One Orange County, California, homeowner was deeply concerned when they noticed their neighborhood's landscaping practices dramatically impacting crucial wildlife. They posted about the problem in the county's subreddit.
"I have reason to believe my HOA is killing en masse the local bee population," they said. "Whatever pesticide they are using to upkeep the plants is devastating the bees. Who do I report this to?"
According to the Redditor, this wasn't just one or two dead bees near their home.
"My wife and I see dozens of bee corpses everywhere across multiple blocks," they said.
Across America, bee populations have taken a hit due to the wider and wider use of broad-spectrum insecticides that kill beneficial pollinators alongside unwanted pests.
This is dire news, not just for bees, but for the human population. Bees are a crucial pollinator of a huge range of plants — including 35% of the world's food crops, the USDA revealed.
Without pollination, dependent plants can't produce viable seeds, and many will fail to develop the fruits or vegetables that contain those seeds, too.
The original poster was right to worry when they noticed dead bees scattered around their neighborhood.
One user did caution them that this might be natural.
🗣️ Should HOAs be able to force homeowners to change their yards?
🔘 Absolutely not 💯
🔘 Yes — it's part of the deal 🤝
🔘 Only in extreme circumstances 🏚️
🔘 We should ban HOAs 🚫
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
"The average bee hive has 60-80,000 individuals. Each one only lives 6 weeks and drops dead outside of the colony," they said. "Passing bee swarms also leave thousands of dead in their wake."
However, assuming that there are an unusual number of dead bees around and that the cause isn't natural, there were steps the original poster could take.
"See if your city has anything on their website," said one user. "Usually you can report various issues. Maybe not 'HOA killed these bees,' but 'there's a ton of dead bees all over my neighborhood.' Maybe tell your HOA, too, because dead bees can still sting and they're a risk for being stepped on and hurting someone."
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