Is malathion toxic to wild birds?
June 15, 2010 Bird House Feeder
Our asparagus, for the 2nd year in a row, is being eaten by beetles. I’m not sure which beetle it is. We have bluebird houses, chickadee houses and volunteer birds’ nests on our 3/4 acre lot. Will malathion, if sprayed on the asparagus, kill the beetles without harming the wild birds who might eat them and also will probably even feed some of the beetles to their babies?
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Hummingbirds are fun, entertaining, full of energy and it’s easy to attract hummingbirds.
In the future, you can control asparagus beetles mainly through cultural methods like turning the top layer of soil at the end of the season and removing leaf and stem debris. But for this season, you’ll need to apply an insecticide. Malathion is only moderately toxic to birds and it breaks down quite rapidly, but from your description of your lot, it seems very possible that it might harm your wild birds. A much safer choice would be an insecticidal soap mixed with pyrethrin, a botanical insecticide that is harmless to wildlife.