I live in the suburbs, and as a suburbanite, there seems to be an unspoken rule that your lawn should be weed and dandelion free. Well, it is safe to say we have broken that rule. Our lawn is kind of a mess right now because we haven’t treated it in the 2 summers we have lived here and the weeds are taking over a bit.
I admit, I am a little embarrassed by our atypical suburban lawn, but we are working hard this year to get it in shape. This does not mean I’m calling a lawn company to spray chemicals on my lawn, nor are we putting pesticides on our lawn ourselves. We have decided that our health and the health of our children (who play in our yard daily) is more important than keeping the suburban code.
Here is some of the info I’ve dug up on why pesticides on lawns are NOT SAFE:
- Children who live in homes where pesticides are used have a 4 times greater risk of developing leukemia. If pesticides are used in a garden, the risk jumps to 6.5 times greater risk.
- The pesticide MCPA has been shown to disrupt the blood brain barrier in adults. A defective blood brain barrier is often found in patients with Alzheimer’s and certain psychiatric disorders. Infants with an immature blood brain barrier can develop brain damage when exposed to common chemicals while an adult would not.
- The EPA has classified mancozeb and chlorothalonil (used by some commercial lawn spray companies) as “probable” cancer causing chemicals in humans. Mancozeb reacts with sunlight to form an EPA recognized “known” human carcinogen.
- Farmers exposed to 2,4-D have a 6 times greater risk of developing lymphatic cancer.
From eartheasy.com (excellent article, please read more here):
“Of 30 commonly used lawn pesticides, 19 are linked with cancer or carcinogenicity, 13 are linked with birth defects, 21 with reproductive effects, 26 with liver or kidney damage, 15 with neurotoxicity, and 11 with disruption of the endocrine (hormonal) system. Of those same pesticides, 17 are detected in groundwater, 23 have the ability to leach into drinking water sources, 24 are toxic to fish and other aquatic organisms vital to our ecosystem, 11 are toxic to bees, and 16 are toxic to birds.”
The EPA even has this advice to offer from their website:
“Pest control is not the same as pest elimination. Insisting on getting rid of all pests inside and outside your home will lead you to make more extensive, repeated, and possibly hazardous chemical treatments than are necessary. Be reasonable. Ask yourself these questions:
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Does your lawn really need to be totally weed free?
- Recognizing that some insects are beneficial to your lawn, do you need to get rid of all of them?
- Can you tolerate some blemished fruits and vegetables from your garden?
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Is anyone in your home known to be particularly sensitive to chemicals?”
Even the EPA is asking us to get a grip and be realistic about what a suburban lawn should look like. I now see lawns differently. A “healthy” lawn is one without dangerous chemicals, regardless of the amount of weeds in my eyes.
This year, my family is trying out a product by Firebelly called Organic Lawn in a Box. I’ll keep you posted as to how it does! We are also trying to keep a healthy lawn by cutting our grass high (2.5-3.5 inches) to choke out weed growth. Also, this summer, we plan to water infrequently, but deeply when we do. Weeds have shallow roots, so if they aren’t watered often, they will die quicker than the grass.
Do you have any green lawn care tips? Please share!
Shared with: Women Living Well and Frugally Sustainable.
Resources:
http://airtech.tripod.com/pesticides.htm
http://eartheasy.com/blog/2009/01/lawn-care-chemicals-how-toxic-are-they/
I’m in a similar situation. The thought of paying a company to come and spread poison on my lawn is just ridiculous. We’re in our third year here and have spent most of the time covering pieces of the lawn with flower beds, raised veggie beds, and fruit trees (so there’s a lot less lawn to mow).
But the last couple of weeks have brought out the dandelions. We have a LOT of them this year, probably since they’ve been allowed to accumulate on our lawn over the last three years. My significant other pointed out that the neighbors are going to start more actively hating us unless we get rid of the dandelions which will contaminate their yards. We’ve ordered online some dandelion specific weed killer that is not organic, but natural. It has iron chelate (which the grass can tolerate, but dandelions can’t). It’s one small concession to keep the peace in our house and in the neighborhood.
Thanks for sharing. It is tough to go against the culture, but when you do, it brings about opportunities to talk with people about WHY you are doing what you are doing, and hopefully brings about opportunities to educate people.
And please let us know how the product you are using works!
I totally hear what you are saying. We’ve used organic products only our lawns for years (and with fantastic results I might add). When the dandelions start to pop and/or take over like they have in our newest home, I put on my gloves, crank the tunes, grab a 5 gallon bucket and a shovel and pop them out by hand. It’s a bit time consuming but rather relaxing and mindless after a long day at the office, and my toddler can run around outside and “help.”
What products do you use? We pulled the dandelions in our front yard this year, and I actually enjoyed it!
Found you on the Frugal Ways blog hop.
I live in an urban neighborhood but on with fastidious lawn loving neighbors. They already hate me because I’m not up at the crack of dawn mowing my lawn every Sunday like they are.
I don’t spray either and it’s hilarious to me when I’m standing on my upper level porch overlooking our little postage stamp size yards. Mine is bright yellow with a few smatterings of green. As you look past to the neighboring yards, the color shifts from mostly yellow, to dots, to the bright green of my neighbors yards. So you know all the dandelions come from me.
My gift to the neighborhood.
Ha!