I have to declare my interest, I am both a gardener, of sorts, and a
bee keeper. I expect that some of you will, from time to time, use
chemical pesticides on your plants. If you do then I would like to
draw your attention to a problem created by one in particular. To
those of you who don't may I seek information from you on
environmentally friendly alternatives which you have used to control
pests.

One chemical has been in the news lately, imidacloprid. Its effect on
bees is to cause them to lose their sense of direction and to become
lost. This chemical is marketed under a variety of brand names and is
licensed for use on several plants in the UK. Restrictions are placed
on its use when the plant is in flower and when spraying on leaves.
The chemical is slowly released inside the plant. I suspect that the
chemical is to be found in high concentration in both the nectar and
pollen of treated plants. Bees thus get a double dose. But I have to
admit that to my knowledge no studies have been carried out into this
so I may well be in error. In south-west France where the chemical is
used differently from the UK honey production has fallen by 60%. The
number of Registered hives in France is reputed to have fallen by one
third. Originally the number was around 1.5 million. However, the
pesticide companies claim that their products are not responsible for
killing bees. UK bee keepers claim that from its introduction they
noticed that bees were becoming disorientated, getting lost and dying.
This is just one product used here to illustrate a growing problem.
There are many more.

This is one hobby which lurches from one crises to another and not
because of the bee!

Whilst I don't use pesticides in my garden I do use other means of
keeping the bugs at bay. I try to live and cooperate with nature as
much as possible, not always successfully. The problem I have is in
finding environmentally friendly solutions to replace the savage and
indiscriminate ones offered by the chemical industry. I am having
difficultly in finding a central point which provides this sort of
information in an easily understandable way. Constructive advice on
this would be appreciated.

Pearson.