Tools: Pesticides

“—birds are no match for the insidious chemicals used in many pesticide products. Rat poisons kill raptors like Swainson’s Hawk, owls, and eagles, while weed-killers and insecticides can be lethal to songbirds, from Ruby-throated Hummingbird to Golden-winged Warbler.” American Bird Conservancy

Facts and Effects

Advocacy & Activism

Quotable Facts

– Pesticides packaged for non-agricultural (non-comestible) use can contain 30X more chemical load than allowed for agricultural use.

– Around 40% of America’s most beloved landscape chemicals have been banned in many other countries.

– Of 30 commonly used lawn pesticides, 16 are linked with cancer or carcinogenicity, 12 are linked with birth defects, 21 with reproductive effects, 25 with liver or kidney damage, 14 with neurotoxicity, and 17 with disruption of the endocrine (hormonal) system.

Of those same 30 lawn pesticides, 19 are detected in groundwater, 20 have the ability to leach into drinking water sources, 30 are toxic to fish and other aquatic organisms vital to our ecosystem, 29 are toxic to bees, 14 are toxic to mammals, and 22 are toxic to birds.” https://www.beyondpesticides.org

“—birds are no match for the insidious chemicals used in many pesticide products. Rat poisons kill raptors like Swainson’s Hawk, owls, and eagles, while weed-killers and insecticides can be lethal to songbirds, from Ruby-throated Hummingbird to Golden-winged Warbler.” American Bird Conservancy