“Neonics: High Harm and Low Benefit,” a presentation at the Newtown library about the hazards of insecticides

February 14, 2024 — Community advocates interested in the problems caused by widely-used neonicotinoid pesticides and what can be done to reduce their use are invited to a special free presentation, “Neonics: High Harm and Low Benefit,” in Newtown on Sunday, February 23.

Date & Time: Sunday, February 23, 2025, 2-4 p.m.
Location: Cyrenius H. Booth Library Meeting Room, 25 Main St., Newtown, Connecticut.

The presenters are three of the leaders of Connecticut Pesticide Reform, a statewide coalition that is working to reduce the use of neonics.

Mary Gaudet-Wilson, co-founder of Protect Our Pollinators; Joyce Leiz, executive director of the Connecticut Audubon Society; and Louise Washer, co-founder of Pollinator Pathway, will explain how neonics are killing insects, birds, aquatic life, contaminating soil, and putting human health at risk.

Much of the discussion will focus on legislation being considered by the Connecticut General Assembly in Hartford. A new bill being considered now at the Capitol would restrict the use of neonics on lawns, golf courses and farms.

Neonics are a high harm, low benefit chemical. As our Connecticut State of the Birds 2024 report explained, neonics “are spread on lawns and fairways to kill insects. Used as a coating on seeds, neonics keep crops like corn pest-free. Or so say the sales pitches from the agri-chemical giants. What they don’t say is that neonics are 7,000 times more toxic than DDT.”

Neonics can kill birds directly, and they also decimate the insects that birds rely on for food. Neonics also kill bees of all kinds, as well as monarch butterflies, swallowtail butterflies, and hummingbird moths, and beetles and lightning bugs.

The event at the library is free, with refreshments provided.