Controlling Pests in the House Lawn and
Garden
Excerpted from The Household Detective: Protecting
Your Children from Toxins at Home, by Jan
Williams Children's
Health Environmental Coalition (CHEC)
(book is available here
with membership)
Problems with Pesticides
Often the first chance a child gets to play
outside is in a garden or on a lawn. However,
in order to keep these places beautiful and
green, we heap on the pesticides. About 90%
of Americans use pesticides, and we use a
lot of them, about 2 billion pounds a year.
Unfortunately, pesticides can cause all sorts
of children's health problems. Immediate effects
include nausea, vomiting, seizures, and shortness
of breath. Longer term effects include neurological
and reproductive disorders, birth defects,
asthma, and cancer.
These problems are preventable. We can easily
remove pesticides from our homes, both indoors
and outdoors. Using a number of simple strategies,
we can have beautiful lawns and gardens, and
relatively pest free homes without endangering
our children.
Did You Know?
· Children
in families that use pesticides are 6.5 times
more likely to get childhood leukemia.
· There
is a correlation between the use of pesticides
in the home and childhood brain cancer.
· Twenty-four
out of the 25 most common pests are only problems
because pesticides have killed their natural
predators.
· Nationwide,
47% of households with children under the
age of five were found to store at least one
pesticide within the reach of children.
What You Can Do
An Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach
is the safest way to control pests. IPM is
a sequential process based on monitoring,
prevention, mechanical and biological controls.
With IPM you start with the least toxic step
and proceed to the next step only if the first
doesn't control the pest problem.
IPM Steps
Monitor the situation. Identify the causes
of the problem. Determine what pests eat,
where they are coming from, and what kind
of organism you are trying to control.
Preventive Medicine
The best way to get rid of pests is to not
attract them in the first place. Cleaning
up after yourself, shutting windows, and taking
out the trash regularly are the keys to keeping
pests out of the house.
Just like with people, a healthy plant is
less likely to get sick or be preyed upon
than a weak plant. Plants have defense systems
just like animals. Encourage your plants to
protect themselves by keeping them strong
and healthy.
Water appropriately. Be sure to take into
account your specific climate. In general,
try to water in the evening, anywhere from
4:00 to 9:00 pm depending upon where you live.
In addition to conserving water, this keeps
plants from getting burnt by the noon sun,
which reflects off the water, or from getting
stressed by cold if watered at night. In order
to save yourself time and to stimulate root
growth in your plants, water less frequently
but for longer duration. Fungus growing on
your plants is a sure sign that you are over-watering.
Mechanical Controls
If
preventative medicine alone isn't enough,
then try some of these techniques. Get down
and dirty. Weed by hand. It is a small sacrifice
compared to the health risks of weeding by
spray bottle. You might even grow to like
it. Use mechanical traps to capture pests.
Live traps are a good alternative.
Biological Controls
If the pests still won't give in, try recruiting
some allies from the natural world. Attract
beneficial insects. Some insects such as praying
mantis and ladybugs will eat the bugs that
eat your plants. You can encourage their presence
by not using pesticides, which indiscriminately
kill both good and bad bugs (they aren't good
for kids either) and by planting beneficial
plant species. Plants such as daisies, sunflowers,
marigolds, dill, and fennel attract beneficial
insects by providing them with food and a
place to lay their eggs.
If all the previous options fail, it may
be helpful to directly add biological control
such as beneficial insects, nematodes, and
pathogens. These techniques should be used
sparingly in specific circumstances and under
the supervision of a professional; otherwise
they can do more damage than good.
Least Toxic Chemical Controls
When all else fails, it is useful to turn
to least toxic chemical controls. Boric acid
is a useful way of controlling ants, cockroaches,
grain weevils, and beetles, as well as many
weeds. Although boric acid is much less toxic
than conventional pesticides, it still presents
some health risks. For this reason, use it
sparingly and be sure to keep it away from
children.
Sticky traps that attract insects with pheremones
can be very effective. However, be careful
because some sticky traps use conventional
toxic pesticides. Numerous other least toxic
chemical controls exist, including diatomaceous
earth, soaps, oils, and growth regulators.
When considering these least toxic chemicals,
be sure to check out all the potential health
risks. Use these chemicals only if the previous
steps don't work, and be sure to use appropriate
strategies for the specific type of pest you
are dealing with. Be as specific as possible.
