AB 363 Explained: California's Neonic Limits for Sacramento Gardeners

The short version: AB 363 does not ban neonicotinoids from California. According to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), from January 1, 2025, only licensed applicators may apply them outdoors to ornamental plants and trees in non-agricultural settings, including fruit and nut trees around homes, and to turf. Businesses selling these products for those uses must be licensed by DPR. Agricultural use, indoor consumer products such as ant baits, and veterinary products such as pet flea treatments are not covered.

AB 363 at a Glance — What the Law Actually Does

AB 363 amended California Food and Agricultural Code section 12838. The rules cover five neonicotinoid active ingredients: imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam, dinotefuran, and acetamiprid. You can read the chaptered bill text, DPR's bulletin, and NRDC's summary.

• Imidacloprid — The most common neonic in consumer products. Found in Bayer's "Tree and Shrub" soil drench, multiple rose care lines, and many "systemic insect control" products.
• Clothianidin — Primarily an agricultural seed coating but present in some consumer lawn and ornamental products.
• Thiamethoxam — Used in turf care, ornamental soil treatments, and some vegetable pest products.
• Dinotefuran — Fast-acting and common in Japanese beetle and grub preventers sold at Sacramento hardware stores.
• Acetamiprid — Considered less acutely toxic to honey bees than the others but still documented as harmful to native solitary bees and bumble bees at sub-lethal doses.

DPR describes the rule this way: effective January 1, 2025, state law prohibits the sale, possession, and use of these pesticides on non-production outdoor ornamental plants, trees, or turf, with exceptions for use and possession by state-certified applicators and sale by state-licensed dealers. The law also requires DPR to evaluate the impacts of these uses. DPR's November 2025 notice says it must provide a determination by July 1, 2027, and adopt any necessary control measures by July 1, 2029.

How AB 363 Differs From AB 1788 (the 2020 Pollinator Protection Act)

AB 363 is sometimes confused with AB 1788, which passed in 2020. They address different problems.

AB 1788, the California Ecosystems Protection Act of 2020, focused on second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, the rat poisons that work their way up the food chain from rodents to predators. It did not address neonicotinoids.

AB 363 is focused on neonicotinoid insecticides, not rodenticides.

• AB 1788 (2020) — Restricted second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides. Targeted food-chain poisoning of predators. Not related to bee protection directly.
• AB 363 (2023): limits five neonicotinoid active ingredients for non-agricultural outdoor use on ornamental plants, trees, and turf to licensed dealers and certified applicators.
• What is not covered: agricultural use, indoor consumer products such as ant baits, and veterinary products such as pet flea treatments.

What AB 363 Does Not Tell You: Nursery Plants

Plants can be treated before you buy them. DPR says outdoor applications to ornamental nursery stock at retail nurseries are limited to licensed applicators, but that does not tell you what a plant received earlier in its life, and the plant will look normal either way. Ask before you buy.

Gardeners who want untreated plants have three practical options: (1) grow from untreated seed, (2) buy from nurseries that clearly label their plants as grown without neonicotinoids, or (3) ask the nursery directly which plants were treated and with what.

Questions to Ask at Your Sacramento Nursery

• "Were these plants treated with any systemic insecticide, including imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam, dinotefuran, or acetamiprid?"
• "Do you carry any plants grown without systemic insecticides?"
• "Where were these plants grown?"

Who Is Still Allowed to Use Neonicotinoids in California?

Knowing who can still use these chemicals clarifies what the law does and does not change.

Licensed applicators can still use neonicotinoids for covered non-agricultural uses. If you hire a landscaping or pest control company to treat your property, the technician may use chemicals you can't buy or apply yourself. Ask them directly what they use.

Agricultural use is outside this law. DPR says it is restricted through regulation.

Why This Matters for Sacramento — The Local Pollinator Stakes

Sacramento sits at the edge of California's major agricultural areas, and it is home to many native bee species. Pesticide decisions in home landscapes affect the bees that forage nearby.

What to Do With Neonic Products Already in Your Shed

DPR says the law prohibits possession and use of these products on non-production outdoor ornamental plants, trees, or turf, except by state-certified applicators. So if you still have one, don't apply it to those plants. Ask the Sacramento County Agricultural Commissioner or your county household hazardous waste program what to do with it.

Identify What You Have

Check your shed and garage for any product whose front label includes phrases like "systemic," "protect + feed," "tree and shrub," "grub preventer," or "all-season." Then read the active ingredient list on the back. Look for any of these: imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam, dinotefuran, or acetamiprid. Product names to watch for include Bayer's Tree and Shrub line, any version of Ortho Bug B Gon Systemic, Bonide Systemic Insect Control, and various granular grub preventers with imidacloprid as the active ingredient.

How to Dispose Safely

Household hazardous waste programs accept many pesticides. Check with your city or county program for current drop-off locations and rules. Do not pour liquid pesticide concentrates down a storm drain or into a septic system.

Avoid Systemic Products Around Flowering Plants

Neonicotinoids applied to soil can move into plant tissue, pollen, and nectar. That is why systemic products are a poor fit near any plant that is blooming or will bloom, whatever product you use.

