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

CSI (Critter Scene Investigation?) for Garden Pests

As a green gardener, I always try to encourage people to deal with their garden pests in an environmentally friendly way.

I list many organic pest control methods in this post, Organic Pest Control Methods Explained.

But the first step in controlling insects in the garden is to identify what sort of critter you are dealing with in the first place.

Here's a great little video that I found on the University of Maryland Grow It Eat It website. It's very information and I really like the bug guy.

Organic Pest Control Methods - Explained

I recently had a post about Organic Pest Control which summed up the results of a survey conducted by Mother Earth Magazine asking gardeners across the country which methods of organic pest control they found the most effective.

Although I had heard of most of the methods of control mentioned in the article, I have to admit that I didn’t fully understand what some of them were. So today I am going to go into a little more detail describing the various types of organic pest control which were mentioned in the article, as well as a few others.

First, it is important to make sure that the insects you are trying to kill are actually bad bugs, and not good ones. If you aren’t sure of the identification of an insect, there are many sources listed in this post which can help you with your ID.

For more details about many of these methods, there is a great page on the Montgomery County Maryland website called Pesticide Alternatives.

Manual methods – things you can do:

1) Handpicking– This method of pest control means just what it says. You walk through your garden and remove the insects by hand. This method works well for large insects such as beetles and hornworms. Of course, you have to do something with the bug once you pluck it. If you don’t have chickens or ducks to feed them to (see number 9, below) then you can carry a small container of water and soap or isopropyl alcohol to drop the pests into.  The deceased insects can then be returned to the earth to provide garden nutrients.

2) Hose ‘em off – Similar to handpicking is spraying them off with a strong stream of water. This method should be used when you are watering, anyway, so you don’t waste water, and works, to some limited extent, for soft bodied insects such as aphids and spidermites. Be sure and spray the bottoms of the leaves, too.

3) Right Plant, Right Place– Plants will generally have more pest resistance, and be healthier in general, if they are grown in the right spot. Get to know your site conditions and choose plants accordingly.

4) Growing resistant varieties– Plant breeders are creating cultivars that are more resistant to pests and diseases all the time. Ask for these varieties when making your plant selections at local nurseries or through mail order catalogs. Keep in mind that, in general, native plants are often more resistant to native pest species.

5) Timed planting– You can avoid certain garden pests by planting when they aren’t around. Some pests lay eggs only at a certain times in the spring. Planting to avoid these times can help avoid the pest.

6) Companion planting – Companion plants in your flower and vegetable garden will attract beneficial and predatory insects to your plants—while repelling unwanted garden thugs. For example, marigolds repel nematodes; mints (potted to prevent overgrowth)  repel cabbage pests and aphids; rue deters Japanese beetles; sweet basil controls tomato hornworm, repels aphids, mosquitoes, mites and acts as a natural fungicide and slows the growth of milkweed bugs (and don't forget pesto!); tansy used as a green mulch can repel cucumber beetles, Japanese beetles, ants, squash bugs. Chrysanthemums, chives, onions and garlic repel many pests, so plant them near your vegetable crops.

7) Crop rotation – From season to season, plant different crop species in the same location. This will help you discourage pests which were attracted to the first crop and keep pest populations from building up.

Chemical controls – things you apply

8) Insecticidal soap– Insecticidal soaps work by penetrating  the insect’s outer layer (cuticle) and dehydrating them and is useful for soft-bodied insects such as aphids, mealybugs and whiteflies. Although insecticidal soaps are more eco-friendly than harsher chemicals (they are non-toxic to humans and test animals and they biodegrade rapidly in the soil) there are some things to keep in mind. First, all soaps have phytotoxic properties, so you should test them on a few leaves before spraying an entire plant.  They will also kill many beneficial insects so make sure you know which insects you are spraying. Insecticidal soaps can be purchased at many garden supply stores now or you can make your own.

9) Horticultural oil – Horticultural oils work by smothering pests and their eggs, and may also have some repellent properties. Superior oil products control a wide variety of insects while going easy on beneficial insects. You can purchase horticultural oil or make your own.

10) Bt (Bacillus thuringiens),is a microbial biological control method which works on various larval insect pests. Bt is applied to the plant, where it is ingested by the caterpillar, which is  poisoned, paralyzed and eventually dies. Bt will not harm the majority of beneficial insects in your garden. However, it will kill butterfly larvae, which of course, are caterpillars. Bt can be purchased under many brand names.