Special Tips for Gardens
Use lots of organic fertilizer, especially
compost. Compost is mother nature's primary
fertilizer choice and she is pretty good at
planting gardens. Compost is a living system
of microbes and decaying organic matter. As
microbes continually break down the organic
matter, important nutrients are released slowly
and steadily to be used by the plants. The
glue-like waste products of these microbes
create a porous soil, which holds more air
and water, helping your plants to breathe
and drink.
Don't plant in rows. Plant with equal space
in every direction. Rows were invented to
ease the harvesting of really big crops. In
your own backyard this is less relevant. Try
growing your plants equally distant from one
another in all directions. This helps exclude
many invasive weeds. Additionally, this creates
a microclimate, which keeps heat in and retains
moisture, the combination which stimulates
robust plant growth.
Use plants suitable to your specific region.
Buy seed (preferably organic) from a company
that harvests seed locally. These seeds have
been selected for their performance within
the specific requirements of your local environment.
Use nature's tricks. Plants have evolved
their own pesticides such as caffeine and
nicotine. Dump some chewing tobacco or coffee
grounds in your watering can to make a less
toxic pesticidal tea. Apply generously whenever
you water.
To get rid of slugs, put out a pan of beer.
This will lure slugs to a drunken death. (Note:
Don't drink the beer afterwards).
Special Tips for Lawns
Use a variety of grass suited to your local
area. Call your county extension service to
find out which variety of grass would be most
appropriate.
Reduce soil compaction. To aerate your soil,
use earthworms and a garden fork. For bigger
jobs, rent an aerating machine. Remove thatch
build up. Thatch is the layer of decomposing
roots, leaves, and stems at the surface of
the soil. Removing this layer allows water
and fertilizer to penetrate down to the roots
where they are most needed. Use a thatching
rake or for big jobs, rent a thatching machine.
It is most strategic to do this in the spring
or fall when the grass will grow back quickly.
Mow frequently but lightly. Mowing too low
to the ground reduces the amount of green
in a lawn, which reduces its ability to produce
food. Mowing too low also causes a lawn to
dry out. Finally, be sure to use a sharp blade
to reduce the stress on the grass.
Special Tips for the House
Cockroaches
Keep food in airtight containers and block
potential cockroach entry ways. Plug cracks
around baseboards, walls, pipes, sinks, and
bathtubs. Repair leaky pipes and faucets.
Try to reduce the amount of standing water
in your house and don't leave out soap bars.
Roaches are attracted to both. If these preventative
measures fail, try using a least toxic chemical
control - use a sticky trap or put a light
dusting of boric acid behind and under the
fridge, stove, and duct work and in or along
cracks and crevices. Be sure that your kids
don't have access to these areas, as boric
acid can be harmful to children and should
be kept out of their reach.
Ants
Locate the place of entry and squeeze some
lemon juice on it. Leave the peel at the entrance.
Ants will also be repelled by chalk, talcum
powder, and coffee grounds. As with cockroaches,
plugging cracks, holes, and water leaks is
a good preventative measure.
Flies
Sunny open windows are a fly's entry way
to your house. So close your windows before
it gets sunny. Also try making your own fly
paper with yellow paper and honey. Good old
fashioned fly swatters work well too. They
also provide a good upper body work out.
Spiders
Don't kill spiders. They are the good guys
- exterminators at a reasonable hourly rate.
Fleas
If your pets are infested, wash them well
with soap and warm water, and comb them regularly
with a flea comb, disposing of the fleas in
lightly soapy water. Vacuum your house and
wash your pet's bedding at least every two
weeks, before the eggs have time to hatch.
Empty your vacuum bag regularly to prevent
eggs hatching in your house.
If you are really ambitious, don't declare
nuclear war on the fleas with pesticides;
rather practice guerrilla warfare by using
the following acrobatic technique. Place bowls
of lightly soapy water around your house.
Then put on a pair of white socks and walk
around. The fleas, attracted to your body's
heat, will jump on your feet. Pluck them off
and drop them in the water.
As a last resort, sprinkle diatomaceous sparingly
into the carpet. Let set for one hour and
then vacuum it up. Wear a mask to prevent
breathing in dust. The diatomaceous earth
will cause the fleas to dry up and die.
Make Your Own Insect Repellent
Sponge or spray on the following herbal rinse:
2 tbs. Rosemary
1/2 pint boiling
water
1. Steep
the rosemary for 20 minutes
2. Strain
3. Allow
to cool
4. Apply
the liquid.
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Use
the information provided on this site as an
educational resource for determining your
options and making your own informed choices.
It is not intended as medical advice or to
diagnose, prescribe, or treat any specific
illness.