City Council stings a pesticide

Amidst all of the other City Hall buzz about budgets, City Light rates and elections, Seattle City Council this week passed a resolution intended to protect some of Seattle's insects. The resolution calls for the city to stop the use of weed killers or pesticides that contain neonicotinoids, a substance believed to have contributed to widespread bee deaths in recent years. “This is a modest step to help protect bees and other pollinators, which help make the Emerald City blossom every spring,” Councilmember Mike O'Brien said in a statement.Barbara DeCaro, a horticulturalist for Seattle Parks and Recreation, said the city is only using the insecticides for some “sucking insects," including scale insects and mealybugs that attack young trees, such as Douglas firs. The city grows a variety of native trees, including the Douglas firs, for restoration projects. The insecticide the city used came in a granular form that was dissolved in the water given to the trees. And it was only used inside nurseries, DeCaro said, not outdoors in parks or natural areas. It was also never applied to plants that were flowering.So, all in all, the risk to bees was relatively low. But there are some unknowns about whether bees might ingest pollen or nectar from a tree treated with the insecticides. "That's why we chose to be very conservative," DeCaro said. Going forward, she said the city might try to combat the sucking bugs with vegetable-based horticultural oils. — B.L.