4 Common Gardening Mistakes That Harm Pollinators—and What to Do Instead

Pollinators are a crucial part of our food supply and ecosystem. In fact, a majority of the world's flowering plants and about 35 percent of the world's food crops depend on pollinators to reproduce. Some scientists estimate that one out of every three bites of food we eat is because of animal pollinators. Pretty remarkable, right? With this in mind, it seems pretty obvious that we should be doing our part to ensure these beneficial insects thrive. One of the best ways to do so is to cultivate a thriving garden filled with native plants. However, certain gardening and landscaping practices may be inadvertently harming local pollinators. Ahead, pollinator experts share the most common mistakes people make to the detriment of bees, butterflies, birds, and other pollinators.

Using Pesticides and Insecticides

The gardening practice most detrimental to pollinators is the incorrect or excessive use of pesticides, particularly insecticides. “Bees and other pollinators are insects, so the most worrying pesticide is the use of insecticides. Many (but not all) of our insecticides are broad-spectrum,” says Thomas M. Butzler, horticulture educator for Penn State Cooperative Extension. “Meaning that they do not distinguish between the harmful pests and the beneficials.”

Butzler adds that it's hard to know the long-term effects pesticides have on pollinators. While studies have been done to see how these chemicals affect animals, including some pollinators, there are no tests observing how those pesticides will react with each other in a bee's body. “An adult bee may (or may not) be able to process these chemicals, but imagine what happens to a young developing honey bee as it is fed pollen with this cocktail of chemicals,” he says. 

Prioritizing a Lush Lawn Over a Lush Garden 

Lush green grass is a goal for many homeowners, but getting there may inadvertently hurt local pollinators. “Lawns are food deserts for pollinators,” says Christina M. Grozinger, professor of entomology at Pennsylvania State University. ”While the green grass might look nice and be easy to maintain through mowing, pollinators need flowering plants to get nectar (for sugar) and pollen (for protein and fat) to feed themselves and their babies.” She adds that butterflies need to lay their eggs on specific plants, and most species require plants that are not grasses. 

Removing broadleaf weeds from your lawn to achieve uniform, green grass takes away any chance pollinators have to receive the nutrients they need from your landscape. “Those broadleaf weeds have flowers at some point in their reproductive cycle and can serve as a food source,” says Butzler. “If broadleaf weeds are totally absent from the lawn, bees will not visit.”

Related Stories

5 Container Plants That Attract Nighttime Pollinators for a Thriving Moon Garden

37 Types of Wildflowers That Will Thrive in Your Native Garden

Planting Flowers That Don't Support Pollinators 

It's not enough to grow a random assortment of flowers in your garden—they must contain nectar or pollen to be of use to pollinators. “Many ornamental plant species have flowers that do not produce nectar or pollen,” says Grozinger. “It is important to choose flowering plants that attract pollinators and can provide the food they need.”

Butzler adds that some bees are highly selective when it comes to the plants they will feed from, so you may also want to research the varieties native to your area and their preferences. For example, Butzler notes that the squash bee is native to the Americas, and its food source comes only from squash plants, such as pumpkin. “It does not obtain its food from blueberries, strawberries, numerous types of ornamental flowers, and invasive plants,” he says.

Over-Cleaning Your Garden

You put a lot of work into your garden, so it makes sense that you want it to look nice. However, try to resist the urge to clean it up too much. “Pollinators utilize many areas of the garden for overwintering sites, including leaf litter, hollow plant stems, soil, and old beetle tunnels in stumps and logs,” says Zaidee Powers Rosales, integrated pest management coordinator at Cornell Botanic Gardens. She says to wait to rake fall leaves to provide an overwintering habitat for these insects, adding that butterflies and bees overwinter in leaf litter.

It is also best to wait to cut back plant stems until the following growing season. “Many of our native bees are cavity nesters, raising their young and overwintering in hollow plant stems," says Butzler. “Removing those dead flower stems could be removing next year's garden pollinators.” He says tidying up a front yard garden is fine, but encourages gardeners to let backyard green spaces “go a bit wild” into winter and early spring.

Some bees even nest in the ground during winter, so Rosales also recommends avoiding disturbing and compacting the soil when possible.

Related Stories

5 Container Plants That Attract Nighttime Pollinators for a Thriving Moon Garden

14 Plants and Flowers That Will Attract More Butterflies to Your Yard

How to Make Your Lawn More Pollinator-Friendly 

If you've been participating in the above gardening practices, don't worry. There are ways to make your landscape safe and more hospitable for pollinators.

• Grow a diverse range of pollinator plants: Increase your odds of attracting pollinators by growing a diverse selection of pollinator-friendly plants in various colors, types, and species. “And don't forget woody plants,” Butzler says. “They provide resources for our pollinators.”
• Prioritize native plants: Grozinger recommends choosing native plants when possible, as they typically support pollinators and do well in your growing climate, reducing the need for irrigation and pesticides. 
• Use an integrated pest and pollinator management approach: Pesticides are unavoidable at times. In these instances, Grozinger says to use an integrated approach, only using these chemicals when you see severe plant damage. Always read the labels of all pesticides before using them, so you understand how much to use and how long they last. “Apply pesticides in a targeted way, to the specific plant or region that is being damaged, and apply them before the plants flower, or at night when the flowers are closed,” she adds.  
• Plant for multiple growing seasons: Ensure your garden design has flowers that bloom from spring through to fall. “It does not help our pollinators to have access to a great pollen producer in June, yet nothing is available to our late-season pollinators if your flower garden is done blooming in September,” says Butzler.