Safer Alternatives for Sacramento Pest Problems

What do Sacramento gardeners use for pest management now? These alternatives work for many common residential pest problems and don't carry the same systemic risk as neonicotinoids. Always follow the label.

• Insecticidal soap (potassium salts of fatty acids) — Effective against aphids, whitefly, mealybug, and soft-bodied pests on contact. Breaks down within hours and leaves no systemic residue. Apply in early morning or evening to avoid bees in active foraging.
• Neem oil (clarified hydrophobic extract) — Controls a broad range of fungal diseases and insect pests. Not systemic in the same way as neonics. Avoid applying to open flowers; the spray itself can harm foraging bees on contact.
• Pyrethrin (botanical, not synthetic pyrethroid) — Fast knockdown, short residual. Use for acute infestations away from flowering plants. Pyrethrins break down in UV light within hours; pyrethroids (the synthetic version) persist for days and carry their own bee toxicity.
• Spinosad — Derived from a soil bacterium. Effective against thrips, leafminers, caterpillars, and other chewing insects. Low mammalian toxicity. Does carry some bee toxicity when wet; apply when bees are not actively foraging.
• Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) — For caterpillar and larval pest problems specifically. Not systemic, and targeted at caterpillars. Must be applied to foliage where larvae will eat it.
• Physical removal and exclusion — Hand-picking, row cover, copper tape, sticky traps. Zero chemical inputs. For backyard vegetable gardens in Sacramento, these are often sufficient without any chemistry at all.

The Sacramento County Master Gardeners program, part of UC Cooperative Extension, offers pest identification and integrated pest management guidance. If a pest problem isn't responding to non-systemic management, it is a good place to start.

AB 363 and Your Sacramento Pollinator Garden

For Sacramento gardeners already working to support bees by building pollinator gardens, planting California natives, and providing water, AB 363 supports what you're doing. It limits a class of chemicals that doesn't belong in a pollinator-friendly garden.

If you are building or expanding a Sacramento pollinator garden, the most impactful change you can make right now is not what you add — it's what you stop using. The next step is asking how any new plants were treated. Our guide to creating a bee-friendly garden in Sacramento covers plant selection, layout, and water features. Our native plants Sacramento bees love article gives a specific list of ten species that provide the broadest seasonal coverage for local bees.

Frequently Asked Questions About AB 363 and Sacramento Gardeners

Is imidacloprid completely illegal in California now?

Not for every use. Since January 1, 2025, California has limited products with imidacloprid and four other neonicotinoids for use on non-production outdoor ornamental plants, trees, and turf to licensed dealers and certified applicators. Agricultural use, indoor consumer products such as ant baits, and veterinary products such as pet flea treatments are not covered by this law.

Can Sacramento nurseries still sell plants treated with neonics?

DPR says outdoor applications to ornamental nursery stock at retail nurseries are limited to licensed applicators. Plants may also have been treated before they reached the store, so ask the nursery directly what was used.

Does AB 363 apply to products I already have at home?

Possibly. DPR says state law prohibits the sale, possession, and use of these products on non-production outdoor ornamental plants, trees, or turf, except for use and possession by state-certified applicators and sale by licensed dealers. If you have an old product, don't apply it. Ask the Sacramento County Agricultural Commissioner or your county household hazardous waste program what to do with it.

What should I use instead of Bayer Tree and Shrub for scale insects on my Sacramento fruit trees?

Scale insects are often managed with horticultural oil or with insecticidal soap on crawlers during the active season. The UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management program has species-specific guidance at ipm.ucanr.edu, and Sacramento County Master Gardeners can help with identification and management advice.

Does AB 363 affect bee-killing products other than neonicotinoids?

No. AB 363 is specific to the five neonicotinoid active ingredients listed in the bill. Synthetic pyrethroids, carbamates, organophosphates, and other insecticide classes are not addressed. Many of these remain legally available at retail and carry significant bee toxicity. Our deep dive on neonicotinoids and Sacramento bees covers the broader pesticide landscape and which additional classes to avoid in a pollinator-friendly garden.

What This Law Means in Practice for Sacramento Gardens in 2026

AB 363 is a floor, not a ceiling. Sacramento gardeners who want to support local bees can go further than the law requires: ask how nursery plants were treated, ask any pest service what it uses on flowering plants, and move toward integrated pest management that doesn't depend on systemic chemistry.

A practical order for 2026: first, stop buying systemic insecticides; second, ask about treatment for every new plant you buy; third, find out how to dispose of any old neonicotinoid products through your local household hazardous waste program; and fourth, check with any landscaping or pest control service that works on your property.

Many small native bees forage close to their nests, so the pesticide decisions made in nearby yards are part of the environment they live in every day.

For more context on why bees need clean habitat and how pollinators drive California's food system, our guide to why bees matter for California's food supply explains the agricultural stakes in concrete terms. For a practical overview of how neonicotinoids harm Sacramento bees at the neurological level — and which specific product names contain these chemicals — see our in-depth neonicotinoids and Sacramento bees guide.