A dangerous lawn pesticide linked to the ongoing decimation of bee populations is getting more and more popular in Canadian cities. And the agro-chemical industry is happy to let it happen so long as they continue to pull in massive profits.

Merit, manufactured by pesticide behemoth Bayer, is getting marketed as a “safe” solution to chafer beetles. Racoons and other animals can tear up lawns in order to eat chafer grubs -- but there’s nothing safe about the bee-killing ingredient imidacloprid, which has been banned in Europe since 2013.

“There is no scientific dispute at all about the fact that neonicotinoids are highly toxic to bees,” said Dr. Mark Winston, a leading professor of apiculture. But the pesticide lobby is so strong the word isn’t getting out. That’s why we need Canadian cities to step up and ban the bee-killing pesticide.

Join us and ask Canadian mayors to ban Merit and save our urban bees!

Because of habitat loss, we already know that urban bee populations are especially vulnerable to getting wiped out. If we start soaking every city lawn with Bayer’s toxic bee-killing Merit, urban bees won’t stand a chance. Not only will that mean saying goodbye to garden plots, berry patches and wildflower stands, our entire agricultural system -- one-third of which depends on bees -- is at risk.

Citywide bans on this single pesticide is the least we can do: Europe has already restricted many neonicotinoids and France has just adopted an outright ban. Ontario and Quebec are tightening regulations, while a U.S. Federal Court just ruled that a key neonic pesticide should never have been approved in the first place.

Besides, there is already an affordable, effective natural alternative that doesn’t involve pesticides at all -- beneficial nematodes, tiny organisms that attack beetle larvae, have been used with great results for years. Or, even better, homeowners could turn their lawns into bee-loving vegetable and flower gardens!

There’s no excuse for poisoning bees. Urge Canadian mayors to ban Bayer’s Merit now.