Did You Know?
• As a class, pesticides are among the most toxic chemicals used in homes. They can cause cancer, birth defects, childhood developmental problems, loss of immunity to disease, as well as acute poisoning.
• About 75% of U.S. homes used some type of pesticide product in 2010.
• In 2012, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated that 107 million pounds of pesticide active ingredients were used in domestic buildings and landscapes. This quantity does not include “inert” or “other” ingredients, including toxic solvents and adjuvants that make pesticides more lethal. These can make up anywhere from 0 to 99.9% of a retail product, and can sometimes be more dangerous than the active pesticide ingredients themselves.
• There were 84,000 overt poisonings from pesticides in the U.S. in 2017, with 34,000 of these occurring in children under the age of 5.
• Half of victims who have contracted Multiple Chemical Sensitivity reported their symptoms occurred after pesticide exposure.
• Since many products are used indoors, they can be harmful to humans and pets for months and even years before they fully biodegrade.
If you make an area unattractive to bugs by denying them food, entrance to buildings, and comfortable humidity levels, they will go someplace else, or will not proliferate or cause excessive damage if they do get into an area. Simply, if a bug cannot make a living, it will go elsewhere.
Physical barriers (traps, barriers), natural predators (ladybugs, nematodes, Bt), and less-toxic active ingredients (chrysanthemums, diatomaceous earth, soaps, and oils), can all replace more dangerous pesticide products.