The level of neonicotinoid pesticides found on plants sold by large retailers to gardeners dropped to 23 percent this spring, according to a survey that looked at garden plants in 14 U.S. cities. In 2013 and 2014, neonicotinoid residue was found on more than half of the samples taken. Some experts blame the class of pesticides for Colony Collapse Disorder and other detrimental effects on pollinators.
“The survey began as a pilot project in just three cities […] with a clear goal of embarrassing large retailers into halting sales of both neonic-treated plants and also neonic-based garden treatments formulated for home use,” says the online Minneapolis news site, MinnPost.
Friends of the Earth and the Pesticide Research Institute led the research, which looked at more that 65 nurseries, including those at Home Depot and Lowe’s. The survey focused on plants that appeal to pollinators as well as gardeners, like cosmos and African daisies.
In 2015, according to a Friends of the Earth report, Home Depot announced that 80 percent of the flowering plants it sells were already neonic-free and that the rest would be replaced or dropped by 2018,” says MinnPost. “For its part, Lowe’s said it would stop selling both neonic-treated plants and neonic-based consumer garden products by the following year.”
Wal-Mart, Ace Hardware and True Value Hardware have so far refused to budge in their practices. Wal-Mart told the LA Times that it prefers to wait for the EPA to manage the neonicotinoid issue.