Don’t use ‘cides


Pesticides are designed to kill insects, and they do so indiscriminately. If you spray a plant to kill aphids, any other insect that is exposed to the spray, or its lingering residue, will also be killed. If you spray your lawn to kill grubs, you will also kill ground-nesting bees.

Even if a pesticide doesn’t immediately kill an insect, the poison will cause permanent damage. For example, bumblebee reproduction (New Pesticide Affects Bumblebee Reproduction) and nest behaviour (Pesticide Exposure Alters Bumblebees Behaviour in Their Nests) is impaired with pesticide exposure.

Also avoid herbicides and fungicides. Recent studies have showed that Glyphosate, a popular herbicide, harms honey bees navigation (Effects of sublethal doses of Glyphosate on honeybee navigation) and gut bacteria (Glyphosate perturbs the gut microbiota of honey bees), making them more susceptible to pathogens. When multiple ‘safe’ chemicals are applied to plants, they create a deadly cocktail (Culprit found for honeybee deaths in California almond groves).

In my experience, most pest issues that are typically addressed with sprays and powders, can be effectively dealt with using natural means. Pollinators have enough problems already without adding others.

Pesticides more harmful for native bees

Since honeybees live in managed hives and can travel long distances to flowers, agricultural pesticides are usually sprayed when honeybees have returned to their hives, or after their hives have been transported to another site altogether. Since many native bees live in the ground and close to their floral resources (that are being sprayed), native bees more likely to be subjected to chemical sprays and harmed. (Pesticides influence ground-nesting bee development and longevity)

Is that insect actually a problem?



An adult Viburnum Leaf Beetle eating my Arrowwood Viburnum. I saw predatory insects eating the Viburnum Leaf Beetle larvae earlier in the summer. So far, beneficial insects are controlling these pests well enough that my viburnums are still thriving.



Attract insects and birds to control pests



A Gray-headed Catbird eating Tomato Hornworm caterpillars off of my tomato plants.