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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (April 14, 2017)
S tre e t R oots • April 1 4-2 0 , 2 0 1 7 N ew s Page 8 BUZZWORTHY Oregonians widely use a pesticide know n to kill bees. Could you be doing more in your backyard | Plant a pollinator garden to help our declining pollinator populations? < p - ■ You can help declining bee and butterfly species by turning your backyard into a pollinator habitat BY EMILY GREEN STAFF W R ITER BY EMILY GREEN n June 2013, an insecticide containing neonicotinoids caused a massive bumblebee die-off at a Target in Wilsonville. The chemical was sprayed to treat linden trees covered with aphids, but the trees were also filled with bumblebees pollinating the blossoms. The result was a parking lot |I S | | covered with the little corpses of an estimated 50,000 bumblebees. Just a few days later, hundreds more died in EASY BACKYARD BEEKEEPING Hillsboro, and it was in an area where the the home use product allows greater You can be a backyard beekeeper with same product containing neonicotinoids had application rates for home use than for minimal effort when you host native bees. been sprayed, only it had been sprayed months professional use,” said Lisa Arkin, executive Page 10 earlier. director of Beyond Toxics in Eugene. Oregon Department of Agriculture Her organization is behind a set of bills investigat’ons determined neonicotinoids were aimed at regulating neonicotinoids in Oregon. ecosystems, ultimately leading to a decline in the cause of death in both cases, but the While one aimed at changing labeling songbirds who survive on aquatic insects in chemicals continue to be widely used in both requirements is not moving forward, another areas of the Midwest, said Aimée Code. agricultural and residential settings across Code has a master’s degree in environmental has a fighting chance. Oregon. Senate Bill 929 would make neonicotinoids health and toxicology from Oregon State In North America, more than half of all bee a restricted-use pesticide, meaning only University and is the pesticide program species are declining, with one in four species licensed pesticide applicators could purchase director at The Xerces Society. This Portland- at an increasing risk of extinction, according to and spray the chemicals. It’s modeled after a based nonprofit is staffed with biologists and report released earlier this year from the bill that recently passed in Maryland, making it horticulturists who agree that it is a clearly Center for Biological Diversity. the first state to ban consumer use of the documented fact that legal applications of While there are roughly 4,000 species of pesticide. neonicotinoids have caused bee kills. native bees in North America, there are just Farming and nursery lobbies oppose the In the years following Wilsonville and 46 species of bumblebee - and in Oregon, six bill, arguing that the science is not conclusive Hillsboro bee die-offs, Oregon banned the use of them are at risk of extinction, according to and that because there are many complex of neonicotinoids, but only on linden trees. The Xerces Society for Invertebrate causes of bee decline, neonicotinoids should The city of Portland banned all use of the Conservation. not be singled out. neonicotinoid chemical class on property it Neonicotinoids are a class of chemical that Jeff Stone, executive director of Oregon manages, with very rare exceptions. It doesn’t is systemic, meaning once a plant - or even a Association of Nurseries, testified that the purchase plants that have been treated with seed - is treated, the toxins agriculture industry relies on neonicotinoids to the chemical either, said Mark Ross, spread through the plant’s control pests and that they are less harmful to spokesperson for Portland Parks and tissues and into the pollen humans and mammals than other pesticides. Recreation. and nectar that attracts He also pointed to research showing that when But amateur gardeners can choose from an pollinators such as bees and used correctly, neonicotinoids are not harmful array of products containing neonicotinoids at butterflies. to pollinators. their local hardware store, grocery store or Neonicotinoids also contain Code said it’s important to look at the body pharmacy, and if they aren’t careful, they can nicotine, and a 2015 recent of research as a whole, and at who funded the kill the very insects they need to make their study from researches in the study. garden grow. United Kingdom found bees appear to She pointed to one example of an industry There are seven chemicals with different be getting addicted. They observed bees study of exposure during the summer that names in the neonicotinoid class, and they can —P were seeking out plants treated with the found no risk. But an independent study that be found in dozens of pesticides manufactured pesticide, even though it’s harmful to followed bees into their winter for home use, including many popular Bayer them. hibernation found a queen’s survival and Ortho products. They are: Imidacloprid, When the leaves of a plant that’s been Clothianidin, Acetamiprid, treated with neonicotinoids fall and decompose Thiamethoxam, Dinotefuran, in the earth, it contaminates the soil. The Nitenpyram and Thiacloprid. chemical is also water soluble and has been “The label on ' shown to have dramatic effects on aquatic I her house, and the area along her fence, about 6 to 8 inches, unplanted and free of any mulch or other cover. ecause many bee species native to Oregon Bee educator Rebekah Golden suggests leaving are solitary bees with small flying ranges, an un-mowed, patchy area of yard with south or your backyard could become a haven away southeastern sun exposure in the morning, which .from harmful pesticides if you provide continuing “will help them get warm and flying in the Ufaal resources, said Aimée Code, the pesticide mornings.” program director at The Xerces Society for Don’t compact or till the soil in these areas ’invertebrate Conservation. because there may be eggs that will develop into “Recognizing there are hundreds of species out larvae and pupa over the winter and through the there, if you build a habitat, they will come. You year, Code said. “They will only be adults for a will see an amazing diversity of pollinators in