Hidden dangers of homemade pesticides

In an effort to eliminate chemicals around our yard, my husband and I have often made home-made products to control pests and weeds. We know that harsh, unnecessary chemicals can harm organisms on our own property, but can also get washed into local waterways where they can cause fish kills and other water pollution dangers.

I have to admit that the primary reason we have done this is for convenience and to save money. When we see some unwanted pests around the yard, it certainly seems easier to just run inside and mix up a concoction of our own to try to tackle the problem.

But when I recently wrote a post about ways to keep wandering cats from digging in gardens, long time reader Alison Gillespie (author of the great blog Where you are Planted ) pointed out the danger of using mothballs to repel animals. This, in turn, made me think about the potential dangers of all homemade landscape products.

So before mixing up any do-it-yourself pesticide or weed killing products, here are some things to keep in mind:

1. ANYTHING you add to the ground has the potential of upsetting the natural eco-system and possibly killing good organisms along with the pests.
2. Homemade pesticides do not have the benefit of scientific evaluation and do not have label directions that the user can follow to ensure safe use or the desired pest control result.
3. Homemade pesticides may burn or damage plants.
4. While some homemade pesticides (such as soap and water) pose little risk, combining them with other ingredients may be harmful.
5. Often, home garden remedies are mixed in bottles and cans used for food. This is a very dangerous practice, especially with the presence of small children.
6. Other possible risks associated with the preparation and use of homemade pesticides include: inhaling harmful fumes, irritating eyes and skin, and contaminating clothing.
7. Homemade pesticides should be used immediately. Do not store.
8. Do not leave homemade pesticides unattended or spray them near children, pets, and other family members.
9. Purchasing organic pesticides from reputable companies rather than making your own helps to support businesses working towards a green future.
10. Just because something comes from a plant doesn’t mean it is safe.
     a. Nicotine – Nicotine is a potent pesticide that acts on the insect nervous system. Nicotine is also highly toxic to humans, dogs, cats and other mammals. According to oral toxicity trials, nicotine is more toxic to mammals than some commonly used synthetic pesticides such as malathion (Source)
     b. Rhubarb – Oxalic acid may be extracted from rhubarb leaves and is often recommended for aphid control. However, oxalic acid has been associated with deaths of goats, swine and humans through ingestion of high quantities of rhubarb leaves (source)
    c. Chrysanthemums – Pyrethrum can be extracted from chrysanthemum flowers and is one of the most commonly used insecticides in the United States. Although Pyrethrums have low toxicity towards humans and other mammals , thousands of reports of mild symptoms of pyrethrum poisoning are reported annually across the United States.

For more information:
Organic Pest Control : What Works, What Doesn’t
Organic Pest Control Methods Explained
http://www.pesticides.montana.edu/News/Bulletins/MT%20Pest%20Bulletin-May.pdf

Homemade pesticides are dangerous

I love Cats, Just Not in my Yard

Many  gardeners don’t like cats in their yards. I have to admit, it isn’t one of my favorite things to be digging through my soil and come up with a hand-full of cat poop.

But the main reason I don’t like cats in my yard is because of the wildlife. Since I garden to attract wildlife,  I take my responsibility to protect that wildlife pretty seriously. So I don’t use chemicals in my yard AND I don’t tolerate free-roaming felines.

According to the American Bird Conservancy website:

• Scientists estimate that every year in the United States alone, cats kill hundreds of millions of birds, and more than a billion small mammals, including rabbits, squirrels, and chipmunks.
• Life for outdoor cats is risky. They can get hit by cars; attacked by dogs, other cats, coyotes or wildlife; contract fatal diseases, such as rabies, feline distemper, or feline immunodeficiency virus; get lost, stolen, or poisoned; or suffer during severe weather conditions.
• Free-roaming and feral cats also pose a health hazard to humans from the spread of diseases such as rabies and toxoplasmosis.

If I see a cat in my yard and I know who owns it, I’ll talk to the owner first, before I take any other steps. After that, I feel okay doing whatever is necessary to keep the cats away. The problem, of course, is that once a cat decides it likes your yard, it is pretty difficult to deter them. 

