Eco-gardening is at its best in The Monday Garden
July 4, 2004, Issue 119
This is an all-natural, fully-biodegradable pest-control device. It didn’t come with a label so my fellow Master Gardner interns and I, who disturbed its nap, weren’t sure of its pedigree and gave it a wide berth.
Picture: Snake, later identified as a young Northern Water Snake, lounging at the edge of a pond at the Bartlett Arboretum in Stamford, CT, June 2004
Unlike snakes, garden-center pesticides (“‘cides” to Monday Garden readers) come with labels. However, store-bought ‘cides can be much more dangerous. Snakes, for example, do not cause cancer, no matter what you mix with them or the quantities involved. This statement will not be retracted in ten years because new findings show that snake residues have reached unacceptable levels in drinking water.
Things you should know about the art of ‘cide-label reading: “All natural” and ”organic” are comforting words when buying eggs. However, did you know that, in the chemistry-based language of fertilizer- and ‘cide-speak, “organic” means “containing carbon” and “natural” means "not synthesized"?
So, if chicken manure is labeled “natural and organic”, this could mean only that (1) the manure was made by real chickens, and (2) the manure contains carbon (i.e. carbohydrates). The label doesn’t necessarily tell you what the chickens were fed or the conditions under which they lived. So if you’re buying for your “organic” vegetables, ask some questions.
Also keep in mind that “all natural” is no indication of safety. The natural world is full of horrible poisons, as certain kin of the above all-natural, fully-biodegradable pest-control device would be glad to demonstrate for you.
The label, read it. If you find reading processed food labels off-putting, try a ‘cide’s label. By law, it must specify the plants and pests on which the substance may be used, and the methods by which it may be applied, stored and disposed of. Under state and federal law, “the label is the law”. You must use ‘cides exactly as written. So if you have ants in the kitchen and the stuff you want to use doesn’t say that you can use it (1) on ants, and (2) in the house, it’s illegal to do so. It’s also very unwise since ‘cides are dangerous even when used per the label.
Picture: Label on a pesticide container
We’ve seen the words “DANGER”, “WARNING”, “CAUTION” on household and garden ‘cides so often that the words not longer alarm. They should. Here’s what they legally mean:
DANGER = highly toxic = a taste to a tablespoon can kill
WARNING = moderately toxic = two tablespoons can kill
CAUTION = slightly toxic = 2 LB can kill
These standards don’t take in account multiple exposures, special risks to children, pets, and seniors, or the effects of combining substances.
Something else to know: professional grounds-care people (arborists, turf-mangers, landscapers, etc) generally have licenses that allow them to use poisons that are much more dangerous than those available to the general public. So think twice. They will say that the stuff’s OK, and probably believe it, but they have a vested interesting selling it to you. BTW: the home owner is liable, as well as the grounds people, if they misuse the ‘cides by, for example, not posting required application notices or by allowing drift on to a neighbor’s land.
Picture: Label on a household spray
Safe ‘cides (?): Worse yet, the label isn’t even crib-notes. The amount of damage caused by misuse by well-meaning, ignorant home owners is astounding. Farmers watch the cost of everything they put on their crops, so they have less waste. Also, they respect the dangerous nature of ‘cides. Often, farmers’ biggest problem with ‘cides is killing off the pests’ natural predators, and then having to pay for yet more ‘cides.
Home owners, on the other hand, have been known to use ‘cides upside-down and backwards. You might be better off with guns in the house. Examples include the well-known “pesticide drift”. “Drift” means it did – an enthusiastic attempt at chemical warfare on crab grass did in the lilacs and the fish pond. Equally good going is spraying from the down-wind side, right into your lungs and eyes. Emergency rooms hate that one. Another howler: applying a grub-killer in July, after the grubs have matured into beetles, who are immune to grub killers.
Now, you could tolerate some insect damage and a few weeds. You could choose to grow only plants that naturally thrive in your environment. You could try to use truly safe pest-defenses such as encouraging natural predators, companion plantings, and crop rotation.
However, if ‘cide you must:
1. Meditate on why your need for the prettiest lawn (or whatever) is more important than the slightest risk of harm to our kids.
2. Figure out the specific bug, fungus, weed, etc. and its growth cycle, so you’re using the right stuff at the right time of the year. Use the least dangerous product (e.g. insecticidal soaps and horticultural oils). Using broad-spectrum weed and insect killers is very bad for your karma, and kills off your natural predators and pollinators, so you end up with more pests and less fruit. Further, if you do “preventive” spraying, just “in case”, be advised that you will be re-incarnated as an earthworm.
