Bee-killing pesticides are just a click away — but Amazon can change that

Commonly used pesticides are poisoning bees — and their babies. 

A commonly used class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids, or neonics for short, inflict lasting harm on our country’s bees. They impact bees’ motor function, harm baby bees and impact bee colonies throughout multiple generations.

For the bees, we have to make sure these pesticides have no place in our plants and ecosystems.

Toxic neonic pesticides threaten bees

• Neonic pesticides are driving a collapse in pollinator populations.
• Neonicotinoids attack bees’ nervous systems. Once they’ve been exposed, affected bees face uncontrollable shaking, paralysis and death.
• Worst of all, these pesticides have lasting impacts on bees of all sorts — as well as their ability to reproduce and, ultimately, survive in the long term. In one study, blue orchard bees that were exposed to neonicotinoids as larvae produced 20% fewer offspring than unexposed bees. And those numbers got worse with multiple exposures.
• We’re seeing harm to bumblebees as well. In the past two decades, American bumblebee numbers have dropped by nearly 90%.

These pesticides are bad for bees — and we need to protect these pollinators.

Amazon can’t same-day ship a new species

Amazon can and should stop contributing to the decline of bees — because while the company is great at speedy delivery, it can’t next-day ship a new species.

Our world needs bees.

They’re responsible for pollinating so much of our food and so many of the plants that form the foundation of ecosystems across the planet.

We need to protect our country’s bees. And we can start by shielding them from these dangerous pesticides.

At the click of a mouse, Amazon can deliver almost anything — and sadly, that includes bee-killing pesticides.

When it comes to maintaining our lawns and gardens, there are plenty of safe products on the market. Instead, Amazon still sells products containing bee-killing neonics.

Amazon can’t same-day ship a new species — and that’s why we’re calling on the company to take neonics off its virtual shelves. And we know that when we call on companies together, we can make a difference.

Five years ago, conservationists across the country called on The Home Depot and Lowe’s to remove neonics from their shelves. And even though there’s still work to be done on removing these bee-killing pesticides, it led to progress: Both companies have taken important steps to phase out neonics.

Let’s work together to make sure that Amazon doesn’t deliver a chemical that’s killing bees.

Join us to help protect bees.

Environment America, Inc. is a 501(c)(4) organization. EIN 20-5355252.