Reduce pesticide use

Why it matters

Insects are the foundation of nearly every food web on land. They pollinate the plants that produce a third of our food, decompose organic matter, cycle nutrients, and form the base of the diet for most birds, bats, and small mammals. A landscape that looks green but has lost its insects is ecologically hollow.

Pesticide use is one of the primary drivers of insect decline. Neonicotinoids -- the most widely used class of insecticide in the world -- are systemic, meaning the entire plant is toxic, not just its surface. They persist in soil for years and accumulate in pollen and nectar at concentrations that impair bee navigation, reduce reproduction, and in some cases are directly lethal.¹ Research published in Science found that migratory songbirds exposed to neonicotinoids lost weight rapidly and showed impaired orientation -- the kind of disruption that directly reduces survival on migration.²

Herbicides compound the damage by removing the "weeds" that insects depend on. Many of the plants routinely killed in gardens and on farmland -- dandelions, nettles, clover, thistles -- are among the most ecologically valuable plants in any landscape, supporting dozens to hundreds of invertebrate species that have nowhere else to go.

How to do it

1. 1Stop using insecticides entirely in your garden: there is no safe dose for beneficial insects. Even products marketed as natural or organic can be harmful to non-target species. The most effective approach is to stop using them and instead manage pests through habitat design.
2. 2Tolerate some pest damage: a garden with no aphids has no ladybirds, no blue tits, and no hoverflies. Partial damage to plants is normal and ecologically productive. If a plant is so vulnerable to pests that it cannot survive without chemical support, consider replacing it with a hardier native alternative.
3. 3Replace herbicides with physical removal or ground cover: hand-pull weeds before they set seed, or suppress them with dense native planting that outcompetes them. Where bare soil is unavoidable, mulch suppresses weeds without chemicals and builds soil biology at the same time.
4. 4Let some "weeds" stay: dandelions bloom in early spring when almost nothing else does. Nettles host the caterpillars of red admiral, small tortoiseshell, and peacock butterflies. Clover fixes nitrogen and feeds bumblebees throughout summer. Identify what you have before you remove it.
5. 5On agricultural land, explore integrated pest management (IPM): IPM combines biological controls, habitat management, resistant crop varieties, and targeted pesticide use only as a last resort. Studies consistently show that IPM reduces pesticide use by 50 to 90% without reducing yields, particularly when paired with field margins and hedgerows that support natural predator populations.³
6. 6Buy organic or regenerative where you can: consumer demand directly influences farming practice. Certified organic produce is produced without synthetic pesticides. Regenerative agriculture goes further, actively rebuilding soil biology. Even shifting a portion of your food budget toward these sources sends a market signal.
7. 7Advocate locally: most parks, roadsides, and public green spaces in towns and cities are routinely sprayed with herbicides for aesthetic reasons. Many local authorities have reduced or eliminated pesticide use on public land in response to direct public pressure. Ask your local council or municipality what their pesticide policy is.

What to use instead

The most effective long-term alternative to pesticides is a well-designed planting scheme. Native plants are adapted to local pest pressures and support the predatory insects -- ground beetles, hoverflies, parasitic wasps, lacewings -- that keep pest populations in check naturally. A garden with diverse native plantings rarely develops the kind of monoculture pest outbreaks that tempt people toward chemical intervention.

For slug and snail control, encouraging hedgehogs, frogs, and ground beetles is far more effective over time than pellets. A small wildlife pond, a log pile, and rough grass at the garden edge will do more to reduce slug damage than any product on the market.