Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency proposes limiting the use of two pesticides
OTTAWA – Canada doesn’t want to issue a blanket ban on certain pesticides even though environmental groups say they are killing everything from honey bees to earthworms.
Instead, Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency is proposing limiting the use of two pesticides, and adding more warning labels to the bottles.
The chemicals, sometimes called neonics, are nicotine-based pesticides commonly used by farmers to help keep everything from field crops to fruit orchards free of pests like aphids, spider mites and stink bugs.
The agency has been researching them since 2012, after widespread reports of honey bee deaths led scientists to believe neonics were one of the culprits.