Background

• Imidacloprid is widely used in the U.K. and U.S. in commercial agriculture and home gardening pesticides. It was registered in the U.K in 1993 and in the U.S. in 1994. It is one of the top-selling products of Bayer CropScience, the European company that manufactures imidacloprid.
  
  

Function

• A systemic insecticide, imidacloprid infects the insects that ingest the pesticide. It blocks elements of the insect's nervous system, which are more susceptible to toxins than warm-blooded animals are, according to Pesticide News.
  
  

Safety

• Imidacloprid is considered relatively safe for humans, but may poison insects other than the targeted white grubs, sucking insects, soil insects and others. The active ingredient is considered to be moderately toxic by the World Health Organization, according to Pesticide News. Studies on lab-tested animals showed that it can affect reproduction and cause mutations.
  
  

Effects

• Imidacloprid is phytotoxic, meaning it poisons plants, and can indirectly poison the insects and animals that feed off of them. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is highly concerned with the its negative affects on several types of birds, since it affects their reproduction, coordination and ability to fly.
  
  

Warning

• People may be unintentionally poisoning beneficial honeybees by spraying their lawns and plants with imidacloprid products, since it is highly toxic for bees. Although granular application is more common than spraying, as a systemic pesticide, it ends up on the surface of plants that grow in chemically treated soil, indirectly affecting the beneficial non-target insects.