How many of you are familiar with Neonicotinoids?  If you haven’t, don’t feel too bad; I hadn’t either.  Recently when I purchased some annuals for my flower beds, included was a tag that identified the plant and how to care for them, plus a statement that said, “This plant has been treated with Neonicotinoids”.  Not knowing what they are, I looked them up on the internet where I discovered that they are a relatively new class of insecticides that affects the central nervous system of insects resulting in paralysis and death.  They are also naturally occurring in the environment and are also used for seed treatment.  Numerous reports also stated that plants treated with these products and eaten by other animals, can affect their learning and foraging abilities, mobility, navigation, reproduction, and long term sustainability.  They are also suspected as one of the leading causes of bee colony collapse because these pesticides can be translocated to residues in pollen and nectar eaten by bees.

So what should you do?  When purchasing any plants, especially annuals, check their tag for possible use ofNeonicotinoids.  If present, seek others that don’t.  Also, when buying any insecticides, avoid the ones that have the following names under Active Ingredients on the label:

Imidacloprid

Acetamiprid

Clothiandin

Dinotefuran

Nithiazine

Thiacloprid

Thiamethoxan

By the way, since the publication of these reports, the EPA and others are reviewing these chemicals for their health hazards and safety.

Let’s save our wildlife before it’s too late!