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Report that Bayer is to stop using thiacloprid in Provado and Baby Bio from 2016.

news release

Responding to reports that Bayer is to remove the controversial neonicotinoid pesticide, thiacloprid, from garden products, Sandra Bell, bees campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “For months we’ve been calling for garden bug sprays containing thiacloprid to be taken off the shelves due to mounting evidence of harm to bees.

“It’s good for bees that there will be fewer of these products in our gardens, but thiacloprid is also used on farms – these should be removed too.

“If gardeners want to help wildlife they should avoid spraying chemical insecticides altogether.

“Meanwhile, the Government has controversially given farmers in some parts of England permission this autumn to use another Bayer neonicotinoid pesticide, which is currently restricted by the EU.

“If we want to help protect our precious bees, neonicotinoid pesticides should be kept out of our fields and gardens for good.”

Ends

1. According to Horticulture Week, Bayer is to stop using thiacloprid in its Provado and Baby Bio garden insecticides from 2016.  Bayer said “Neonicotinoids have become a contentious issue. It is likely that the regulations and legislation around Thiacloprid will change in the near future, and Bayer has decided to be proactive about changing its products to meet the demands of these changes”.

2. Bayer will replace thiacloprid with a pyrethroid, deltamethrin.

3. Although Bayer is replacing thiacloprid in its garden bug sprays, it also sells professional crop protection products containing thiacloprid including Calypso for use in orchards and Biscaya for use on oil seed rape and several vegetable crops.

4.  There is evidence that thiacloprid affects bees’ navigational ability and behaviour, making it harder for them to find their way back to their hives, and that exposure to thiacloprid can increase the likelihood of honeybees dying if they are already infected with diseasesAnother study found that the toxicity of thiacloprid to honey bees is increased over 1,000 fold when mixed with fungicides.

https://www.foe.co.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/friends-earth-thiacloprid-pesticide-briefing-march-2015-76087.pdf

5. Friends of the Earth’s briefing on thiacloprid.

6. Thiacloprid is currently under re-assessment as part of the normal EU process for reviewing active ingredients in pesticide products.

7. Although Bayer says it’s acting ahead of legislation on one neonicotinoid, another neonicotinoid produced by Bayer which is subject to existing EU restrictions, has been used to treat oilseed rape seeds used on farms in some parts of England this Autumn following an emergency authorisation granted by the UK Government.  Friends of the Earth believes that allowing farmers to use this pesticide is unnecessary, harmful and unlawful, and is challenging the Government by applying to the High Court for a judicial review.

For press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust

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