Yorkshire Post

Garden centres should not sell plants which are harmful to bees, say shoppers

-

MORE THAN three-quarters of consumers believe that retailers should not sell plants grown with pesticides that are harmful to bees, a poll suggests.

Friends of the Earth said garden centres and other plant retailers were under increasing pressure to ensure that the plants they sell are free from pesticides linked to bee decline after the YouGov survey for the environmen­tal charity found 78 per cent of the public agreed they should not stock them. The poll follows a study that found retailers are selling supposedly “bee-friendly” plants that contain high levels of dangerous insecticid­es.

Researcher­s bought 29 such flowers from five different companies, four major retailers and one local nursery and found all but two were contaminat­ed with pesticides or fungicides and more than 70 per cent contained the controvers­ial neonicotin­oid chemicals which have been shown to cause significan­t harm to bees. Writing in the journal

academics from Sussex and Padova universiti­es said: “Garden centres frequently market nectar and pollen-rich ornamental plants as ‘pollinator-friendly’.

“However these plants are often treated with pesticides during their production. There is little informatio­n on the nature of pesticide residues present at the point of purchase and whether these plants may actually pose a threat to, rather than benefit, the health of pollinatin­g insects.”

B&Q announced earlier that all flowering plants it sold would be grown free from pesticides linked to bee declines as part of efforts to help wildlife. The findings coincide with launch of the annual Great British Bee Count, which runs until June 30 and aims to help people learn more about bees.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom