Hold Your Breath- Pesticide Season is Coming!

The re-sprouting of ads with husky Scotsmen marks the commercial arrival of spring. Soon, homeowners will be wielding weed-killers, bug-killers, fungus-killers, and all other manner of biotic death, in the name of attaining a soulless blanket of chopped monocots that has somehow become the Gold Standard of home ownership. THE LAWN. We’ve been cajoled and seduced, even shamed, into manipulating this normally diverse ecosystem to one that, while useful for a game of croquet, no self-respecting critter can call home. Understand that this seduction is intentional, courtesy of the agrochemical industries that are vying to rule the earth.

I like my soil to be alive with worms and bugs, not sterilized like some plastic putting course. I like the birds and butterflies that feed on the weeds and bugs; they’re my seasonal visitors. And since I also eat what grows in my soil, I figure I’ll live longer, or better, by avoiding the ‘cides. I don’t care what grows in my lawn, as long as it is green and/or pretty and/or smells nice, and is not too invasive. But that’s just me. In this capitalist democracy, one is allowed to choose one’s own poison.

However, for those among you that would prefer not to be exposed to someone else’s poison, I have summarized the current Rhode Island regulation that gives you the right to be informed of (some) turf pesticide use near your home.

According to the Rhode Island Rules and Regulations Relating to Pesticides (October 6, 2006), Rule 23(B) - Turf Management and Lawn Care, when a homeowner contracts with a commercial applicator to apply pesticides to control lawn or turf pests, the applicator is required to provide the homeowner with a written list of pesticides that may be used, post-application health and safety data, and, if asked, additional information on the pesticide (such as an EPA fact sheet). After application, the applicator is required to leave written notice at the treated property with various information about the application, and to post signs on the property “that pesticides were applied” along with other information.

If you live adjacent to someone who uses a commercial company to apply pest control lawn products, you may request that the applicator provide you with notice 48 hours in advance of each application.

These regulations are imperfect, and I would be surprised if they are ever enforced. The regulations apply only if your neighbor uses a commercial applicator, not if he/she applies the pesticides themselves. However, your insistence on being notified is the first step in denouncing such aggressive tactics in the name of “THE LAWN.”

Find out if your neighbors are contracting out their turf chemical warfare this season and at least hold the commercial applicators to the letter of the law. How you request that the applicator notify you is up to you, since the regulations do not specify. Perhaps put the burden on your neighbor to pass on your request. Maybe if someone is monitoring them, your neighbors may rethink their aggressive ‘cide use. If they do not use a “service” but engage in a solitary turf war, perhaps share with them your desire to live in a ‘cide-free neighborhood and let the bugs and weeds be. There are other ways to get a decent-looking law than using ‘cides.