Many products in the Preen family contain chemicals that are deadly to bees. The following Preen products are toxic to bees:
- Preen Garden Weed Preventer
- Preen Extended Control Weed Preventer
- Preen Weed Preventer Plus Ant, Flea & Tick Control
- Preen Garden Weed Preventer Plus Plant Food
- Preen Mulch with Extended Control Weed Preventer
- Preen Lawn Crabgrass Control
- Preen One Lawncare
- Preen Lawn Weed Control
Only one Preen product is safe for bees. This is Preen Natural Vegetable Garden Weed Preventer. In order to protect bees, avoid using any Preen products that contain active ingredients known to be harmful to bees.
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Is Preen Weed Preventer Safe for Bees?
Standard Preen Garden Weed Preventer contains the active ingredient trifluralin, which is harmful to bees. Do not use this product in your garden or you risk killing honey bees. In addition to killing helpful pollinators, trifluralin is also known to be deadly to fish if it enters the water supply.
- Preen Garden Weed Preventer contains trifluralin—a chemical that can harm bees.
- Use this natural weed preventer from Preen instead.
- Check the product label to make sure your Preen product does not contain trifluralin.
Instead of a chemical-based product, use Preen Natural Garden Weed Preventer. This one hundred percent corn gluten meal product is all-natural and does not contain bee-killing toxins. You can use it to replace chemical weed preventers.
- Can easily be applied to your fruit, vegetable, and herb garden.
- This product is 100% natural.
- Prevents weeds from continuing to grow in the future.
What Preen Products are Harmful to Bees?
When analyzing the Preen product line, we found that almost every product contains compounds known to be toxic to bees. Below is a breakdown of the Preen product line, showing which products are bee-safe and which are not.
Preen Garden Weed Preventer
The most popular Preen product—Preen Garden Weed Preventer—contains trifluralin. This active ingredient is known to be toxic to bees. When trifluralin was tested on honeybees by the USDA they found that 10% of bees exposed to the chemical died. In the official report it was found that “trifluralin appears to be more toxic to honeybees than to mammals.” So, Preen Garden Weed Preventer definitely poses a risk to bees. If you want to keep bees safe, avoid this product.
Preen Extended Control Weed Preventer
Preen Extended Control Weed Preventer contains an even higher percentage of trifluralin than Preen Garden Weed Preventer, making it dangerous to bees. It also contains isoxaben. While isoxaben has not been shown to be harmful to bees, the USDA only lists one study of isoxaben’s effects on bees, suggesting its effects have not been studied in-depth. Isoxaben doesn’t seem to be harmful to pollinators, but trifluralin is. Preen Extended Control Weed Preventer is not safe for bees.
Preen Weed Preventer Plus Ant, Flea & Tick Control
This Preen product contains herbicides to prevent weed growth alongside pesticide to kill unwanted insects. Bifenthrin, the pesticide used in this product, is considered highly toxic to bees by the National Pesticide Information Center. This is one of the most dangerous Preen products to use around bees. It should be avoided in order to keep bees alive.
Preen Garden Weed Preventer Plus Plant Food
Like other Preen weed preventer products, Preen Garden Weed Preventer Plus Plant Food contains trifluralin. That means that this pre-emergent herbicide contains toxic chemicals that will kill bees. Avoid using it to protect local wildlife.
Preen Mulch with Extended Control Weed Preventer
Preen’s weed prevention mulch also contains trifluralin as an active ingredient. This means it will harm bees at the same time it stops broadleaf weeds from growing. It’s also important to note that trifluralin is highly toxic to fish and other aquatic life. Do not use it if there is any chance of water runoff from your garden entering a waterway where fish live.
Preen Lawn Crabgrass Control
Dithiopyr, the active ingredient in Preen Lawn Crabgrass Control is moderately toxic to bees, according to the University of Hertfordshire in the UK. Because crabgrass control products are pre-emergents that linger in the soil for months, they can be present in the ecosystem for a long time. This means that pre-emergents can harm bees as much as a pesticide product. Avoid this product in order to protect bees.
Preen One Lawncare
Preen One Lawncare contains dithiopyr, so it is known to be harmful to bees. It’s essential to avoid weed killer products that are known to have acute toxicity to beneficial insects and pollinators. Using bee-safe gardening methods promotes better health of your garden and the earth. Review product labels and do not use any methods of weed control that contain chemicals that are harmful to bees.
Preen Lawn Weed Control
This preen product contains 2,4-D and Dicamba—two herbicides that are often considered less dangerous to bees. 2,4-D is classified as “practically non-toxic” to bees. However, Dicamba is sometimes found to be “moderately toxic” to bees, according to the National Pesticide Information Center. An increase in Dicamba use has also been linked to lower bee populations and decreased honey production in the United States. To keep bees safe, don’t use this product.
What Preen Product is Safe for Bees?
Not all Preen products contain deadly bee-killing chemicals. Some of the products are natural, so they don’t pose a risk to the environment. When analyzing the Preen product line we found one product that is bee-friendly.
Preen Natural Vegetable Garden Weed Preventer
This natural Preen product won’t kill bees in your yard or garden. Preen Natural Vegetable Garden Weed Preventer is made of Corn Gluten Meal and contains no toxic chemicals. So, it’s safe to use. The corn gluten meal will stop weeds from sprouting because it naturally robs water from weed seeds, killing them as they germinate. Now, you can stop weeds in your garden without harming bees.
Are There Any Weed Killers Safe for Bees?
Several weed killers have been tested on bees and proven to be non-toxic. Check out our list of bee-friendly weed killers. By using the right products and avoiding harmful ones, you can turn your garden into a bee haven. This means you’ll get more pollinated flowers, resulting in larger fruit and vegetable crops.
- There are several natural and chemical weed killers that are not harmful to bees.
- Using bee-safe weed killers ensures your fruits and vegetables are pollinated by bees.
- Never use vinegar as a weed killing solution—it’s harmful to bees.
Keep in mind that you should never use vinegar-based solutions near bees. Although it is sometimes touted as a natural weed killer, vinegar is deadly to bees, even in small doses. Vinegar belongs in your kitchen, not your garden.
Is Preen Safer than Roundup Around Bees?
The evidence is clear—Roundup kills bees. In fact, Roundup has been shown to be so deadly to bees that in one study it killed 94% of bees exposed to Roundup. In comparison, the trifluralin in some Preen products is not as deadly as Roundup. However, that doesn’t make all Preen products safe for use around bees. A less deadly product still kills bees, and that’s unacceptable as global bee populations continue to plummet.
Is Preen Weed Preventer Toxic to Bees?
Any Preen weed preventer product that contains trifluralin is toxic to bees. This makes up most of the Preen weed prevention product line. However, Preen does make an all-natural, bee-safe weed preventer from corn gluten meal. This product is not harmful to bees. Check the product label of all Preen products—any that contain trifluralin, dithiopyr, dicamba, or bifenthrin are dangerously toxic to bees.
