PART TIME GREEN - Toxic chemicals in your flowerbed

PART TIME GREEN - Toxic chemicals in your flowerbed
Toxic chemicals in your flowerbed
Cosmetic pesticides are used to improve the appearance of lawns and gardens. And that comes with a health risk

Posted by Staff on March 04, 2009 9:52 pm

Pesticides are a broad category of complex chemicals that pose immediate as well as long-term health risks including:

- headaches, fatigue, shortness of breath
- vomiting, loss of consciousness
- behavioural disorders
- nerve damage
- a weakened immune and/or endocrine system
- leukemia, soft tissue sarcoma, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and other forms of cancer

Cosmetic pesticides can hurt the environment and human health. There are many healthy and safe alternatives to harmful cosmetic pesticides.

What are cosmetic pesticides?

Cosmetic pesticides are chemical or biological substances used to destroy living things such as: insects (insecticides), plants (herbicides), and fungi (fungicides) for the purpose of enhancing the appearance of a lawn or garden. They are sold commonly as sprays, liquids, powders or combined with chemical fertilizers.

How do pesticides get into our bodies?

Cosmetic pesticides can enter our bodies through skin contact or by ingestion or by inhalation.

Pesticides can enter your home in a variety of ways:

* through people and pets
* through objects and toys contaminated with the chemicals
* through storage

Pesticides are a broad category of complex chemicals, which may cause many immediate and long term negative health effects. These range from:

* mild symptoms such as headaches, fatigue and shortness of breath
* serious reactions like vomiting and loss of consciousness
* long term adverse effects on behaviour, and the nervous, immune and endocrine systems
* forms of cancer, such as non-Hodgkins lymphoma, leukemia and soft tissue sarcoma.

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE:

Stop using cosmetic pesticides.

Use organic fertilizer or compost. It will increase the nutrients available to your plants.

Consider replacing your lawn with alternative ground covers: creeping or wooly thyme, spreading junipers, creeping jenny, mosses, ferns, wildflowers, or a perennial garden.

April 26, 2009 10:38 am

Posted by sandy m

My neighbor has solvedthe lawn problem by putting in some sort of sedge, I believe. It's looking pretty good right now, and I'm considering doing the same. If you didn't know, you'd assume it's grass. And they don't have to mow it. It spreads without going up. Wow! I'm going to be a nosy neighbor and ask them for more info. Will post that later.

March 09, 2009 12:35 pm

Posted by emmel

scaary. how about digging out the dandelions and such?