PREVENT PESTS NATURALLY

 

Many pesticides are used for cosmetic purposes only.

 

BACKGROUND

 

When DDT was introduced in the40s, it was regarded as a miracle; after thousands of years of fighting agricultural pests, human beings had finally devised a ÒsafeÓ and "effective" way to keep them at bay. With DDT, scientists believed, agricultural land would become more productive and the world's hungry could be fed.

 

But that's not what happened. DDT proved to be toxic not only to insects, but to all life. As Worldwatch puts it, DDT "contaminated the food chain, pushed bald eagles and other predatory birds toward extinction, and accumulated in fish, wildlife, and people."

 

The DDT story is an apt metaphor for all chemical pesticides. Once they seemed ideal; now the evidence is mounting that they are an ecological disaster. Although they're designed to eliminate specific "target" pests, they often poison birds and other wildlife instead. They are seeping into groundwater and contaminating drinking water. They are even destroying the soil itself by killing essential organisms, from microbes to earthworms. And they are harmful to humans‑‑‑especially children.

 

Yet, pesticide use grows. We dump an estimated 2.7 billion pounds in the American environment every year. Homeowners spend $1 billion a year on them. Some 300 million pounds of pesticide poisons are used right around the house, often in the kitchen or bedroom.

 

Fortunately, there are effective natural alternatives to chemical pesticides. As consumers, we should encourage farmers to use them. And we should learn to use them around our homes.

 

DID YOU KNOW

 

Ironically, pesticides don't seem to be improving agricultural yield; before their use, farmers lost about 33% of their crops to pests. Today, farmers still lose the same 33%.

 

 

According to the EPA, at least 74 pesticides have been found in the groundwater of 38 states.


 

Over 100 active pesticide ingredients are suspected to cause birth defects, cancer, and gene mutation.

 

Fact of life: Sooner or later, targeted pests develop resistance to specific pesticides, rendering the chemicals worthless. More than 440 species of insects and mites, and 70 types of fungus are now re, sistant to pesticides.

 

Home pesticides are just as lethal as agricultural ones. According to Harrowsmith magazine, for example: "Just five tiny granules of di, azinon, among the most widely used chemicals in consumer pesticides, are enough to kill a house sparrow or a redwing blackbird."

 

SIMPLE THINGS YOU CAN DO

 

Learn about alternatives

 

They work. In 1982, for example, the city of Berkeley, California, officially banned the use of herbicides and pesticides on its property. Since that time the city has successftilly managed its extensive parks and gardens without toxic chemicals.

 

You can do it, too. The best technique seems to be IPMIntegrated Pest Management, which focuses on using natural pest controls, such as natural predators. See source below for details.

 

Buy organically grown produce and grains.

 

If you can't find a local store that carries organically grown food, make a special request. You're not the only one who'll be asking.

 

Demanding organic food bears fruit: In California, for example, organic food production has gone from a $20 million business to a $100 million business in only 4 years‑and it's still growing.