11) Neem– (also known as azadirachtin) is an insecticide extracted from  seeds of the neem tree. Neem works as a broad-spectrum repellent, growth regulator,and insect poison. It discourages feeding  by making plants unpalatable to insects. If they eat the treated plant anyway, it inhibits their ability to lay eggs. Neem works on a wide range of insects, however, caution should be used. It is described as being ALMOST non-toxic to mammals and beneficial insects, but should not be used on food plants.

12) Garlic-oil spray-  Garlic oil kills insects, but not selectively, so it will kill the good bugs as well as the bad bugs. It works well on aphids, squash bugs, whiteflies and other insects.

13) Diatomaceous earth– Diatomaceous earth (DE) is a nonselective, abrasive dust commonly used to kill pests in the home and garden. It works by physical rather than chemical action. DE is the fossilized silica shells of algae called diatoms, which are covered with sharp needlelike projections that penetrate an insects cuticle, causing the insect to die of dehydration. You can dust plants and soil with DE to control crawling pests like slugs and snails, aphids, caterpillars and other insects. DE is considered nontoxic to mammals, but can irritate mucous membranes, so a dust mask should be worn while applying it. .

14) Milky spore disease – This product kills grubs of Japanese beetles and other related beetles but is harmless to other organisms.

Call out the critters – Beneficial animals and insects

15) Beneficial insects – Beneficial insects are good bugs that eat bad bugs, and include ladybugs, green lacewings, parasitic wasps and others. You can garden to attract beneficial insects  or you can purchase them from garden supply stores. For more information, see:  Lady Bugs

16) Beneficial birds – Many birds (including hummingbirds) also eat garden pests. Gardening to attract birds will bring you a beautiful natural form of pest control that will sing for its supper. Read: 10 Tips for a Wildlife Friendly Garden and Gardening for Hummingbirds

17) Poultry predation– Apparently, chickens and ducks love things like grubs, hornworms and other meaty garden pests. If you have the time and space to raise poultry, this sounds like a fun,  eco-friendly solution.

18) Beneficial nematodes, Beneficial nematodes are underground pest hunters that control over 250 different species of insects that spend some part of their lives underground. They are a very efficient organic insect control method and kill most insects before they become adults. This includes lots of common lawn and garden pests such as grubs, fleas, mole crickets, Japanese beetles and weevils.

Using barriers

19) Floating row covers – Floating row covers are lengths of fabric  which are lightly draped on plant foliage, creating barriers from pests. They let in more than 80% of the sunlight, as well as the rain and other irrigation. Covers must be draped loosely to allow for plant growth, but secured at the bottom to prevent intruders.

20) Rigid collars – For the plants, not the insects. Collars can be made of cardboard, plastic or metal cans, open at both ends and placed around the plants. These work for some cutworms, but not climbing cutworms.

Many of these products can be purchased online or at your favorite nursery or hardware store.

**The source for much of this material came from two  books from our home bookshelf:  Rodale's Chemical-Free Yard & Garden and The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control.

Here are some other great resources for the Metro DC Area:

Pesticide Alternatives – Montgomery County Maryland website
Try Pesticide Alternatives (pdf file) – Maryland Department of Agriculture
Minimum Chemical Gardening – Virginia Cooperative Extension

Organic Pest Control - What Works, What Doesn't? Mother Earth asks her Gardeners

As green gardeners, we always try to find an eco-friendly, non-polluting way to handle the pests that show up in our gardens. We know that any chemicals we apply may find their way into the groundwater and eventually our waterways. And certainly when it comes to growing food we are going to eat, we don't want to apply anything that could add any poisons.

So I was excited to see an article in a recent issue of Mother Earth News Magazine called Organic Pest Control: What Works, What Doesn't.

Last year, Mother Earth News launded an Organic Pest Control Survey, asking readers what works and what doesn't in the eco-friendly battle against the vile villians that infiltrate our vegetable gardens. About 1,300 gardeners from across North America responded, providing new, region-specific insight into organic pest control.

