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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Friendly neighborhood door-to-door poison merchants

I’m going to post this here since members using this forum is most likely to understand my frustration. Those of you who have been reading my numerous posts and have an inkling about my gardening style will probably appreciate this —

On Wednesday while I was away, somebody knocked on our door. DH told me a guy offered to give us a deal because our neighbors already signed up for some kind of pesticide dispersal. DH told him no thanks, wife is sensitive to chemicals... and according to DH, the guy said oh then you definitely want my products because we are “all natural” and then in more-or-less next breath assured him that they will kill all the bugs on the property.

Then DH answered him in the way that made me laugh — he said he told the guy ...”but my wife likes the bugs” :lol: Apparently this shut up the death merchant and he walked away.


...so that was Wednesday. Thursday and Friday, I have been suffering from bronchial attacks, and having chemical reaction attacks, especially the afternoon and evening air is redolent with something... I can’t smell it but I am getting the tingling on my tongue that usually means some kind of airborne chemicals, VOC’s, etc. — whatever it is, is coming in from the windows, especially on the front and side of the house. Back of the house, backing up to the woods, it is fainter but present.

At first on Thursday I couldn’t understand it, then DH reminded me about the pesticide guy: DH is sure that my physical reactions are a sure indication. And to think that people are PAYING for this to be sprayed all around their house / garden! :hehe: :roll:

Again, I grind my teeth and wonder HOW this is not considered deliberate air pollution (and worry that drift might be affecting my Garden Patrol and the balance of my postage stamp-sized, bio-diverse garden. My Monarch Butterfly Waystation.) I wonder about probably summer vacation kids who are working this gig and how their bodies might be affected even if they don’t know it... I wonder about the rare honey bees in the area and other environmental effects.

...it is supposed to rain and storm all weekend and Monday. While I am happy to think any lingering air pollution and some of the drifted droplets will likely be washed down, now I wonder about effects as the neighborhood is washed down and drain into the watershed — our street gutter drains have a sign that says anything poured down the gutter drainage will flow directly to the Delaware River and Atlantic Ocean....

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rainbowgardener
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Did you see my last post in the poisons information thread? https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/ ... 3&start=15

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

I did! Wow, progress, at last!

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webmaster
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Location: Amherst, MA USDA Zone 5a

It's amazing how many chemicals that are proven by science to affect our watershed are allowed into commercial products whose purpose is related to our watershed in some way.

Mosquito repellants are known to disrupt riparian insect life. That gets into our waterways. That's why I don't use them. I cover up or avoid going outdoors when the mosquitoes hatch, and venture out when they are done hatching.

Sodium lauryl sulfate, a common household ingredient, is known to be toxic to water based life. There's a fair amount of scientific hand waving to dismiss this, with statements such as "under most conditions" which then leaves open the fact that it is toxic under some conditions.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4651417/

Maybe there's something you can do, in the form of petitioning your local government to review licensing procedures for these companies.

Who gives the green light for these companies to spray? Do they have permission from your county or city?

Maybe that's something to look into, to regulate those companies.



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