Eight of the top 10 leading garden retailers and garden centres don’t want the flowering plants they sell to be grown with bee-harming neonicotinoid pesticides and have told suppliers not to use them, a Friends of the Earth survey reveals today. 

However, one of the biggest garden retailers, Homebase, has yet to commit to working with suppliers to end the use of restricted neonicotinoids, despite being contacted by thousands of people via a Friends of the Earth online action.

The survey follows research by leading bee scientist Professor Dave Goulson, published earlier this summer which revealed that 70% of the plants tested from a number of stores contained neonicotinoid pesticides including three products restricted across Europe that have been found to pose a ‘high acute risk’ to honeybees.

One of the retailers saying no to neonicotinoids is the UK’s biggest garden centre Wyevale. It was urged to act on the chemicals earlier this year by over 18,000 Friends of the Earth supporters via an online action after tests revealed that they were selling plants containing neonicotinoids.

Wyevale has now confirmed with Friends of the Earth that it does not want the three restricted neonicotinoids in its garden plants, saying: “we will be working harder to seek the…removal of the three European banned neonics from the complete supply chain during 2018.”

Earlier this year leading garden store B&Q became the first retailer to announce that it was banning suppliers from using all neonicotinoid pesticides in its flowering plant range from early next year. 

A Friends of the Earth YouGov poll published in May 2017 found that over three quarters of the British public (78%) agree that garden centres and retailers should not sell plants grown with pesticides that are harmful to bees.

Later today Friends of the Earth is handing in a petition from over 33,000 people, urging the government to support a permanent, comprehensive ban on all bee-harming neonicotinoid pesticides.

Friends of the Earth surveyed the 10 leading garden retailers and garden centres and discovered that eight don’t want the plants they sell to be grown with any of the three neonicotinoid pesticides currently restricted by the EU and have told suppliers not to use them; Hillview has not yet replied.

“We’re delighted that leading garden retailers are responding to public concern and mounting scientific evidence by saying ‘no’ to plants grown with bee-harming chemicals,” said Friends of the Earth bee campaigner Nick Rau.

“We’re particularly pleased the UK’s biggest garden centre Wyevale has listened to the thousands of people who contacted them and has pledged to work harder to ensure the removal of restricted neonicotinoids from its supply chain. We now urge Homebase to follow suit and reject these chemicals.

“People up and down the country have been creating pollinator-friendly gardens; they need to be confident that the plants they buy are not going to harm Britain’s bees.

This announcement comes in the wake of a report last week (August 14) that Royal Holloway University had released research suggesting that neonicotinoid pesticides are a risk to bumblebee extinction.

The research showed that queen bees exposed to neonicotinoid pesticides were 26% less likely to be able to start a new colony.

Friends of the Earth is urging the UK government to back moves in the EU to permanently extend current neonicotinoid restrictions to all crops and commit to keeping any ban post-Brexit.

“This new study comes hot on the heels of the largest field trials of neonicotinoids showing harm to honey bees and wild bees,” said Friends of the Earth nature campaigner Sandra Bell. “It follows new evidence of how these pesticides leak into the environment and turn up in wildflowers posing further risk to bees.  

“It is clear that use of these chemicals on any crop poses a risk to bees and other wildlife. The Government has repeatedly said it will follow the science – how much more science does it need before it acts to protect our precious bees? Michael Gove must put his support behind a comprehensive ban on neonicotinoid pesticides across the EU and continue the ban in the UK post-Brexit.”

Leading bee expert Professor Dave Goulson said: "There is currently lots of interest in making our gardens into havens for bees and other wildlife, which is fantastic. Hence we were very sad to discover that most of the pretty flowers marketed as 'bee-friendly' by garden centres and bought by well-meaning people with their hard-earned cash, actually contain significant concentrations of highly potent insecticides.

”It is great to see many garden centres responding positively to our research by moving to ban neonicotinoids. Hopefully we can soon reach a point where 'bee-friendly' plants are completely free of insecticides."