Insect numbers are in freefall and most people know that pesticide use in agriculture is partly to blame.
But many domestic products including topical flea treatments for dogs, ant killer applications, washing-up liquid and herbicides can also contribute to the problem.
In fact, some substances that are banned for use in agriculture in the UK and other countries are routinely used in the home. Products containing fipronil and imidacloprid, the main domestic products in use for flea treatments and ant traps, have been found to be highly toxic to bees, triggering agitation, seizures, tremors and paralysis. They can also be harmful to aquatic life: dogs which have had flea treatment swim in rivers and lakes, where the chemicals wash off and kill wildlife. Or sometimes the treatments enter the water system after owners bathe the animals.
Five powerful pesticides are used in treatments for cats and dogs: fipronil, permethrin, imidacloprid, dinotefuran and nitenpyram.
Fipronil is often used in pet flea treatments but one study found it in 99% of samples from 20 rivers in England, and the average level of one particularly toxic breakdown product of the pesticide was 38 times above the safety limit. Imidacloprid, used as an ant killer as well as present in flea treatments, was also found at toxic levels in rivers. Conservationists recommend not using prophylactic parasiticide treatments at all, and instead regularly monitoring for fleas by flea-combing regularly, and checking dogs after walks for ticks, using a tick hook if necessary.
The Wildlife Trusts have warned that washing-up liquids and cleaning products can be harmful to wildlife, including insects, with long-lasting effects. They say: “Brands like Ecover, Method, Bio-D and some supermarket own brands have good products made from natural and environmentally friendly ingredients.”
The insect charity Buglife has written a manifesto for bugs that asks the government to take a tougher stance on domestic chemicals.
A spokesperson for Buglife said: “We are also concerned by co-formulants, rather than solely the ‘active’ ingredient against which many products are ‘assessed’. For instance, some glyphosate-based herbicides can cause high levels of mortality to bumblebees, but it is not the active ingredient that is harmful, but the other ingredients that are included in the pesticide product. Of particular concern are the alcohol ethoxylates which are now directly implicated in field-level impacts on bumblebee survival. These co-formulants are not subject to comparable safety testing.”
Buglife is calling for increased monitoring of all veterinary medicines and a full investigation into the environmental risks posed by veterinary medicines and domestic chemical products.
