27
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 27, 2023) A study published in the Journal of Economic Entomology calls into question the scientific literature on protecting bees from pesticides. The study analyzes actions taken by pesticide users to reduce the risk of pesticides on nontarget organisms, known as “mitigation measures.” Ultimately, the study finds that there is insufficient evidence to support the effectiveness of bee-protecting mitigation measures.   “Almost all research was centered around protecting honey bees. However, honey bees are a managed species that is not endangered,” Edward Straw, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher in the School of Agriculture and Food Science at University College Dublin in Ireland and lead author on the study, says, “When we try to protect bees, we really want to be protecting wild, unmanaged bee species, as these are the species which are in decline.” The study includes a chart of mitigation methods that have been tested in the scientific literature. The mitigation measures under evaluation include: restricting pesticide application to certain times of day, restricting the application of pesticides during weather events, removing flowering weeds that attract pollinators, applying repellents to deter pollinators, and more. The researchers find that there are few empirical tests on the most widely used […]
Posted in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Pollinators, Repellent, Uncategorized | No Comments »
16
Nov
(Beyond Pesticides, November 16, 2021) Populations of disease-carrying mosquitoes are higher in urban areas of lower socioeconomic status, according to research published this year in the Journal of Urban Ecology. With insect-borne diseases on the rise due to a rapidly changing climate, it is critical to highlight disease patterns and target aid to communities at greatest risk. While pesticide use is often the knee-jerk reaction to high mosquito populations, it is critical not to compound health risks through toxic chemical use. The factors that lead to higher rates of disease-carrying mosquitoes can be remedied through considerate planning and targeted, consistent investment in sustainable infrastructure. To determine the prevalence of mosquito populations, in particular populations of disease-carrying Aedes aegypti, along a gradient of socioeconomic status, researchers began their work in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Eight neighborhoods across the region were categorized based on socioeconomic factors such as household income, population density, health coverage, unemployment level, education, and the amount of trash and abandoned homes in the area. Â Mosquitoes were sampled from October 2018 to May 2019, using six mosquito traps per neighborhood. A total of over 12,000 mosquitoes were trapped over the course of the study, with nearly 90% of traps […]
Posted in Mosquitoes, Repellent, Uncategorized | No Comments »
10
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 10, 2020) A study published in June 2020 in Environmental Health journal is especially concerning for people who become, or plan to become, pregnant. It concludes that personal, agricultural, and household exposures to pesticides may increase the risk of a relatively rare fetal disorder called “holoprosencephaly.” The study finds that pre-conception and the first few weeks of pregnancy are the most vulnerable periods during which exposure can increase risk of this disorder, in which the embryo’s forebrain fails to develop into two distinct hemispheres. The study’s results reinforce Beyond Pesticide’s long-standing warnings of the dangers of pesticides to children and the necessity of shifting to a precautionary approach to the introduction and use of synthetic pesticides (and other chemicals) across all sectors. The importance of this shift is perhaps no more poignantly illustrated than in the impacts that pesticide exposure can have on new life. The study, conducted from 2016 through 2019 by researchers from NIH (the U.S. National Institutes of Health) and the University of Wisconsin–Madison, is a case-control study — one that compares subjects who have a disease or disorder with “controls” who do not have the disorder, comparing the frequency of exposure to a particular risk […]
Posted in Birth defects, Brain Effects, Children, DEET, organochlorines, organophosphate, Repellent, Synthetic Pyrethroid, Synthetic Pyrethroids, Uncategorized | No Comments »
