Sales of Imprelis Herbicide Halted. Refunds Planned

Over the past few weeks, several readers have contacted me and asked if I had heard about an herbicide named Imprelis. I had read about it, in passing, but hadn't had the time to look into it in depth.

What I originally read was that Imprelis herbicide, which was marketed as an environmentally friendly herbicide for professional use (landscape services, etc), was suspected in the deaths of thousands of Norway Spruces, eastern white pines, and other trees on lawns and golf courses across the country. (Source) 

I just got the chance to look into it further  and have discovered that DuPont, the manufacturer of Imprelis, has halted sales of the product and is planning a product return and refund program. Additionally, they have setup an entire website, called Imprelis Facts,  to answer questions about the product.

If you utilize a landscape service to maintain your lawn, you might want to ask them if they use Imprelis.

I tried to dig a little deeper and find out why it was first thought to be environmentally friendly. I only found a vague mention of it being "less" toxic to mammals.

I also thought it was interesting that, even though it was marketed as environmentally friendly, companies that applied the product were instructed to provide this notice to all of their customers:

Today we have treated your lawn with an innovative weed control product from DuPont. The product label requires that you do not use grass clippings from areas treated with Imprelis for mulching or compost, or allow for collection to composting facilities. Grass clippings must either be left on the treated area, or, if allowed by local yard waste regulations, disposed of in the trash.

As usual, my recommendation is to stay away from herbicides and other lawn chemicals whenever you can, even if they are listed as being more environmentally friendly.

Read More:

Changing Your Relationship With Weeds

Please Don't Poison My Planet

Beware of Second Hand Herbicides

Beware of second-hand herbicides

Everyone knows the effects of second-hand smoke, but not every gardener is aware of the potential dangers of second-hand herbicides.

Eco-friendly gardeners make extra efforts to maintain the weeds in their yards with non-chemical methods such as spot treating, hand-pulling and hoeing. But an article in a recent edition of Maryland Home and Garden, a newsletter from the Home and Garden Information Center of the University of Maryland explains how even gardeners who are making the right choices around their yards by eliminating chemical weed and pesticide products may be unwittingly adding poison to the planet.

The article, entitled Gardener Alert! Beware of Herbicide- Contaminated Compost and Manure reports that unsuspecting farmers and gardeners have applied compost, manure, and grass clippings contaminated with herbicides.

Here are the steps they advise to make sure that you aren't inadvertently using second-hand herbicides.

What’s a gardener to do? 

* Grass clippings can make a wonderful organic mulch and addition to the compost pile. Just be certain that the clippings you use were not sprayed with any herbicides. Don’t use neighborhood yard waste unless you’re sure it’s free of herbicides.

* Herbicide-contaminated compost and manure do not look or smell unusual. Most farmers who sell or give manure away may or may not know if their animals grazed on grasses or ate hay sprayed with aminopyralid or clopyralid. Ask commercial compost suppliers if their products are free of herbicide contaminants. Maryland Environmental Service (MES) is the producer of Leafgro, a very popular yardwaste compost available at garden centers throughout Maryland. MES has Leafgro tested regularly by an independent lab and have not detected aminopyralid or clopyralid. 

*  Bioassay test- this is the best way to test for possible contamination. You just mix some of the suspect material (hay, grass clippings, manure, compost) with a soil-less growing mix, dump it in a nursery pot, plant pea or bean seeds and observe what happens. Contamination is indicated if the seeds don’t germinate or seedlings emerge that are twisted and deformed. 

You can read the whole article along with other great information for local gardeners by downloading the Maryland Home and Garden newsletter here (pdf format).