer

Green Light Tree & Shrub Insect Control with Safari 2 G

Safari

Ortho Tree & Shrub Insect Control Plus Miracle Gro Plant Food

Ortho Rose and Flower Insect Killer

Ortho Rose Pride Insect Killer

Why should neonicotinoids be avoided?

Neonicotinoids in garden and household products may be up to 120-times higher than in products allocated for agricultural purposes.

The following facts were taken from the Xerces Society’s recent study entitled: “Are Neonicotinoids Killing Bees?” A Review of Research on the Effects of Neonicotinoid Insecticides on Bees, with Recommendations for Action:

Neonicotinoid levels found in certain garden and house plants, and other places may be lethal to pollinators, who consume the nectar and pollen of those plants.
Plants that are not treated with neonicotinoids may absorb neonicotinoids from the soil.
Neonicotinoids may remain in the surrounding soil for months, and even years, after only one use.
According to the Xerces Society:

“Measurable amounts of residue were found in woody plants up to six years after application.”

When bees and other pollinators consume the nectar or pollen of a plant that has been treated with neonicotinoids, the pesticide is then broken down in the stomach of the honeybee or pollinator, where it releases substances that are toxic to that creature.

“Unlike many other pesticides, neonicotinoids appear to be more toxic to honey bees by oral consumption than by contact,” says the Xerces Society.

To help promote healthy numbers of pollinators, aim to buy plants that have not been treated by the above pesticides. Many organic farmers or trusted plant growers will not use such chemicals, but more natural alternatives to protect their plants from bugs and insects.

Sadly, most likely another insecticide is to follow in this ones footsteps. Neonicotinoids have been banned in Europe for a few years now and their bee population is beginning to rebound. While the damage to the Honeybee population is the most noticed result from the use of this product, other species of pollinators are on the decline as well. This would include Bumblebees, butterflies, moths and hummingbirds. It is also thought that perhaps that the bat decline is also related.

[Kikaida]

Looking closely at plant labels at the local big-box store..."Treated with nicotinoids"
-
Kinda sucks that they turn this lose on an unsuspecting public.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Gerardo

Great news for many species. I hope the replacement isn't worse.

Yeah like they make an announcement they are going to stop putting folks in jail for smoking weed.
Then when the law comes out it is now they are going to cut your lips off and send you on your way.

Worth

[Jonnyhat]

i am deathly allergic to bees... but would consider having a hive just because they are the lifeblood of agriculture.

[berryman]

I used to own a winery and I bought honey from beekeepers 55 gals at a time for mead. It was not uncommon to see a big bag of tetramycin that they would feed the bees "to keep them healthy".
For sure the pesticides are killing bees but a steady diet of antibiotics over time is going to weaken the population too.
Pure harvests comments here are right on and I also provide habitat for native bumble and other solitary bees.