3. Buy the right stuff in the smallest possible quantity. Don’t transport ‘cides in a car’s passenger compartment or leave them in a hot or freezing car.
4. Use the safest application method. If possible, paint rather than spray, and if spraying, know that those end-of-hose sprayers can cause problems. Don’t spray if it’s the least bit windy or very hot.
5. Inhaling’s a big no-no; as is skin contact. So wear protective clothing including a breathing mask, tight-fitting goggles, a broad-brimmed, liquid-proof hat, long-sleeved shirt and pants, and/or unlined rubber gloves and boots. Wash all clothing twice; then run the wash cycle again to clean the washing machine. No eating, drinking, or smoking until you’ve had a thorough shower.
6. Never re-use equipment for other purposes. Keep equipment used for herbicides and pesticides separate; destroy containers so they can’t be re-used. Wash water goes in yard, not down the drain.
7. Store as little as possible, and do it under lock and key. Dispose of ‘cides per law.
Not scared yet? Well, there’s plenty of reading material on the web. Just “google” the word “pesticide”. Purdue.edu has extensive materials.
Picture: butterfly milkweed, a prefect candidate for a ‘cide-free garden, at the Bartlett Arboretum in Stamford, CT June 2004
Photo credits: Sue Sweeney
© Sue Sweeney 2005
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What the readers said:
just spent some time meandering through some of the earlier issues too.....thoroughly enjoyed them. Karol (CT)
This is so true and so under told!!, Certain words make people feel comfortable like "natural", yet they don't realize just because something is produced by nature or in natural surroundings doesn't mean it's not harmful to the human being. Sad... Lin (NY)
I've been having great luck with using vinegar as a herbicide. It's very good for grass and weeds in sidewalk cracks, etc. Liz (CT)
What perfect timing. My landscaper was just talking to me about using Round Up to get rid of some weeds. Question - for patio hard to get to -in between crack - weeds what do you do? I pull and pull but they obviously come back since I'm just getting the top. Help - I want to have a pesticide free house but I'm sick of pulling up those darn weeds. Kal (MD) [I hand-pull using a long, sharp implement to get the root; my mother uses vinegar. – Sue]
Comments (2)
you mean like spanish flu, aids or bird flu?
Posted by gdnctr | December 9, 2005 7:50 PM
Posted on December 9, 2005 19:50
excerpts from the CT NOFA e-NewsletterVolume 2, Number 2
February 3, 2006
I
Item 3:Take a Toxic Load Off Annie
Environmental factors may cause many breast cancers, report says Up to half of all new breast cancers may be caused by environmental factors -- including exposure to everyday chemicals -- rather than heredity or lifestyle, a new report says. Released this week by the Breast Cancer Fund and Breast Cancer Action, "State of the Evidence" analyzes the findings of more than 350 ecological, epidemiologic, and experimental studies of breast cancer, with an eye to determining why an American woman's risk for breast cancer has nearly tripled in the past 40 years. The groups' analysis found persuasive scientific evidence that implicates some of the 100,000 synthetic chemicals in use today, including bovine growth hormone, dioxin, and phthalates. Little is known about how these substances may affect women when they're combined. straight to the source: NorthJersey.com, Bob Ivry, 25 Jan 2006, The Oakland Tribune, Douglas Fischer, 24 Jan 2006, CBS5.com, 24 Jan 2006, State of the Evidence 2006
Item 4:Dropping Acid
EPA asks companies to phase out toxic chemical PFOA The U.S. EPA, having recently discovered that P stands for "protection," has asked DuPont and seven other chemical companies to phase out use of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a chemical used in the manufacture of Teflon cookware, stain-repellant fabrics, microwave popcorn bags, and other scarily ubiquitous household goods. If the eight companies and their overseas affiliates comply fully, says the EPA, PFOA use would decrease 95 percent by 2010, and vanish by 2015. Major PFOA maker DuPont immediately agreed to stop all emissions of the chemical from its manufacturing facilities over the next decade, noting it has already made big strides in cutting its use, but the company hasn't committed to totally eliminating use of PFOA. Health advocates are hailing the agency's move to rein in the bioaccumulative chemical, which is turning up in people and animals worldwide and has been linked to cancer and other health problems. straight to the source: Chicago Tribune, Michael Hawthorne, 26 Jan 2006, The New York Times, Michael Janofsky, 26 Jan 2006, Reuters, Timothy Gardner, 25 Jan 2006, see also, in Grist: DuPont to pay $16.5 million for hiding chemical's risks
Item 5:Tadpole Position
Real-world combos of pesticides highly lethal to frogs, study shows Frogs exposed to a pesticide mix similar to what's found on the average farm die in greater numbers than those dosed with just one pesticide, a new study shows. In new research in the online edition of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, scientists at UC-Berkeley exposed tadpoles to individual pesticides, and found that about 4 percent kicked it before they matured into frogs. But when the tadpoles were exposed to a mix of atrazine and eight other pesticides -- a combination that mimicked conditions on a real-world Nebraska cornfield -- the mortality rate rose to 35 percent. The chemicals suppressed their immune systems, making them vulnerable to infections and illnesses, and increased their transition time from tadpole to frog, lowering their survival chances. The researchers conclude that pesticides are likely playing a major role in the massive global decline of amphibian species. Frogs to humanity: Get us organic farming -- stat! straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Marla Cone, 25 Jan 2006
Item 6:Activists Defend Quebec's Ban on 2,4-D January 17, 2006 The Canadian Province of Quebec is on the verge of enacting historic measures to protect public health from unnecessary and dangerous lawn chemicals. The Pesticide Code of Quebec came into effect in 2003 and has been phased in over a period of three years. The final stage of the Code will come into effect on April 3, 2006. The Code bans the sale and use of 20 active ingredients contained in 212 pesticide products applied cosmetically on lawns. Agricultural uses are exempted. However, the lawn care industry is making a last-ditch effort to delay the implementation of the Code and exempt the chemical 2,4-D from the ban.
