AP quotes Dill in report on pollinators, pesticides
The Associated Press quoted Jim Dill, pest management specialist with University of Maine Cooperative Extension, for a report on pollinators and pesticides. Pollinator populations have sharply declined over the past 30 years due to a variety of reasons, including pesticide and herbicide exposure, the report states. Dill said pesticides are over-applied by many backyard gardeners. “They don’t read the labels, or they eyeball the amounts. Sometimes, if maybe an ounce is called for, they’ll use two ounces. They often will use a calendar spray schedule or just spray because they had a problem in the past,” he said. Well-informed gardeners can help reverse the pollinator declines by reading and following labels, limiting use of chemicals, and keeping bee colonies as far away from commercial agriculture as possible. ABC News, New Haven Register and WPEC (Channel 12 in West Palm Beach, Florida) carried the AP article.