Ban Neonicotinoids in CT!

SUMMARY

Neonicotinoids, aka “neonics,” are neurotoxic pesticides that have been linked to devastating bee and insect losses around the world and, increasingly, to extensive water and soil contamination. Banned in Europe over a decade ago, these chemicals have been shown to cause harmful ecosystem-wide impacts and human health concerns. The latest research shines a spotlight on a new group of victims: aquatic insects and other marine life. Neonics are easily replaceable with safer alternatives, allowing effective landscape management at little to no cost to the environment or people. Join us in supporting legislation to strengthen CT’s 2016 Pollinator Protection Act by prohibiting the use of neonics on residential landscapes such as lawns and golf courses.

BACKGROUND

What are neonicotinoids?

Neonicotinoids, also known as “neonics,” are a class of synthetic, neurotoxic insecticides developed in the mid-1990s that are used on agricultural crops, lawns, gardens, golf courses, and in flea and tick pet treatments. While they’re completely banned across the EU and in some other countries, Neonics are now the single-most popular insecticide class in the United States, despite several states heavily restricting their use.

Neonics are “systemic” pesticides, meaning they’re applied directly to the soil around a plant’s roots, or as a coating on a plant seed, which the plant then soaks up as it grows. A large percentage of the pesticide enters the soil where it can persist especially after repeated applications. Rain and irrigation run-off can also cause neonics to leach into waterways and groundwater. 

Neonics permanently bind to the nerve cells of insects, causing overstimulation that ultimately kills them. Even at nonlethal doses, neonics can weaken critical functions, such as an insect’s immune system, navigation, stamina, memory, and fertility.

Why are they bad?

While neonics are designed to be highly toxic to a broad range of insects that may damage crops, they’re also highly lethal to other beneficial insects, such as bees and other pollinators. Aquatic invertebrates are much more sensitive to neonics than other standard test species. According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine, “In addition to the lethal effects, many studies point to sublethal impacts - reduced reproductive capacity, initiation of downstream drift of organisms, reduced ability to eat, or a change in feeding strategies.”

Neonics can wipe out aquatic insect populations that birds, fish, amphibians, and other animals rely on for food. Neonic water contamination has also been linked to harm to bats and birth defects in white-tailed deer.

Research on the impacts on human health from exposure to neonics is limited, yet preliminary studies do show cause for concern. According to ​​Melissa Perry, a public health researcher at George Washington University, “In the past 15 years, we have come to understand that many pesticides can mimic hormones, which can affect the activities of the human endocrine system. Because studies of the human health effects of neonicotinoids have been quite limited, whether they have human endocrine activity is not yet known.”

SURFRIDER CT EFFORTS

Surfrider CT is working to educate our community about neonics, gather data, craft effective legislation, and build support for a bill to restrict the use of neonic-containing pesticides for non-agricultural purposes. 

CPR

Surfrider CT is part of a coalition called Connecticut Pesticide Reform (CPR), which is made up of individuals and conservation organizations from across Connecticut. Its mission is to pass a bill that will restrict the use of dangerous pesticides in an effort to protect the health of humans, birds, pollinators, and marine life, and reduce pollution that is putting the state's waters, wetlands, and wildlife at risk.

CPR is active in educating our communities while making strides towards eliminating neonics from our state: we have already completed numerous tests of local waterways, which will help us identify current sources of pollution, the levels that currently exist in our local environment, and where we need to focus our attention in the future. Our tests will build on findings from the US Geological Survey to craft legislation that is specific to Connecticut’s unique environment and needs, ensuring that our state is protected against pesticide levels that exceed the lethal benchmarks for aquatic life set by the federal government.

STATUS

While Bill No. 120 “An Act Concerning The Use Of Chlorpyrifos On Golf Courses And Neonicotinoids For Nonagricultural Use” passed in 2023, it was stripped of critical components regarding neonics and commercial use. Bill No. 190 was introduced in early 2024 addressing the exemptions in Bill No. 120, but this did not pass. Connecticut currently prohibits the use of residential neonic application, but our coalition is working on crafting a bill that will restrict the use of neonics even further, including inlandscaping, golf courses, and other non-agricultural uses.

Currently, only a handful of other states have passed legislation restricting neonic use to some degree, including California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

In 2013, the European Union and several neighboring countries restricted the use of certain neonicotinoids, ultimately banning the three main neonicotinoids (clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam) for all outdoor uses in 2018.

To learn more about how you can get involved, email ct@surfrider.org