Here are some of the methods that were provided for dealing with garden pests, details of which can be read in the full article:

1. Aphid:Insecticidal soap, attracting beneficials, horticultural oil
2. Armyworm:Bt (Bacillus thuringiens), handpicking, row covers
3. Asparagus beetle:Poultry predation, neem, handpicking
4. Blister beetle:Poultry predation, neem, handpicking
5. Cabbage root maggot:Crop rotation, beneficial nematodes, diatomaceous earth
6. Cabbageworm:Bt, handpicking, row covers
7. Carrot rust fly:Crop rotation, beneficial nematodes, diatomaceous earth
8. Colorado potato beetle:Poultry predation, neem, handpicking
9. Corn earworm:Bt, horticultural oil, beneficial nematodes
10. Cucumber beetle:Poultry predation, neem, handpicking
11. Cutworm:Rigid collars, Bt, diatomaceous earth
12. Flea beetle: Insecticidal soap, garlic-pepper spray, row covers
13. Harlequin bug:Handpicking, good garden sanitation, neem
14. Japanese beetle: Handpicking, row covers, milky spore disease
15. Mexican bean beetle:Poultry predation, neem, handpicking
16. Onion root maggot:Crop rotation, beneficial nematodes, diatomaceous earth
17. Slugs:Handpicking, iron phosphate slug bait, diatomaceous earth
18. Snails:Handpicking, iron phosphate slug bait, diatomaceous earth
19. Squash bug:Handpicking, good garden sanitation, neem
20. Squash vine borer: Growing resistant varieties, crop rotation, beneficial nematodes
21. Stink bug:Handpicking, good garden sanitation, neem
22. Tarnished plant bug:Handpicking, good garden sanitation, neem
23. Tomato hornworm: Bt, handpicking, row covers
24. Whitefly:Insecticidal soap, attracting beneficials, horticultural oil

There were many additional comments added by the respondees, including things like: "Plant more than you can use", garden to attract beneficial insects, and garden to attract birds (which eat a lot of insects). Those are some of the tactics that my hubby and I use in our garden, too.

What about you? Have you found any good eco-friendly methods of controlling insects in your garden that you would like to share?

Attracting Beneficial Insects for all Natural Pest Control

I’ve decided to devote my next few posts to chemical free pest control. I could give you a lot of reasons why it isn’t a good idea to use chemicals in a landscape. A HUGE one is that everything you put into your yard has the potential of finding its way into our local waterways, which is the leading cause of non-point source pollution.

But I think the main reason that I am in such a “buggy” mood is because I just bought a new camera and, when in macro mode, it can take photos as close as ½” away. Its really hard for me to kill something after I look that close at its tiny little face.

So for my first post this week, instead of telling you how to get rid of bugs, I am going to tell you how to get MORE bugs to your garden…the beneficial insects that will do some of the dirty work for you in your fight against garden pests.

Many of the insects that visit our gardens provide a benefit. Some of them improve the soil. Others pollinate our plants. But the term “beneficial insect” is probably most often used to describe good  insects that control the bad insects that cause problems in the garden. This definition of ‘beneficial insect’ describes the watchdogs of the gardens – the tiny sentinels that keep those pesky garden intruders such as aphids, mealybugs, scale and whiteflies in check without the use of harmful chemicals. Some of the most popular beneficial insects are ladybugs, green lacewings, parasitic wasps and dragonflies.

The question, of course, is how do we get the beneficial insects to our gardens? And even more important, once they are there, how do we get them to stay?

Before we go any farther, there is one thing that you need to remember: Beneficial insects are just another form of wildlife. So instead of thinking ‘bug’, think of something larger:  Birds, perhaps.

With that in mind, think of the two primary ways that you can get beneficial insects into your garden. You can purchase many varieties from local nurseries and online specialty stores. Or you can try to lure them into your garden.

Bats, hawks and many other forms of wild birds are all excellent at keeping the pest populations down on your property. But what do you think would happen if you could go to a store and buy a large quantity of predatory birds and release them on your property?

First of all, most of them would immediately fly away. And the ones that did manage to stay around may not be well adapted to your area and may become sick or cause problems to the native wildlife.

Now think of the second option. Imagine that you create an environment that the predators find so inviting that they fly in on their own and setup housekeeping. You will attract NATIVE predators that want to dine on the NATIVE insects.

So if luring beneficial insects makes so much more sense, how does one go about doing it?

As with any form of wildlife, if you want to entice beneficial insects to hang around, you must provide for their basic needs: food, water, safe shelter and places to raise their young. If you release any wild creature in your yard without providing these elements, its immediate reaction is going to be to get out of your yard! The same is true of live insects.