Here are some of the methods I found online for keeping the cats away, so that the birds, and other little critters, can continue to play:

• Let your neighbors know how you feel about their roaming cat. The American Birds Conservancy website has materials you can download and share.
• Squirt them (the cats, not the neighbors) with a blast of water from a garden hose or spray bottle. 
• Get a dog (not always a good option if you like to attract wildlife).
• Scatter orange or lemon peels or spray with citrus-scented spray around the area; cats generally dislike citrus.
• Coffee grounds, pipe tobacco, or oil of lavender, lemongrass, citronella, or eucalyptus also deter cats.
• Sprinkle bloodmeal in your garden. Not only will it repel wildlife, but it is also a natural fertilizer.
• Mix water and vinegar and spray at the base of trees and plants around the house.
• Spray cat repellent (available at pet supply stores) around the edges of the yard,  top of fences and on any favorite digging areas or plants
• Try growing rue or scattering dry rue (an herb)- cats dislike the smell.
• Soak strips of old towels or rags in perfume or cologne and keep near target plants.
• *** It is NOT advised to Place moth balls around the garden. Please see comment from Alison for more info. 
• Arrange branches in a lattice-type pattern or wooden or plastic lattice fencing material over soil. You can disguise these by planting flowers and seeds in the openings. You can also try embedding wooden chopsticks, pinecones, or sticks with dull points deep into the soil with the tops exposed eight inches apart.
• Use plastic carpet runners spike-side up, covered lightly in soil.
• Set chicken wire firmly into the dirt with sharp edges rolled under.
• Keep garbage cans covered to control rodents that may be a food source for feral cats.
• Cover your child's sandbox when it's not in use.
• Try an ultrasonic animal repellent that are available in lawn and garden stores
• Use a motion-activated sprinkler so that a cat will be sprayed, but unharmed (I don’t really recommend this, since it seems like it would waste a lot of water)
• Cover exposed ground in flower beds with large, attractive river rocks to prevent cats from digging. (They have the added benefit of deterring weed growth.)

And here is one of the most ingenious solutions I found:

• Put some boogie bass in your yard. Remember those old motion activated singing fish (Don’t worry, be happy). I read online where one gardener put a boogie bass in her yard and it scared the cats away!

What about you? Have you come up with any good solutions for keeping the cats away?

Related posts : Pets and Pesticides
10 Tips for Creating a Wildlife Friendly Garden

Dog poop in the compost?

As a thrifty, eco-friendly gardener, it’s hard to throw away anything that might have some value as compost. Composting, after all, is a great way to create our own natural soil additives at home, eliminating the need for chemical fertilizers that could cause problems for the environment.

Certainly most green food waste and plant waste makes its way into our compost pile, along with eggshells, wood chips, hair, dryer lint and many other items that would otherwise get thrown out around a home.

The question of composting pet poop, however, has always been a messy one. Even websites such as the EPA page on composting lists Animal Manure on the IN list for items to compost while at the same time listing Pet Waste on the OUT list, for items to avoid.

My friend Susan McCullough recently tackled this question on the Metro DC Dog Blog.

Apparently the folks in the Fairbanks, Alaska Soil & Water Conservation District “performed a study aimed at developing ‘easy yet effective dog waste composting practices that reliably destroy pathogens found in some dog feces.’  The study found that good composting not only removes dog waste but also saves energy (from transporting the waste to a landfill) and also enriches the soil.”

To read more about this study, you can read Susan’s post entitled The Compost Post. And be sure to subscribe to the Metro DC Dog Blog for more fun about our four-legged friends.

By the way, I mentioned animal poop a couple of weeks ago when I was going out to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for a short trip. I wondered what they do with all of the elk poop on the huge National Elk Refuge that feeds about 10,000 elk during the winter. Well, I just wanted to pass along this tongue-in-cheek conversation I had with one of the rangers out there.

Me: “Excuse me. Can you tell me what you do with all of the elk poop on the refuge?”

Ranger: “Why? Do you want some?”

Me: “Well, not now, because I am getting ready to get on a plane to head home, but it just seems like all of those nice, compact pellets would make great fertilizer.”

Ranger: “Hmmm. I have to say, we have never had that question before. How would you suggest we collect the poop?”

Me: “I know you let boy scouts pick up elk antlers and sell them to raise money. Why don’t you let them pick up elk poop and sell it for fertilizer.”

Ranger: “Right. We could have a new kind of merit badge for collecting poop.”

Me: “Or maybe just the bad boy scouts would get elk doody duty.”

Ranger: “Haha. Actually we just leave all of the poop right where it lands. And it does act as great fertilizer for the grass that grows there that helps to feed the elk. So none of it really goes to waste.”

Which just goes to show you, sometimes the simplest answer is really the best one.

You may also enjoy reading: Can I put *bleep* in my compost heap

Dog Poop Ain’t Sexy, but picking it up can be

When someone first asked me if they could add dog poop to their compost pile, my immediate response was a firm NO! No Way! NADA!

