A Year of Helping Birds: Avoid Harmful Pesticides
As detailed in this series’ first post, bird populations in North America have suffered a terrible decline in the past generation; there’s almost 30% fewer birds now than there were since the 1970s. That’s about 3 billion birds in 50 years, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. We’ve lost large amounts of many popular species, including several favorite backyard birds, such as blue jays (1 in 4 lost), red-winged blackbirds (1 in 3 lost), and dark-eyed juncos (1 in 3 lost). There are many reasons for this decline, and in this month’s post for the series A Year of Helping Birds, we’re focusing on the dangers of pesticides used to kill insects, rodents, and weeds.
Unintended Victims - A Thoughtless Toxic Death
Pesticides are toxic substances formulated to kill unwanted insects (insecticides), rodents (rodenticides or rat poison), or plants (herbicides), and they are used in a variety of ways (coating, sprayed, baiting and dusting) and in every location imaginable, from farms to cities, from suburban homes to flower nurseries. Unfortunately pesticides don’t just stop at their intended targets - often pesticides kill birds (and bees and butterflies and other animals), resulting in at least 67 million bird deaths every year in the U.S. a conservative estimate as death by toxins is often difficult to detect. It’s usually a cruel death, sometimes quick as in carbamates (which affect the central nervous system causing instant deathly seizures), and sometimes slowly as with rodenticides (which usually build up in the system and cause slow but deadly hemorrhaging). Always, the deaths are avoidable, with safer alternatives available.
When You Kill Insects, You Kill Birds Too
Overall, insecticides are the biggest pesticide killer of birds, present in 70% of dead birds. The use of insecticides in agriculture has grown significantly in the past few decades - over 500% since 1960, making it almost impossible for birds (and humans) to avoid contamination. Insecticides that harm birds are used frequently around the home too, when treating trees, roses and lawns.
We are all probably familiar with the story of DDT, a powerful insecticide used widely and hailed as “magic” for decades, until Rachel Carson’s powerful book, Silent Spring, published in 1962. Silent Spring presented strong evidence that DDT was killing more than insects, because of its “persistance”: it was infecting the entire food chain and causing the death of many species, including the decimation of bird populations. Our national bird, the bald eagle, was reduced to near extinction, as eagles who ate DDT-laced fish developed fragile eggs that broke before baby eaglets were ready to hatch. By 1963, only 417 nesting pairs of bald eagles were found in the lower 48 states. Despite the powerful and tragic evidence, chemical companies waged a strong defense, and DDT was not officially banned in the U.S until 1971 (in fact, the U.S. still imports DDT to other countries.) Slowly, and with additional help from the Endangered Species Act, bald eagle populations recovered, and by 2007 there were 9,789 nesting pairs.
Problem solved? No, not at all. Since the ban of DDT, a new class of insecticides, neonicotinoids (or “neonics”), have been developed. They are much more toxic, and persist for years in soil and waterways. First released in 1994, neonics are 7,000 times more toxic than DDT, and have been shown to kill bees in the wild as well as birds. Neonics are used widely in agriculture, as well as in lawn care and gardening products, and in pet products for flea and tick control.
Neonics are directly related to huge population declines in bees and birds. When used on plants, they are systemic, which means that they infect every part of the plant: roots, leaves, flowers, pollen and seeds. As it relates to birds, the toxic effects of neonics are almost inescapable: they kill directly with coated seeds that birds eat, they kill insects and worms that birds feed on, and they harm birds who eat parts of plants treated with neonics. due to neurological impacts, they damage birds’ ability to navigate during migration, and forage for food properly. It’s difficult to study the impacts of second-hand insecticides due to the interplay of other factors such as habitat loss, but in one study, white-crowned sparrows, a favorite migratory backyard visitor, was shown to lose weight and delay migration after doses of neonics, a potentially deadly risk.
In the farming industry, almost all seeds for corn, soybean, wheat are now coated in deadly neonics. When birds migrate and fly over farms, they stop to rest and eat, often consuming seeds coated in pesticides. A single neonic-coated seed can kill a songbird. Also, neonics enter soil and water systems, where birds indirectly ingest toxins through affected plants, fish and invertebrates.
In the home and garden, although there has been consumer push back on the use of neonics due to their toxicity to native bees, their use continues and is difficult to detect as labeling neonics is not required by law. Neonics can be present in flowers and vegetables treated with neonics, as well as pesticides used for trees, roses, lawns and termite control. Many retailers and manufacturers have responded by reducing or eliminating neonics, and some retailers voluntarily label their plants.
Graphic: American Bird Conservancy
The European Union has banned the outdoor use of most neonics, and the United Nations has said neonics are so toxic that they should be “severely” restricted. But in the U.S., due to a legal loophole that the EPA has refused to address, and strong lobbying by the chemical industry, neonic coated seeds are not regulated like other pesticides. In February 2023, a coalition of more than 60 non-profit groups petitioned the EPA to revoke a waiver that allows pesticide companies to bring their products to market without first providing data that proves the product benefits.