Water: Ponds, birdbaths and rain gardens all provide enough drinking water for insects. If you do not have any of these sources on your property, a shallow dish or pan of water filled with pebbles so the insects won’t drown will suffice. Change the water every few days to discourage mosquitoes from breeding.

 Shelter: Leaf litter, mulch and other yard debris provide sources of shelter for beneficial insects. So do stone, driftwood, shells and other natural garden decorations. But in addition to shelter, you must provide for the health and safety of beneficial insects. This means eliminating harmful chemicals and bug zappers from your garden. Both of these items kill as many beneficial insects as they do pests.

Food: This is the most important item that must be present in a garden to encourage beneficial insects to stay. There are two ways in which beneficial insects control other insects. Predators, such as dragonflies and ladybugs, feed directly on their prey. Other beneficial insects are parasites and kill their hosts by laying eggs on or in them. The growing young, in turn, kill the host insect by using it as food. So in theory, if you have pest insects in your yard, you will have food for beneficial insects. However, garden pests are usually not enough to entice beneficial insects to stay. Beneficial insects also require key components found in pollen and nectar plants. Without these plants, beneficial insects cannot survive. If you provide plants that beneficial insects enjoy, you will have a much better chance of attracting and retaining beneficial insects in your garden.

As a general rule, beneficial insects like tiny flowers that offer both pollen and nectar. A variety of plants should be selected that bloom at different times of the year and for best results, intersperse these plants amid your other plants.  Beneficial insects love the tiny, fragrant flowers of many types of herbs and vegetables. If you grow this type of plant, allow some of them to fully bolt and produce flowers.

Although you can buy beneficial insects online and at some local nurseries, I suggest that you try to attract them to your yard, first. As with most things in nature, it is always better to conserve or supplement the beneficial insects already at work in your garden then to try to bring in imports. Also keep in mind that If you introduce purchased beneficials into your yard to control a pest problem, you may find a negative impact on native butterflies, moths, pollinators and other friendly garden residents.

Plants that attract beneficial insects: Alyssum, Angelica, anise, baby’s breath, bee balm, calendula, candytuft, carroway, carrot family, cilantro, clover, coreopsis, coriander, cosmos, daisy, Dill, evening primrose, fennel, feverfew, goldenrod, lavender, lemon balm, lovage, marigold, mint, mustard family, parsley, Queen Anne’s Lace, rue, spearmint, sunflowers, tansy, thyme, yarrow, zinnias and any wildflowers native to your region.

More resources: The Best Plants to Attract Beneficial Insects, Mother Earth News Magazine
Ladybugs: Natures Beautiful Little Killing Machines
How to Attract Beneficial Insects and Animals, Mother Nature Network

Don't let the bugs bug you

Dealing with insects in the landscape is sometimes a challenge for the eco-friendly gardener.

Many people who really love the outdoors are still unreasonably "bugged" by bugs. And although  biting insects can certainly make outdoor activities unpleasant, most other garden insects are relatively harmless and some are even beneficial insects.

Keeping your plants healthy and inviting wildlife to your yard are two good environmental choices for cutting down on insect problems. Healthy plants can usually fend off damage from insects, and birds and other forms of predatory wildlife help by eating what they can catch.

Remember, anything that you decide to spray to kill insects has the potential of making its way into local water supplies. Also, most pesticides are indiscriminate—they may take care of your pest but they also kill all the good insects that help your garden function.

However, if you still feel that a perfect environment is an insect free environment, keep these principles in mind:

• Some of the insects that you may be eliminating are actually beneficial to your plants and the environment. For example, caterpillars turn into pollinating butterflies and ladybugs eat other leaf chewing insects. Try to identify the insects before you eliminate them.  There are several websites listed below to help with insect ID.
• Spot treat when and where you see insect damage. Don't spray your whole yard thinking you will keep insects away. Most pesticides don't work as repellents.
• Practice Integrated Pest Management- Integrated pest management (IPM) is a wholistic approach to pest control. It integrates chemical, cultural (cultivating, weeding, mulching), and biological pest control techniques to reduce the pest population and keep damage to an acceptable level.
• Many insects can actually be controlled by handpicking, pruning or spraying with water.
• Ask for safer alternatives to traditional, chemical pesticides at your local garden center. These include insecticidal soaps, horticultural oils and products containing a bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis (BT).

