Are "Safe" Insecticides-Pesticides Good to Use in Your Garden?

There is an alarming and discernible decline in the population of pollinator insects that make seeds and fruits magically appear on plants, shrubs and trees. While this decline is not news for those of us interested in gardening and farming, we need to educate everyone about the far-reaching effects a loss of our pollinators will have on everyday ramp up our efforts to reverse this trend.

Your garden is an ecosystem, and involves an intricate web of life, from the soil microbes underground to the birds in the trees. It’s easy to grab the spray bottle to kill off the dandelions and blow down the flies, kill foliage eating caterpillars but what are the knock-on effects?  Many of the insects we think of as a backyard nuisance often provide services we don’t see. For example, many native wasp and fly species (even blowflies!) are pollinators as adults. And as larvae, they control many of the insect pests we see on our plants, or decompose organic wastes. Small reptiles, like geckoes and skinks, mostly feed on small insects that annoy us, like mosquitoes and midges.  

Insecticides/Pesticides 

When you grab a bottle of insecticide/Pesticides to kill off that annoying scavenger you are disrupting the food chain in the ecosystem. Insects we think of as indispensable are a favorite food source for many beneficial insects. Aphids and scale insects produce a sugary substance called honeydew as they suck on plants, which is an important sugar source for some beneficial insects like wasps, bees, ants and hoverflies. 

Insecticides can kill beneficial insects, or affect them indirectly by disrupting their metabolism or reproductive cycles. Overuse of herbicides removes important food resources, like dandelions, that pollinators rely on if other flowers are scarce.

Pollinators

Native pollinators, especially bees, are a keystone species in most of our nation's diverse ecosystems. Nearly 70 percent of all flowering plants need pollinators to reproduce. More than a third of our food and beverage supply relies on the plants they pollinate.

Pollinators, like bees and butterflies, need nectar and pollen sources throughout the growing season. Diversify your native plantings so that you have different flower fragrances, shapes and colors throughout the spring and fall. Often native shrubs, flowers and trees reseed themselves thus becoming the most sustainable and, therefore, most available of plants.

Not only are our native bees in decline (did you know that there are roughly 4,000 species?), so is the European honeybee, introduced in the 1600s and now critically important to our nation's agricultural production. The honeybee condition described as Colony Collapse Disorder continues to be the subject of much research with no single culprit identified as cause. Disease is also striking our native bumblebees (there are nearly 50 species in North America!).

What's a plant lover to do?

Native plants are survivors. They are disease resistant and less susceptible to drought conditions, making them more able to offer up their pollen and nectar when other plants are succumbing to infection and rainless summer conditions. Reducing or eliminating your use of pesticides and herbicides will make a tremendous difference in the recovery of pollinator populations. Dusts and sprays are not picky and will leave an equally toxic coating on pollinators. Limiting synthetic chemical use is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to enhance wildlife in gardens. So, I recommend, forget the spray and hand pick the annoying pest off your plant and relocate it to another area of your garden so the ecosystem in your garden won’t be disrupted.