Lowe's to stop selling pesticide that harms honeybees

A honeybee. — (Image credit: David Silverman/Getty Images)

In a win for bees, Lowe's announced Thursday it will stop selling a pesticide that is suspected of killing honeybee populations that are necessary for pollinating crops, completely phasing it out of products and plants by the spring of 2019.

Neonicotinoids, or neonics, boost yields of crops, but can also be used on plants that people buy for their homes. Scientists believe that bee deaths are linked to neonics, Reuters reports, and are extremely worried, as honeybees pollinate plants that produce roughly 25 percent of food eaten by Americans.

A study released in 2014 by Friends of the Earth and the Pesticide Research Institute showed that 51 percent of plants purchased at Lowe's, Walmart, and Home Depot in 18 cities in the U.S. and Canada had high enough levels of neonics to harm or kill bees. Home Depot has asked its suppliers to label plants treated with neonics, and is conducting tests to see if plants can remain healthy without the use of the pesticide.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.