John,

For as long as humans have been growing crops, we've been relying on bees.

But this ancient relationship between bees and agriculture has become threatened by a class of pesticides invented in the 1980s.[1]

Pollinator populations across the U.S. are plummeting. Study after study indicates that the use of neonicotinoid pesticides are contributing to these declines.[2]

An estimated third of global food production relies on pollination by bees -- when we use neonics, we're playing an unsustainable game of chance with our food supply.[3]

We don't need neonics to grow food. But we do need bees.

Tell Home Depot: You can help save bees by stopping the sale of neonicotinoid pesticides.
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Thank you,

Faye Park
President

1. Deirdre Cummings, "State-funded study confirms 'neonics' pesticides harmful to pollinators," MassPIRG, June 25, 2020.
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2. Deirdre Cummings, "State-funded study confirms 'neonics' pesticides harmful to pollinators," MassPIRG, June 25, 2020.
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3. "Why bees are essential to people and planet," UN Environment Programme, May 18, 2022.
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: U.S. PIRG <[email protected]>
Date: Sunday, September 14, 2025
Subject: Take action: Bees are dying. Home Depot can help.
To: John xxxxxx <[email protected]>

:




John,

Agriculture as we know it wouldn't exist without bees.

These industrious insects play a critical role in our food system -- nearly all crops in the world rely on pollination from bees, and honeybees alone pollinate $15 billion worth of produce annually in the U.S.[1,2]

And how do we thank these tiny pollinators? By dousing industrial farms and backyard gardens with neonicotinoids (neonics), a class of pesticides that can incapacitate and even kill bees.

By killing bees, these pesticides are endangering our entire agricultural system -- you can also buy them at most Home Depots.

We're launching a petition urging Home Depot to stop selling bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides. Will you add your name?
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We're living through a mass bee die-off.

Over the past two decades, the American bumblebee population has fallen by 90%, and last winter U.S. beekeepers reported the highest rate of colony collapse on record.[3,4]

This insect apocalypse can't be isolated from the rise of neonics. These neurotoxins are so potent that a single teaspoon can theoretically kill more than a billion bees. Even in small doses, they can be devastating.[5]

When applied, these chemicals are absorbed by the plant, turning it into a living land mine for any insect that encounters it. A bee that sips nectar from a treated flower may not instantly die, but it will suffer as the toxin attacks its neurological system, impairing its ability to navigate, remember and reproduce.[6]

Tell Home Depot CEO Ted Decker: Neonics have no place on Home Depot's shelves.
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Bees have been pollinating our crops since the agricultural revolution. Neonicotinoids have only been around since the 1980s, but in that period, bee populations plummeted -- it's become common for honeybee colonies to plummet by 30% each year.[7,8]

Home Depot has already committed to phasing out the sale of neonicotinoid-treated plants from its garden center, but when our entire food system is at stake, it's imperative that the company do everything possible to support bee recovery. That includes not selling neonics.[9]

It's a simple relationship: Bees pollinate the food we eat. There's just no reason to justify the continued selling of a product that would impede this critical system.

Tell Home Depot: We can live without neonics, but not without bees.
[link removed]

Thank you,

Faye Park
President

1. "What is the role of native bees in the United States?," USGS, last accessed August 25, 2025.
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2. "Honey Bees," U.S. Department of Agriculture, last accessed August 25, 2025.
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3. Steve Blackledge, Malia Libby and Carson Kahoe, "The American bumblebee is on the decline," Environment America, January 24, 2022.
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4. Phoebe Weston, "'Could become a death spiral': scientists discover what's driving record die-offs of US honeybees," The Guardian, July 8, 2025.
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5. Helena Horton, "Government overturns Tory measure and bans emergency use of bee-killing pesticide," The Guardian, January 23, 2025.
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6. Steve Blackledge, "3 ways neonic pesticides are harming bees," Environment America, April 19, 2024.
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7. "State-funded study confirms 'neonics' pesticides harmful to pollinators," MASSPIRG, June 25, 2020.
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8. Phoebe Weston, "'Could become a death spiral': scientists discover what's driving record die-offs of US honeybees," The Guardian, July 8, 2025.
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9. "Home Depot to phase out neonics by 2018," Greenhouse Management, December 3, 2015.
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