LETCHWORTH DISTRICT GARDENERS ASSOCIATION
Affiliated to the BFS, NCS, NDS, NSPS, NVS & RHS
Affiliated to the BFS, NCS, NDS, NSPS, NVS & RHS
Allotment News
Honey Bees at risk
Danger from neonicotinoids!
Please look carefully at any garden products, particularly insecticides, you may be using to check if they include neonicotinoids, which have been linked to the dramatic decline in honey-bee numbers in the UK. The Soil Association and many other groups are calling for retailers to withdraw all products containing neonicotinoids.
The soil association say:
‘What’s causing the deaths is unclear - there is a huge amount of research being done worldwide, and it’s likely that a number of factors may be implicated. One suspect is a group of insecticides called neonicotinoids. These were first used in agriculture in the mid 1990s - at exactly the time when mass bee disappearances started occurring. The evidence against these chemicals is strong enough that they have been suspended or banned in France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia - but not yet in the UK.’
If you find you have insecticides containing these, check with the Soil Association's website about safe disposal, or your local gardening group, and go back to your retailer, explain the dangers and check they are not still selling the products. Bees are vital to pollination of many crops and trees, so anything we can do to stop the decline in numbers is really important.
Danger from neonicotinoids!
Please look carefully at any garden products, particularly insecticides, you may be using to check if they include neonicotinoids, which have been linked to the dramatic decline in honey-bee numbers in the UK. The Soil Association and many other groups are calling for retailers to withdraw all products containing neonicotinoids.
The soil association say:
‘What’s causing the deaths is unclear - there is a huge amount of research being done worldwide, and it’s likely that a number of factors may be implicated. One suspect is a group of insecticides called neonicotinoids. These were first used in agriculture in the mid 1990s - at exactly the time when mass bee disappearances started occurring. The evidence against these chemicals is strong enough that they have been suspended or banned in France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia - but not yet in the UK.’
If you find you have insecticides containing these, check with the Soil Association's website about safe disposal, or your local gardening group, and go back to your retailer, explain the dangers and check they are not still selling the products. Bees are vital to pollination of many crops and trees, so anything we can do to stop the decline in numbers is really important.