I didn't fly all this way to eat insecticides!

A chemical company that sells bird feed sold 73 million bags of insecticide-tainted wild bird food from 2005 to 2008.

A federal court plea agreement document filed recently ruled that Scotts Miracle-Gro, the company behind many chemical-based weed killers and fertilizers for lawns and gardens, must pay $4.5 million for fabricating pesticide registration numbers on products and selling toxic birdseed in 2008.

According to a Columbus Dispatch article, the company sold wild birdseed coated with pesticides that were "extremely toxic to fish and toxic to birds and other wildlife."

From 2005 to 2008, Scotts distributed 73 million units of wild birdseed treated with bug-killing chemicals called Storcide II and Actellic 5E, compounds meant to deter insects from eating the feed while in storage. Court documents show that a pesticide chemist and ornithologist working for Scotts objected to the practice, but the company continued to sell the product for months.

"The umbrella issue is that chemical companies don't have our best interests at heart," says Deb Martin, author of The Secrets of Backyard Bird-Feeding Success (Rodale, 2011).

She said companies like Wild Birds Unlimited do a better job on quality control and are more dedicated to protecting wildlife, but the downside is that this type of birdseed tends to be pricier than what you'll find at big-box stores.

The good news is that this spring you can embark on a low-cost, safer way to feed your birds by planting a bird buffet of natural foods in your yard. "This is not as easy as going to the store and buying a bag of seed, but it's a way of making sure that you don't wind up giving your birds something that is poisonous," Martin says.

Martin suggests planting plenty of sunflowers in sunny spots of your yard. You can leave them standing at the end of the season to provide a winter seed source for birds, or you can cut the flower heads, dry them, and put them out in the winter.

You can also plant a low-maintenance garden bed of millet and sorghum to help feed the birds naturally. (These types of seeds are typically sold by Quail and Pheasants Forever groups.) Planting native plants makes for a lower-maintenance garden and also supports birdlife.