BEE AWARE: why NOT to use Roundup
As I look up at the glorious gum tree in my yard, displaying hundreds of tiny fuchsia-colored blossoms, I realize something is missing: bees! Not a single bee is present there, or upon the lavender flowers of my lush rosemary bush. Last year I learned that a reason for my troubles in getting certain veggies to produce, also was a lack of bees to pollinate them.
This is a real problem –for all of us who eat food. Sierra Club agrees, recently sending me an in-depth presentation on saving the bees. It won’t be my first time to encounter this issue, or put my money where my mouth is…
Expert garden tips often include pleas to Not Use Round-Up. Yes, it is sold up front, in most gardening stores. It remains the most widely sold herbicide on the planet, although at least 14 countries have banned it. Multi-national corporations like Monsanto, DuPont and Bayer spend billions of dollars lobbying congress, and convincing you it’s ‘safe.’ They’ve convinced our regulating agencies to continue to allow the selling of pesticides and herbicides for our daily use that contaminate soil, watersheds, air, food supply. And that are killing off our bees –without whom our food supply is threatened. Fortunately, there are more court cases being settled in favor of litigants charging companies like Monsanto/Bayer with responsibility for causing cancer in persons using Round-Up ‘safely’ for years.
Main culprits: 1. Glyphosate, a main weed-killing agent in Round-Up. [https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/new-study-shows-roundup-kills-bees or https://www.ehn.org/monsanto-herbicide-roundup-hurts-bees-2607605097.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1 ] The most recent science shows the chemical –an actual antibiotic- targets gut bacteria, necessary microorganisms in honeybees, rendering them vulnerable to disease and early death. It hurts bumblebees as well. [And human beings!] 2. Neonicotinoid pesticides, commonly called neonics were banned in our national wildlife refuges in 2014, but recently re-allowed, prompted by private owners e.g. on public lands. A ‘trail of research’ and recent study shows that farmers using neonics to target pests, “also adversely affect honeybees, native bumblebees, and other pollinators (like butterflies) that feed on nectar with neonic residue. Neonics then affect the central nervous system in bees, causing a wasting disease that ends in death.”
Check gardening product labels before purchase for “clothianidin” -widely used in Bayer, Ortho, Amdro and many other) brands- “dinotifuran,” “aetamiprid” or thiamithoixin.” 3. Sulfoxamine insecticides containing the active ingredient sulfoxaflor is highlighted in Sierra Club’s most recent warnings. To dispose of poisons properly: www.RecycleNow.org or call the Sonoma Coiunty Eco-Desk at 707–565–3375.
There are many natural and effective solutions: maybe we can share them in a future issue! Vinegar is cheap! Spray or dribble a little carefully on unwanted weeds, especially those growing among your rocky areas. Make a bug spray with diluted detergent and cayenne. Here’s a link to a website offering several easy-to make and use formulas. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/8-homemade-pest-control-s_n_5667174
Beekeepers across the United States lost 45.5% of their managed honey bee colonies from April 2020 to April 2021, Want to take action? Tell Congress to pass the “Saving America’s Pollinators Act,” first introduced in 2019.
We care about how our yards and public spaces look. But let’s go a step farther. Let’s be heathier, let’s BEE AWARE.
Shining deLight, Marcia
