Friends of the Earth urges other retailers to follow suit after studies show damaging effects of neonicotinoids on bees

All flowering plants sold by B&Q are to be grown without using pesticides that are harmful to bees, the retailer has announced.

A series of scientific studies have shown that bees are exposed to neonicotinoid pesticides in fields and suffer serious harm from the doses they receive. The European commission has drawn up draft legislation to ban the pesticides, citing “high acute risks to bees”.

B&Q said on Tuesday that from February next year it would no longer sell flowering plants grown using the pesticides. It claimed it was the first retailer to commit to such an undertaking.

Nick Rau, of Friends of the Earth, urged others to follow suit. “The horticulture industry should stop using these pesticides as soon as possible, and label any plants containing restricted neonicotinoids until this is achieved,” he said. “Planting bee-friendly gardens and other spaces is vitally important for the UK’s threatened bees.”

Bees and other pollinators fertilise about three-quarters of the world’s food crops but their numbers are in decline.

Lab and field-based studies suggest neonicotinoids reduce learning and memory in bees, impair their communication, foraging efficiency and immune systems and reduce their reproductive success as well as the pollination services they can provide. However, almost no data exists on whether this harm ultimately leads to falls in overall bee populations.

The EU imposed a temporary ban on the use of the three key neonicotinoids on some crops in 2013, but the new proposals would make an exception for plants grown entirely in greenhouses.

Rachel Bradley, B&Q’s sustainability manager, said: “We are encouraging everyone to do more for wildlife and to that end we will ensure that none of the flowering plants we sell will be grown using any pesticide containing any of the nine neonicotinoids.”

