Notcutts, Hillier, Squires, Blue Diamond and SCATS become the latest retailers to ban chemicals linked to bee decline

A campaign to banish pesticides linked to the fall in bee populations appears to be gathering pace after at least five garden centre chains agreed to remove products blamed for the decline.

Hardware retailers B&Q, Wickes and Homebase created a buzz last month when they confirmed they would stop stocking products that contained three neonicotinoid insecticides that have been identified as posing a risk to bee populations.

The European Union also this month proposed a ban on using the insecticides on flowering crops. If imposed, the three neonicotinoids would be forbidden from use on corn, oil seed rape, sunflowers and other crops across the continent for two years.

However, environment secretary Owen Paterson has confirmed the UK government is opposed to a ban, arguing there is not enough scientific evidence to show that the three pesticides are linked to bee population decline.

Now five more retailers – Notcutts, Hillier, Squires, Blue Diamond and SCATS Countrystores, which between them operate 78 garden centres across the UK – have also agreed to remove products containing neonicotinoid pesticides from their shelves.

SCATS, which was the latest retailer to remove the products, told Friends of the Earth it had been stocking products containing the three pesticides and has now taken the decision to de-list them and stop ordering them with immediate effect.

According to Horticulture Week, Scotsdales Garden Centre has also bowed to pressure from its Facebook followers to take the products off the shop floor.

Friends of the Earth has been urging people to contact their local garden centres to ask them to remove products containing neonicotinoid pesticides.

Andrew Pendleton, head of campaigns for Friends of the Earth, welcomed the move and called on the government to follow suit and take action to curb the use of the chemicals.

"It's great to see garden centres across the UK heeding the warning from European safety experts and pulling pesticide products linked to bee decline from their shelves," he said.

"The approach of leading retailers stands in stark contrast to the government's reluctance to back European efforts to safeguard bees from pesticides. With bee numbers plummeting, Owen Paterson must take urgent action to safeguard these crucial pollinators by backing a ban and introducing a bee action plan to tackle all the threats they face."