But just to make sure, I decided to consult an expert. And who better to consult than the self-professed Queen of Dog S*%t, Susan McCullough, author of HouseTraining for Dummies and blogger at the Metro DC Dog Blog.

Susan and I are on similar missions. We both blog about what we love (gardening for me, dogs for Susan) but we also try to encourage people to take care of the planet while they are diggin’ and doggin’. We both know that things like chemicals and dog poop should NOT go into the groundwater.

Anyway, Susan did recommend that people not put pet poop in their compost piles. But since Susan always has the latest scoop on poop, she also went on to tell me about how Cambridge, Massachusetts uses dog poop to power lights in their park and how Ithaca, NY was collecting dog poop for possible future composting.

She also showed me this hilarious video that I just wanted to pass along to my readers, since I know there are a lot of you out there who love dogs as much as I do. I’m hoping this dance will catch on and be the new rage in 2012!

More dog safety in the garden

I've written a couple of posts about pets in our gardens, primarilly about how the chemicals we use in our landscapes can harm our pets. In fact, according to WebMD, poisoning is one of the Top Ten Dog and Cat Injuries.

But my friend and fellow blogger Susan McCullough, author of the popular Northern Virginia Dog Blog, pointed something out to me that many gardeners don't think about: there are many other things in our gardens that can hurt our pets, including poisonous plants, mulch and what we put in our compost piles.

Many dog owners know that certain foods are unhealthy for dogs and keep them out of Fido's reach in the kitchen. But these same foods may end up in the compost pile where curious canines are sure to sniff them out.

Here are some excerpts from the great article Susan sent me entitled: ASPCA Guide to Pet-Safe Gardening.

ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) experts field tens of thousands of calls each year involving animal companions who’ve had potentially hazardous contact with insecticides, weed killers and pet-toxic plants. 

"Keeping animals safe from accidental poisonings should not end once you've stepped outside," says Dana Farbman, APCC pet poison prevention expert. "Protecting your pet from potential hazards in your yard is just as critical." 

While gardens and yards are lovely for relaxing, they can also prove dangerous for our animal companions.

Poisonous Plants 

When designing and planting your green space, it's a good idea to keep in mind that many popular outdoor plants—including rhododendron and azalea—are toxic to cats and dogs. Please visit our full list—and pics!—of toxic and non-toxic plants for your garden. 

Fertilizer 

Pet parents, take care—the fertilizer that keeps our plants healthy and green can wreak havoc on the digestive tracts of our furry friends. 

Cocoa Mulch 

Popular for its attractive odor and color, cocoa mulch also attracts dogs with its sweet smell, and like chocolate, it can pose problems for our canine companions. 

Insecticides 

The most dangerous forms of pesticides include snail bait with metaldehyde, fly bait with methomyl, systemic insecticides with the ingredients disyston or disulfoton, mole or gopher bait with zinc phosphide and most forms of rat poisons. Always store pesticides in inaccessible areas—and read the manufacturer's label carefully for proper usage and storage. 

Compost 

You're doing the right thing for your garden and Mother Earth—you're composting! Food and garden waste make excellent additions to garden soil, but depending on what you're tossing in the compost bin, they can also pose problems for our pets. Coffee, moldy food and certain types of fruit and vegetables are toxic to dogs and cats, so read up on people foods to avoid feeding your pet. 

Garden Tools 

Unattended garden tools may seem like no big deal, but rakes, tillers, hoes and trowels can be hazardous to pets and cause trauma to paws, noses or other parts of a curious pet's body. Rusty, sharp tools caked in dirt may also pose a risk for tetanus if they puncture skin. 

Allergy-Causing Flora 

Like their sneezy human counterparts, pets have allergies to foods, dust and even plants. Allergic reactions in dogs and cats can even cause life-threatening anaphylactic shock if the reaction is severe. If you do suspect your pet has an allergy, please don't give him any medication that isn't prescribed by a veterinarian. It's also smart to keep your pet out of other people's yards, especially if you're unsure of what kinds of plants or flowers lurk there. Keeping your pet off the lawn of others will make for healthy pets and happy neighbors.

Be sure and read the whole article from the ASPCA, as it contains much more great information for pets. And now that you know about the Northern Virginia Dog Blog, head on over there when you are out there sniffing around for something new to dig into.

Pets and pesticides

Do you remember the Crosby Stills and Nash song from the 70’s called “Our House”? When I was growing up, for some reason that song epitomized my idea of the perfect home and relationship, all the way down to the “two cats in the yard.” For a good part of my life, I was a real “cat person” and letting my cats wander around outside just seemed natural.