your couple of weeks.” yard if you start putting in native plants,” she said. It’s also important to provide pollinators with a source of drinking water, which can be as easy as Plotting your garden keeping a saucer that’s lost its teacup full of water, Vollmer said. Garden Fever also has Lori Vollmer, owner of Garden Fever in pollinator baths made by a local potter that can Northeast Portland, said the key to having a be attached to the top of copper tubing. pollinator-friendly garden is to stock it with plants Just make sure the water source'is shallow and that have overlapping blooms at different times of has an incline that pollinators can iise to get close year, making sure you have something in bloom to the water without drowning, and maintain the for pollinators to feed on throughout the seasons. water level throughout the week. “The hardest part is late winter,” Vollmer said, When selecting your plants, note these “but there are a lot of native plants here in the important guidelines: Northwest that bloom during that time - all the ■ Choose plant species that are native to your Mahonias (such as the Oregon Grape), which are region. Research shows that most native bees also a favorite of the hummingbird as prefer native flowers. For a comprehensive list of an added bonus,” she said. Waterleaf native plants and their blooming schedule, visit will bloom in early spring, and it’s a Xerces.org. species that bumblebees like, she said, ■ Also make sure you plant species that are “then you would go into the spring right for the amount of sunlight your garden blooming bulbs and shrubs.” receives. A healthy plant won’t get infested, so She said snowdrops and flowering currants keep an eye on your plants throughout the are good early spring choices, and then as you season, and make sure they’re getting what they move into summer and fall, there are many need. colorful options to choose from. ■ Do not use pesticides. If you do resort to Herbs can also be a good addition, as long as pest control, look for natural alternatives and you allow a couple of them to flower, she said. make sure you aren’t spraying pollinators directly. Pollinators especially love dill, parsley and Ask your local nursery about nontoxic mustards. alternatives. Vollmer successfully rid her plants of Vollmer also recommends planting in clumps, aphids by simply knocking them off with hose with 3-foot wide patches of the same plant grouped together. This will help pollinators to see water - once they fall, they can’t get back up. Golden, an educator at Bee Thinking, warns, the flowers. however, that some concentrated plant You will also want to leave some undisturbed areas of dirt because many native bees nest in the compound-based pest control products can be harmful to pollinators. She recommends ground. sprinkling Vollmer said she usually leaves some diatomaceous earth, space between her garden a very fine sand, in and , j areas where aphids and STAFF W R ITER w ill rate dropped when she had been exposed to neonicotinoids during the summer. “These studies done by industry wouldn’t be looking at those subtle risks, but they are there,” she said. “When you have an economic incentive to not find risk, if you look at the studies, you’re less likely to find risk. Look at the independent stu d ie s, a n d you s e e harm.” When looking at the bulk of the data, the message, the science used and how researchers evaluated risk, she said, there is a growing body of science that demonstrates the risks of neonicotinoids. “We’re seeing significant concern for pollinators and water quality,” she said. But regardless of disagreements over the science, both sides seem to agree: When the application instructions aren’t followed correctly, neonicotinoids can kill bees. With SB 929, however, licensed pesticide applicators could still spray neonicotinoids. The bill would not restrict agricultural use of the chemical, only residential use. When nursery owner Lori Vollmer heard about the bee massacre at the Target in Wilsonville, she immediately pulled all pest control products containing neonicotinoids from the shelves of her store, Garden Fever. Vollmer, who has been operating the boutique nursery in Northeast Portland for 15 years, said it’s quite common for residential See BEES, page 11 B * s a m I B ii P H O T O B Y E M IL Y GREEN You can fin d pollinator garden supplies at most neighborhood nurseries. Pictured here, from Garden Fever in Northeast Portland: native p la n t seeds from Native Ideals and other pollinator favorites such as dill, cosmos and milkweed; a mason bee home from local nonprofit Swarm Portland; a pollinator bath; an d a book on how to p la n t a bee-friendly garden from The Xerces Society. crawling insects are found. But again, avoid bees and their nesting areas when using it. ■ If buying plants that have already started growing, check the label to make sure they have not been treated with neonicotinoids. ■ Choose a variety of bloom colors. This will attract a diversity of pollinators. ■ If you want to build a habitat for butterflies, don’t forget about the plants that their larvae, caterpillars, need to survive. For example, Monarch butterflies will only lay eggs on milkweed. ■ And remember: The key is to plant species that bloom at different times of year so that pollinators always have something to feed on. ■ Visit xerces.org for a wealth of information on making nests for native bees, selecting the right plants and more. ■ And finally, register your garden with the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge at millionpollinatorgardens.org. Keeping a pollinator garden means you will have visible insect activity in your garden. “We really need to get away from seeing insect activity in our yard as a negative thing,” Code said. “Lots of our native bees actually use leaves from plants to line their nests, so you might see a plant that has a little hole cut out of it, and think you have a pest, when in reality you have a native bee that’s using your yard to create their nest. So taking a step back and appreciating the insects in our yard is really important. “I know when I’m losing faith with the world, and at this time when the news can be so depressing, the best thing I can do is go out in my yard and know that I’m creating habitat in my own little area,” she said.
