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Less-toxic Pest Management
in your home and garden
In the past several months, the U.S. EPA has moved to limit many residential uses and retail sale of two popular organophosphate pesticides -- chlorpyrifos (Dursban) and diazinon. These broad-spectrum pesticides not only pose risks to human health, but are also known to cause water quality problems in local creeks, San Francisco Bay, and the Delta.
In response to this problem, Bay Area water quality agencies developed the Our Water, Our World campaign in 1997. This campaign aims to reduce pollution from pesticides by providing residents with information about less-toxic alternatives and safe disposal of pesticides. Cole Hardware® is proud to participate in the Our Water, Our World promotion once again this spring.
The benefits for choosing a less-toxic approach for pest control are plentiful -- a healthier home for you, your kids, and pets; an ecologically balanced garden where less pest control will be necessary in the future; and a clear conscience from doing your best to reduce water pollution.
Cole Hardware® carries many less-toxic pesticides. However, pest management is not just the use of pesticides. It also includes the use of physical barriers, biological controls (introduction of pest predators or pest-targeting microbes), and cultural controls (good housekeeping and gardening practices).
Indoors
If you have indoor pest problems with cockroaches or ants, deny them access to your home and the food and water they seek.
- Store food in the refrigerator or tightly sealed containers.
- Keep things clean and tidy. Thoroughly clean counters and floors daily in eating and food preparation areas. Don't leave dirty dishes out overnight. Remove garbage containing food scraps from the house nightly. Clean recyclables before storing them. At night, place pet food and water bowls in a moat of soapy water.
- Keep things dry. Fix leaky plumbing.
- Seal cracks and crevices. Caulk and paint cracks around baseboards, cupboards, pipes, sinks, etc. Use mildew-resistant caulk in moist areas.
- Weatherstrip around doors and windows and repair holes in screens.
Call our Home Repair Referral Service at 415/753-2653 ext.3 or see www.colehardware.com/referral.htm if you need help performing these jobs.
In your garden
If you have a garden, selecting the right plants is one of the most important preventative steps in the pest management process.
- Select plants that are adapted to the soil conditions as well as sun and shade characteristics of your yard. It's easier to plant compatible species for your site than to alter the growing conditions.
- Select pest-and disease-resistant plants.
- Choose healthy specimens to plant, and care for them properly.
- Plant a diversity of species -- a single pest problem will not devastate your entire landscape.
- Include a variety of plants that attract beneficial creatures (e.g., dragonflies, ladybugs and lacewings) which feed on pests. Our nursery staff can point out these plants for you, and special order just about anything that's not in stock.
- Once you attract beneficial insects, make sure you keep them. Reduce or eliminate the use of broad-spectrum pesticides. Birds, pollinators and other beneficial insects are often far more sensitive to pesticides than the pests you're trying to kill. Once pesticides eliminate the beneficial insects, pests are free to multiply without a natural check. As pest populations rise, you may be tempted to spray more frequently, but pesticides leave genetically resistant strains of pests to breed, creating an increasingly resistant pest population. The harder it becomes to kill the pest, the more you'll need to spray and the fewer natural enemies you'll have to help you out.
If you must use a pesticide
- Identify the pest that's causing a problem and treat only that pest with the least-toxic effective strategy or product.
- Buy only the amount you need. Avoid concentrates and the large economy size. Some products might not work as well if stored for long periods of time.
- Read the label before using the pesticide and follow the directions. You can cause serious injury to yourself, children, pets and the environment if you misuse pesticides.
- Keep pesticides in their original containers.
Proper disposal of pesticides
- DON'T pour pesticides or water from rinsing equipment on the ground or in any type of drain inside or outside the house.
- DON'T put pesticides in the trash.
- DO dispose of pesticides at the San Francisco Household Hazardous Waste Facility. Call 415/554-4333 for information. Disposal is free for San Francisco residents.
See our Home Improvement and Repair Tips section for more articles related to this subject.
- Hardware Hotline April, 2001
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