Then, one of my favorite cats came home poisoned. The vet thought she had ingested transmission fluid and we assumed that it was an accidental ingestion (certainly, no one would have poisoned her on purpose) and we paid the exorbitant vet fees and she got better. Another time, she ate a poison lizard and almost died. Again, we paid the fee and the vet fixed her up. She finally died from being hit by a car. There was no fixing her up that time.

Eventually, I quit letting my pet cats roam outside. After that, my tolerance towards other people’s roaming pets changed pretty quickly. I’ve had my screened patio torn up by free-roaming cats. I’ve been chased indoors by mean, snarling dogs. And I often step in both dog and cat poo, because I assume that  I shouldn’t have to look out for it on my own, petless property. But now that I garden for wildlife, my biggest problem with free roaming pets is that they chase, maim and kill birds, rabbits and other forms of wildlife that visit my yard.

In my mind, there are many reasons to NOT let domesticate animals roam free in neighborhoods, including possible harm to both the pets and wildlife and inconvenience or property damage to fellow homeowners. (As a gardener, there are few things as unpleasant as running your fingers through your beautiful soil and finding a pile of newly deposited cat poop). But since this is an eco-friendly garden blog, I have decided to focus this message on pets and pesticides (and other garden chemicals).

Let’s face it. If there is a chemical on the ground, it is very likely that it will end up inside of a pet. Cats and dogs walk and sit on chemically treated lawns and gardens and then lick their paws and.….sitting areas. They also dig in chemically treated soil, eat plants and  kill and eat birds and rodents which have ingested posions. And even if you don’t use chemicals in your own yard, letting your pet roam free can subject them to the chemicals found in the yards of your neighbors.

So whether you are a gardener, trying to decide if you want to keep using chemicals in your landscape or a pet owner who allows your pet to go on the occasional (or frequent) unsupervised romp around the neighborhood, here are some facts about Pets and Pesticides. Although many of these facts specifically mention dogs,  keep in mind that pesticides that are toxic to dogs will have adverse effects in cats also, due to their more delicate digestive system.

• A study published in 1995 in the academic journal Environmental Research shows a “statistcally significant” increase in the risk of canine malignant lymphoma in dogs when exposed to herbicides, particularly 2,4-D, commonly used on lawns and in “weed and feed” products.
• One product of particular concern is snail bait. A common ac­tive ingredient, metaldehyde, is tasty and attractive to mammals. Unfortunately, it is also highly toxic to all mammals, and causes blindness, excessive salivation, seizures, and sudden death.
• A study by Purdue University found that Scottish Terriers ex­posed to pesticide-treated lawns and gardens are more likely to develop transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, a type of can­cer.
• Avermectin B1: An insecticide used for fire ants, causes leth­argy and tremors in dogs.
• Allethrin: Used on flies and mosquitoes, has been linked to liver cancer in dogs.
• DCPA: An herbicide used in lawns and gardens,  is suspected to cause adverse effects in the liver of dogs.
• Dogs and cats use their noses to poke around and explore. The nose is a mucous membrane and an easy place for pesticides to enter their bodies.
• Dogs, in particular, absorb pesticide residues by chewing or eat­ing plant material that was treated with pesticides.
• Cats absorb more chemicals than dogs due to their grooming habits.
• Because cats are specialist carnivores, they lack certain en­zymes in their liver that decontaminate chemicals,  making them especially vulnerable to the effects of toxic chemicals.
• Cats and dogs hunt, and it is natural for hunters to pick the weakened animals as prey. Animals that have been poisoned are easy targets for predators because they are easier to catch.
• Symptoms of secondary poisoning may not occur for weeks after a dog or cat eats a poisoned animal, and may not be recog­nized as such.

The topic of free-roaming pets, or cats in particular,  is a touchy one with strong opinions on both sides of the issue. But no matter what your opinion is, the fact is that chemicals in the landscape can be harmful – to pets, to people and to the environment. The best answer for most of us is to learn to get by with fewer chemicals. We can spot treat weeds or pull them by hand and learn to attract ladybugs and other beneficial insects.

For more information, see the publications listed below:

Who Let the Dogs (and Cats) Out – Protecting backyard wildlife from our pets

Avoiding Chemicals helps keep Pets Safe

Pesticides and Pets – pdf file

Pets and Pesticide Use – pdf file

Dogs and Pesticide Use – pdf file