Robert's Rants
Robert's Rants
A personal blog on the Canadian pesticide industry and other pet peeves and interests

Neonics and pest control…is there an effect?

Okay what brought that on was reading all the posts following a story I read on CBC.ca concerning the PMRA and a just published commentary doc.  Not many times you see the PMRA in the news, surprisingly.

The document highlights further restrictions on neonics and allows for a 90 day comment.

To be honest I have yet to read the PMRA doc, but will.  The impact is more ag and crop related from what I gather.  Our neonics for structural should be non-impact on the bee decline.

And all the posts following the CBC story were from the anti-pesticide movement, claiming the restrictions should be an actual ban.  Some made valid points.  Not all tree-huggers have sap for brains.

But some do.

So as is my nature I’m mulling through the plight of the honey bee.  Cell phone towers, auto congestion, airplanes, smoke and pollution.

I’d be confused as hell if I was a bee.  Most days I can’t even find my way down the stairs.

But maybe not just the honey bee if being effected by all this bad air

I don’t want to imply a correlation between the decline of the bee and the overall business for outdoor pest control services….but…..

Namely wasp, hornet and bee calls.

They’re down. I guarantee it.

So if the same thing is having an effect on the bee is affecting our outdoor business, then where should we stand?

I know the major suppliers will say there’s no effect, but makes you wonder.  I think it’s a combination of hundreds of effects, some more harmful than others.

In an industry where your job is controlling pests, and there are no pests….