For more information:

• Pest Management for Water Quality - various articles from Virginia Cooperative Extension
• Insect and Pest Information – University of Maryland
• Try Pesticide Alternatives(pdf file)
• Insect Identification Laboratory at Virginia Tech
•  Ladybugs as natural pest control 
• Biological Pest Control – A guide to natural enemies in North America. A Cornell University website.

For help identifying insects:

• Insectidentification.org
• Insect Identifiction – Texas A&M University Department of Entomology
• What's that Bug
• BugGuide.net
• North American Insects an Spiders

Eco-Friendly Landscaping Quiz

Whether you do your own landscaping or hire a professional, having a basic understanding of environmentally friendly principles will help you make the right choices for an eco-friendly landscape.

©2010 Metro DC Lawn &Garden Blog, Created by Betsy S. Franz 

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1) The best plant choices for your landscape are:

A. All native plants

B. Selected for your particular site conditions

C. Drought tolerant

D. Beautiful and exotic

2) You can save water in a landscape by:

A. Using rainbarrels

B. Adding mulch

C. Grouping plants by their maintenace needs

D. All of the above

3) At what height should you mow your lawn?

A. It depends on the grass species

B. 1"-2"

C. 3" -4"

D. As short as possible

E. I do not mow my lawn

4) If plants or lawn look yellow, you should always add fertilizer:

A. True

B. False

5) How should you clean up fertilizer spills in your driveway?

A. Rinse it off with a hose

B. Sweep it back into the landscape

C. Blow it into the street

D. Leave it for the next rain

6) Which of the following is a benefit of using mulch?

A. Keeps soil temperature uniform

B. Inhibits weed growth

C. Retains moisture in soil

D. All of the above

7) Which of the following help create a wildlife friendly landscape?

A. Plants that provide seeds and berries

B. A water source

C. Elimination of pesticides

D. All of the above

8 ) You should apply pesticides at the first sign of insect damage.

A. True

B. False

9) Which of the following help control pest insects?

A. Keeping plants healthy to better withstand attack

B. Insectidical soap

C. Handpicking

D. Beneficial insects

E. All of the above

10) Gutter downspouts should NOT be directed to:

A. Rain barrels

B. Lawns

C. Your driveway

D. Plant beds

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Six "Green" Things I’ve Learned to Do Around my Property so that My Husband Can Keep on Fishing

I mentioned the other day that my husband is the one that really got me started on learning more about environmentally friendly gardening.

I have always loved nature and gardens and wildlife. I grew up in a small town in New Jersey where I inherited my love of gardening from my parents, who always had beautiful elaborate flowerbeds filled with multi-colored, sweet scented blooms. As soon as I was old enough to start living on my own, every home I lived in, whether rented or owned, soon became filled with my own beautiful gardens.

But taking my parent’s lead, I thought that beautiful gardens meant lots of chemical fertilizers and foul smelling pesticides. I was happy with the occasional bird or butterfly passing through and I blamed the lack of more of those gardener visitors on all the new construction going on around me.

Then I met my husband. He was the rugged, outdoor type and when he started trying to tell me everything I was doing wrong in the garden I thought “Yeah, right. What does a construction worker/outdoorsman know about gardening?”

And then I went to his home and saw his gorgeous organic vegetable garden, full of huge ripe vegetables and I watched him hand-picking insects off of them instead of spraying chemicals and when I asked him why he gardened that way, he told me it was because he likes to fish.

Like most gardeners, I have learned my gardening habits from many other gardeners. I’ve learned from my childhood gardens in New Jersey, my inlaw’s gardens in Michigan, and my grandmother’s farm in Oklahoma. But when I met my husband, I soon learned that many of the things I was doing in my landscape were not only harming the birds and butterflies that I loved so much, but the environment in general, and that meant it was having an impact on people that like to fish.

He taught me how everything, from washing my car, mowing my lawn, and walking his dog, could affect his fishing hobby. I should add here that when my husband first taught me many of these things, I thought that he was just trying to save time and money so he’d have more of both to devote to fishing. But I’m from Missouri (the Show Me State) so I did plenty of research that helped to prove that sometimes it really DOES benefit the environment to do a little less around the yard instead of more.

So in an effort to keep the good ol’ boy that I married happy, here is a list of the “Six Things I’ve Learned to Do Around my Property so that My Husband Can Keep on Fishing.”