"If successful, this would mean that 2,4-D could be sprayed on the green spaces in our communities, where the children we raise with loving care will play, roll, romp in the grass, and many of them will even put it in their mouths--as children often do!" stated Quebec residents Rohini Peris and Michel Gaudet. "This is an unacceptable risk." Peris and Gaudet's family understands the toll that pesticides can take, after suffering a serious incident of pesticide poisoning in their own home. "That the industry would lobby to change a law designed to protect public health is shameful," Peris declared.
"2,4-D is far from safe. It can affect women's ability to bear healthy children, and epidemiological studies show strong links between use of 2,4-D products and cancer," noted Dr. Susan Kegley, Senior Scientist at Pesticide Action Network. California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment classifies 2,4-D as a developmental toxicant . Recent independent studies indicate that rats exposed to 2,4-D in utero showed an increased incidence of skeletal abnormalities such as extra ribs and malformed ribcages. In rabbits, 2,4-D and its diethanolamine salt caused abortions and skeletal abnormalities.
2,4-D is widely used throughout North America. One popular use of 2,4-D is as a weed killer mixed with fertilizer for lawns. Because companies mix herbicide and fertilizer in the same product, homeowners who simply want to fertilize their lawns often end up inadvertently applying large doses of the herbicide as well. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control found that one quarter of the U.S. population carries 2,4-D residues in their bodies, and children between the ages of six and eleven have significantly higher exposure rates compared to older children and adults. The Pesticide Code of Quebec has already prohibited the use or sale of fertilizer-pesticide mixtures such as "Weed and Feed" as well as herbicide-insecticide mixtures as of April 2004.
The story of the Canadian pesticide movement illustrates both the power of grassroots democracy, and the danger of corporate influence at the international level. Quebec's Pesticide Code was born from years of local organizing to pass bylaws against cosmetic pesticide use at the municipal level. As many as 70 cities and towns in the Province of Quebec and 15 more communities across Canada have already passed such bylaws. These include major cities such as Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Dozens more are debating the issue. Residents have enjoyed great success in persuading their neighbors on city councils to protect community health, pressing their local knowledge as an advantage over industry lobbyists accustomed to national politics. In one hapless incident, an industry representative failed to convince a mayor who was a well-known dog lover by dispassionately explaining chemical toxicity testing on beagles.
However, Quebec's Pesticide Code came under threat at the international level from Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which allows corporations to sue governments for lost profits. Days after the Code was proposed, Donald Page of the Industry Task Force II on 2,4-D threatened to sue the Quebec government under Chapter 11. Fortunately Provincial Minister Andre Boisclair stood up to the industry lobby, and Quebec passed the new Pesticide Code in March 2003. To date, no Chapter 11 complaint has been filed against the government of Quebec, although the industry continues to lobby hard for a 2,4-D exemption.
Sources: Highlights of the Pesticide Management Code of Quebec
http://www.mddep.gouv.qc.ca/pesticides/permis-en/code-gestion-en/index.htm Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (CAP) www.cap-quebec.com Pesticide Action Network North America. 2005. "California Finds Lawn Chemicals Dangerous to Health" Pesticide Action Network Update Service (PANUPS) December 21, 2005 http://www.panna.org/resources/panups/panup_20051221.dv.html
Posted by S. W. Sweeney | February 4, 2006 1:36 PM
Posted on February 4, 2006 13:36