I can't answer that question for you. You will need to learn and understand the risks and benefits for yourself. Then knowing the dangers of pesticides, you can decide if you should use pesticides on your lawn. The use of pesticides stirs up quite a conflict among homeowners, city management, pet owners, and those that want to be eco-friendly. You have to be careful when applying pesticides. There are regulations in place throughout cities of the US, so be sure to read up on your state laws before spraying any chemical onto your yard or someone else’s yard. Here are some reasons you may or may not want to use pesticides on your lawn.
Pesticides in Your Water
An important message to always remember, anything that goes on the ground will eventually end up in a waterway, somewhere. Pesticides can include insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and chemicals which keep rodents away. Since these things can kill live species, they can also be detrimental to our health. This is why it stirs up conflict because there are many people who are health conscious and do not want harmful substances in their drinking water. What they may forget is that chlorine bleach is highly dangerous yet, it is used to clean our drinking water. If you decide to use these pesticides on your lawn, do so with caution. Follow directions on the containers and do not over do the applications. Limit your applications and keep them to a minimum. You do not want to put too much on your lawn at one time or it may kill your grass as well.
When to Use Pesticides
Pesticides are only useful when there is a severe problem or as a preventative measure. One thing to consider when applying pesticides is to determine what form of pests have attacked your lawn. Spraying just any kind of pesticide can kill the good pests which help your lawn to grow. You can combat your problems more efficiently by narrowing down what is eating your lawn and only spray chemicals that are dedicated to killing that particular pest. A great way to avoid using pesticides is give your lawn ideal growing conditions. Provide the proper irrigation and drainage, lighting, and apply mulch when necessary.
Try Using a Natural Pesticide Alternative Remedy
In general, when you see your lawn being eaten by bugs or disease, you are most likely going to spray chemicals found at your local retailer, but did you do your homework? Did you determine what exactly killed your lawn? Knowing if your lawn was attacked by a fungus or a six legged creature of some sort can say a lot about how to treat your lawn. If bugs were the culprit, find out who their predators are. Investing in potential predators to eat the pests can save you money in the end and allows nature to control the situation. The less chemicals you use the better your environment. Another way to a natural remedy is to know what type of grass to grow on your lawn. Different geographic locations can make a difference in how grass grows. Certain grasses also help to keep out particular pests.
Before dumping chemicals onto your lawn, think first how to best incorporate them. Remember, you will eventually drink the chemicals from your lawn, so use them at the bare minimum. Evaluate your lawn to ensure you use the correct pest control. Always try to avoid pesticides when you can by bringing in the good pests to control the bad ones.
Now having said all that I will tell you that we do use them sparingly and we have them applied by a licensed trained professional as a part of our lawn care program. I was never really comfortable with spraying them about the yard. By using a professional lawn care service it gets done on a regular schedule and when it needs to be done.