1. Watch what goes in the groundwater - Everything that goes into the ground around a home has the potential of finding its way into local fishing spots. This is the most important lesson of all. All of the chemicals such as fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides that are used in landscapes can get picked up by rain and misdirected sprinkler heads and get washed out into the stormwater lines where they can find their way to rivers, lakes, wetlands, coastal waters and even underground sources of drinking water. This type of pollution is called nonpoint source pollution and is one of the major contributors to degradation of the Metro area’s waterways. Many fish species are affected by nonpoint source pollution. The affects of chemicals in the waterways are so far-reaching that in a study performed in the Potomac River, 79% of the male bass which were studied were either producing eggs or showing other “intersex” characteristics. The solutions to preventing stormwater pollution are simple. First, don’t put dangerous chemicals into the ground (see #2 and #3 below). And take steps to make sure that water remains in your landscape rather than washing into storm drains. Always remove any debris or chemicals from driveways, roads and hard surfaces. Don't let them wash into waterways.

2) Switch to natural fertilizers - Chemical fertilizers in local waterways can cause algae blooms that kill fish. You can meet a plant’s nutritional needs in ways that are not as harmful to the environment by using compost or allowing grass clippings to remain on the lawn. My hubby only let’s me use natural fertilizers such as fish emulsion and liquid seaweed – both good choices for fisherman and for the environment - and, of course, compost.

3) Don’t Let the Pests Pester You – Pesticides and herbicides are two more substance that are almost always found in unhealthy fish. If you keep a healthy yard, bugs and weeds are less of a problem. Healthy plants are less vulnerable to bugs and predators such as bigger bugs, toads and birds usually take care of the ones that sneak in. Anything that you decide to spray to kill insects, again, has the potential of making its way into the groundwater so if you do decide to use chemicals, ask your retailer for the least toxic solution for a particular bug and ONLY spray the bug or infected plant. Broad spraying of an entire garden or yard is rarely needed or effective. Broad applications of products such as weed and feed are also harmful. Many pest problems can be treated in ways that don’t harm the environment. You can handpick bugs or prune off infested parts of plants. Weeds can be handpicked, blocked with mulch or treated with corn gluten meal (CGM) a natural weed control.

4) Don’t waste water – Fish depend on the rise and fall of ground water levels for survival, so wasting water at home reduces water in fish habitat and increases the concentrations of minerals and contaminants in the remaining water. The results are crowding, disease and eventually fish die-offs. Wasting water can disrupt the natural cycles in wetlands, ponds and lakes.The biggest waste of water in the Washington DC metro area (and most states) is landscape irrigation. Planting drought tolerant plants, using rain barrels, mulching and properly managing your irrigation system can save thousands of gallons of water annually.

5) Quit fighting mother nature – Many of the problems caused by non-point source pollution and excess watering can be solved by creating a more natural landscape. A landscape plan that follows the natural contours and soil conditions of the site and utilizes native plants which are well-suited to the site conditions will require less fertilizing, less pesticides and less watering. The ideal plant for any location will have needs that match what your site already provides. Native plants are often excellent choices because they require less maintenance (which allows more time for fishing). Correct plant selection and placement can help filter pollutants out of groundwater and reduce heating and cooling costs by providing shade and wind barriers.

6) Don’t coddle your lawn - A healthy lawn helps protect local waterways by acting as a filter to trap sediment and pollutants. Fortunately, keeping your lawn healthy usually means less work, not more. Over watering, over-mowing and over-fertilization weaken a lawn by not forcing it to develop a strong, healthy root system. This harms the lawn AND the environment. As with other plants, it is important to choose a species cultivated for the region, such as the red and tall Fescues. Proper lawn mowing also keeps the lawn healthy. Keep mower blades sharpened to avoid damaging the grass blades and never remove more than one third of the grass blade when you mow. Tall grass shades and cools the soil, discourages weeds and shelters beneficial ants and ground spiders that prey on pest insect eggs in the turf.

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Since I’ve learned these things, I’ve devoted a good part of my life trying to teach them to other people. Some folks think I do it all to attract more wildlife and to help grow delicious chemical free produce. But mainly I think that if I convince enough people, maybe my husband won’t think that he has to go out every weekend to check on the fishing!

For additional information about these principles, visit: Landscaping and Gardening, Fairfax County, Virginia From Creeks to the Chesapeake, Protecting our Watershed (pdf file) (City of Rockville) Conservation Landscaping (City of Rockville) Water Quality Stewardship Guide, Fairfax County, Virginia.