Home Depot & Neonicotinoid Pesticides

[rober]

I was in home depot's garden dept  Friday & noticed some salvia plants that were being worked by honeybees. I bought some & when I was about to plant them I noticed a 2nd tag in the pot saying these were protected by Neonicotinoid pesticides. needless to say these plants will be returned. so now we have to check the plants we buy before buying them. luckily these plants were tagged but I wonder how many are not marked. I'm not sure if marking them is required.

[tbonekel]

Interesting that they would feel the need to "protect" plants like salvia. I thought they pretty much stayed with agriculture crops. Oh, well.

[Jen]

I find it interesting that if the store has plants that are for sure treated with neonics, and there are bees on those plants in the garden center... wouldn't it make sense to have those plants in a netted area? But of course, that might be too much trouble ~ rolling eyes

[rober]

the label says it's to protect from white flies, aphids, mealy bugs, & beetles. & it seems that most of the perennials they carry have these pesticides. if you care take the time to write home depot & complain. if enough people do maybe they'll change their ways.

[Les]

I saw that too and immediately put the plant back on the shelf.  Odd that they treated salvia, they are one plant that is fairly bullet proof.  Guess the philosophy of if one needs it than they all should is still in existence.  I raised my own perennials from seed this year but unfortunately there are some annuals that I like that I cannot get seeds for "Yet".  As soon as the seeds are available, I will definitely be raising my own from seed.

[rober]

the brand is PW ( proven winners ). it seems that they are treating all perennials. I've contacted them & home depot expressing my concerns.

[LazyBkpr]

the label says it's to protect from white flies, aphids, mealy bugs, & beetles. & it seems that most of the perennials they carry have these pesticides. if you care take the time to write home depot & complain. if enough people do maybe they'll change their ways.

   The squeaky wheel gets the oil!

[Gypsi]

I think to really get their attention we need to practice buy and return, with the reason for return being the neo nic pesticides. That show them the money they are losing by selling these in a real and tangible way

[lazy shooter]

I've been gone a few months.  Do we absolutely know that neonicotnolds are killing honey bees.

[rober]

independent research says yes. most European countries have banned them. do you want to chance it? did you hear about the bee kill in the almond groves last year? the growers sprayed the orchards with a fungicide that was labeled safe for bees. but when the bees returned to their hives after being exposed to the fungicide the brood was killed. the losses were significant.

[Bakersdozen]

At this month's Bee club meeting there was a quick 5 minute talk by a long time member.  He had spoken with his state agronomist regarding the labels put in these perennials and annuals.  The agronomist assured him that the pesticides would leach out within a matter of weeks.  As plant material can't be shipped across state lines with pests on them, this was the big box store's way of passing inspection. 
Someone from the audience said that they had found the warning label about neonics inside the BOTTOM of the pot after they had knocked the plant out!

[rober]

PW responded to my email by saying theses pesticides are not harmful to pollinators. corporations have one goal; to make money. in the 50's doctors ( hired by tobacco companies ) recommended smoking. automakers switched to 12 volt systems from 6 volt because they could switch from 6 & 8 gauge wire to 12 & 14 gauge saving them billions by using that much less copper. I take everything corporations say with a cattle salt block not a grain.
 these pesticides are systemic. they are in, not on the plant. it's the equivalent of being in our bloodstream. they can last not several months to over a year depending on the specific type. the 1/2 life of some can last for months to over a year in soils. critters at the top of the food chain are the most effected so that when they use these in our grain crops that means we're eating this stuff too.
 one of the problems with all of the chemical used in farming, lawn care, & gardening is that many users do not read labels & use these products properly. some companies apply them improperly not worrying about water supplies & wind drift. you can walk into garden supplies that reek ok this stuff & have broken & leaking bags everywhere. walmart & big box stores store these on pallets outside where rain can wash them into sewer systems & creeks & rivers.
 I did not plan on getting on a soap box here. this post was meant to be a warning. do your own research & decide what you want to do. I for one choose not to be exposed to the toxic chemicals any more than I have to
 

[Gypsi]

I am a member of a garden club. We communicate online and twice a year we hold plant swaps. Most of my perennials come from other members, we start our plants from seeds from each other as well. I've gotten many native plants and species I had not heard of from being a member of Dave's garden.  Costs $20 a year, I've saved hundreds and my yard is beautiful.  One tiny yarrow start, one plant each of 3 kinds of salvia, heartleaf scullcap, a couple of crinum lilies, amaryllis, and I have a nice front garden that didn't come from Home Depot. Can't find a photo of that side at the moment, this seems to be my raid on a small nursery, gaura, a fancy spirea, wildflower seeds are where the daisies and poppies come from, larkspur from seed too, and a sage from Lowes a couple of years ago that didn't say it was neonic'd

[Bakersdozen]

walmart & big box stores store these on pallets outside where rain can wash them into sewer systems & creeks & rivers.

 

I will chime in here and say that I have read about this issue.  Broken and torn bags setting in parking lots that are allowed to remain and leach chemicals into the water system is a big concern.  Municipalities should be monitoring these big box stores.  As stewards of the earth, I would say, if we come across something like this, it is our job to bring these hazards to the attention of the store mgr so that the store can do the right thing.

[LazyBkpr]

Everyone complains about Neonics these days.. but Neonics are BETTER than what we had..  If the Neonics get banned, were going back to what we used to have.. so rather than being forced to rotate comb every so often, we will be replacing dead hives instantly, and the eagles will once again vanish from the plains.
  I would really like to not have to keep rotating comb, and I do NOT believe Neonicitinoids are the ultimate answer, so getting Neonics GONE would be OK with me, provided we have a better solution ready for use.
   If you think we can raise enough corn to feed the world without the insecticides, those of yesterday, or today, your wrong. Best estimate would be 60 to 70% reduction in yield..  I have read that it could be as much as 50% loss over the course of a 5 year span, or as little as 20%..  but if you figure 20% of 14.4 billion Bushels?
   SO I will say the same thing I told the town council when they were arguing about our dying water system..   Stop whining and grow up. Come up with a better solution before you cry about what we have, because until then, the whining is just whining.

[iddee]

So take the corn out of my gas tank and there will be plenty to feed the world.

WHINE, WHINE..............  It's called freedom of speech.

As Leslie Gore said, "I can cry if I want to".   

[Gypsi]

Iddee you beat me to it - and that corn in the gas tank, when ethanol came to town everyone's asthma got a heck of a lot worse, something about the fumes.

The "renewable" value of corn is pretty nonexistent when you count the water to water it, and the damage to the environment, including bee and butterfly forage to grow it.

And that is before you get to the pesticides.  speaking of which I will probably plant my corn tomorrow, it is a little late but we have a long growing season and I got my permaculture wales in to help with the moisture issue.

[Bakersdozen]

So take the corn out of my gas tank and there will be plenty to feed the world.

WHINE, WHINE..............  It's called freedom of speech.

As Leslie Gore said, "I can cry if I want to".   

I couldn't have said it better.  I have been appalled by the fact that we are putting food in our gas tanks.  A crop that requires a lot of nutrients too.   

[Slowmodem]

If they'd go back to sugar instead of corn syrup in Coke, there'd be a lot more corn available for food.

[brooksbeefarm]

Yep, my relatives used to make a drink from corn and sell it at the home town ball games, and everyone seemed to like it and were happy and falling all over each other. It didn't have neonics in it wish i had that recipe and equipment they had back then. Jack