HEALTHY HOME AND HEALTHY GARDEN |
Don't Let Your Flowers Bouquet Become A Pest Buffet
With spring in bloom, many people are paying more attention to the garden. Now is the time for troublesome pests like snails and aphids to make their appearance. It may be tempting to turn to pesticides to keep your yard, garden or potted plants healthy, but the pesticides you spray or scatter simply don't stay put on plants. While rainy weather is good for the garden, also is a reminder that the toxic chemicals in pesticides are easily washed into storm drains, and eventually into waterways and out to the ocean.
As one of the founders of the County's Project Clean Water, keeping the region's beaches and bays free of these toxics is vitally important to me. That is why the County has launched the "Healthy Garden - Healthy Home" campaign to encourage everyone to take control of pests and weeds in less toxic ways, thereby cutting risks to human health and the environment.
By using pesticides sparingly, if it all, we can each do our part to fight storm water pollution. The "Healthy Garden - Healthy Home" campaign offers tips for home gardeners to stop pests before they take over, offers less-toxic alternatives to pesticides, and gives advice on using the least toxic pesticides responsibly and only when necessary.
Some of the most frequent and unwelcome garden visitors after rainfall are snails and slugs. Instead of reaching for a chemical snail killer, try planting snail-proof plants such as impatiens, geraniums or begonias. Slugs and snails need daytime hiding places like under ivy, weeds or debris. Removing these cozy nooks can make your garden less desirable. You can also try simple chemical-free tools such as placing strips of copper around trees and around edges of raised flower beds since snails and slugs won't cross copper barriers.
For more tips on how to fight pests and grow a beautiful garden using non-chemical methods and least toxic pesticides, please visit http://www.projectcleanwater.org/ and click on "safe pest control information". By keeping our home gardens and potted plants beautiful while cutting back on the use of pesticides, we also help keep our region's beaches and bays free of pollution.
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