Less noticeable, but equally deadly is that when we use insecticides on a large scale, we are starving birds of their primary food source. 98% of all land birds feed their young insects. If there are no insects, the baby birds die from starvation, killing off a generation of birds.
Common herbicides are glyphosate and carbaryl, which are strong toxins used in many lawncare products (such as Roundup) to reduce weeds. While herbicides don’t generally affect birds directly like insecticides do, their use in lawn care can be detrimental when birds feed on lawns that have been recently sprayed. On a positive note, certain herbicides are commonly and safely used in habitat restoration to remove aggressive non-native plant species, so their use can be beneficial in helping create healthy habitat for birds.
What You Can Do - Safer Alternatives
It’s probably impossible to avoid neonics and other insecticides entirely, but there’s steps you can take to reduce their presence.
Don’t buy plants treated with neonics - read labels - although neonics labeling is not required by law, some retailers voluntarily label plants that have been treated with neonics.
Avoid neonics in your home or garden; use alternative methods to control insects. Here’s a guide from the American Bird Conservancy to help: Take Flight From Lawn Pesticides: Tips for Organic, Bird-Friendly Gardening.
Here’s a recipe for home-made weed killer using vinegar, salt and dish soap.
Buy organic fruits and vegetables as your budget allows.
Support legislation that regulates the use of insecticides and herbicides.
Rodenticides - A Fatal Meal for Raptors
Another poison that kills birds while targeting another species is rodenticides. Rodents, including common rats and mice, are the sole food source for raptors - eagles, hawks, falcons and owls. When rodents ingest poison, they don’t die immediately, they die slowly, making them easy prey for raptors. The poison in the dying rodent is then ingested by the raptor and they become poisoned. One poisoned rodent can kill a family of owls, the anticoagulant causing them to bleed to death internally.
It’s difficult to assess the impact of rodenticides on birds due to their slow acting nature, and the tendency of raptors to fly long distances after eating meals, but it’s likely widespread. A recent study examining raptors including Red-tailed Hawks, Barred Owls, Eastern Screech-Owls, and Great Horned Owls admitted to the Tufts Wildlife Clinic in Massachusetts indicated a staggering 86% tested positive for anticoagulant rodenticides. Only a small number of these birds displayed obvious symptoms that would lead to a clinical diagnosis of anticoagulant rodenticide poisoning, which underlines the slow and sneaky nature of rat poisoning.
Wildlife rescue organizations see poisoned birds first hand on a regular basis. One recent example in the Chicago area was a dramatic rescue of a bald eagle in Lake Michigan which sadly, died after rescue, due to poisoning. Hawks and owls are frequent victims as well.
Photo: Willowbrook Wildlife Center - A Red-tailed hawk being treated for rodenticide poisoning.
Eliminate Rodents Without Hurting Birds
There are better ways to stop rats and mice that don’t harm birds. Exclusion is the best method: prevent rodents from entering your home in the first place. The Safe Rodent Control website has detailed guidance on these basic steps:
Eliminate sources of food and water
Block access points
Use electronic or snap traps
Help Stop Bird Poisonings, Spread the Word
The millions of bird deaths caused by insecticides and rodenticides is a stealthy time bomb - it’s happening very slowly and many people are unaware of the impacts until it’s too late. Awareness and education are critical, and we as individuals can do our part to reduce their use, find alternatives, and spread the word by educating others.
Additionally, support your local wildlife rescue centers with donations and volunteer time. Here are some excellent local organizations near Chicago - find more by searching your area online.
Learn More
A Widespread Pesticide Causes Weight Loss and Delayed Migration in Songbirds - Audubon Society
Neonic Nation: Is Widespread Pesticide Use Connected To Grassland Bird Declines? - The Cornell Lab, All About Birds
The Impact of the Nation’s Most Widely Used Insecticides on Birds (PDF) - American Bird Conservatory
This Brutal Pesticide Creates a 'Circle of Death.' So Why Is It Making a Comeback? - Audubon Magazine
Take Flight From Lawn Pesticides: Tips for Organic, Bird-Friendly Gardening - American Bird Conservancy
Bee Toxic Pesticides to Avoid (PDF) - A Project of: Beyond Pesticides & Center for Food Safety
Neonicotinoids on My Seeds and Plants: How Dangerous Are They? - Family Handyman
Citing birds and bees, groups petition EPA to close pesticide loophole - The New Lede
Take Flight From Lawn Pesticides: Tips for Organic, Bird-Friendly Gardening - American Bird Conservancy
Understanding Neonics - The Xerces Society
Pollinator Conservation Resource Center - Xerces Society
Raptors And Rat Poison - Cornell University, All About Birds
Check out all of our Year of Helping Birds articles
