A few semesters ago, I took an ecology class, and since that time I have decided not to spray chemicals in my yard for bugs or weeds.
What I learned in this class is when I spray chemicals to control weeds in my yard, excess chemicals are washed straight into the storm drain when we get rain. We don’t have actual storm drains at our house; we have a small creek which collects all rainwater from the drainage ditches in my yard and my neighbors’ yards. Whatever the rainwater collection system is at your house, the effect is the same. The water rushing out of your yard (into the storm drain, creek, pond, etc.) is carrying the chemicals you sprayed in your yard. In my case, the storm water is carried directly to the Dan River.
Those chemicals go directly into the drinking water source for all of my city (and many other cities and counties in the river’s path).
Did you know drinking water is not treated for chemicals such as this? Storm water is rarely treated in any way (I know it is not treated in my city). It flows directly from the storm drain to the river. Waste water and gray water are only treated for bacteria and viruses. There is no system to remove chemicals added from household chemicals. (These chemicals often chemically bond to the water molecules, so they are not removed naturally through soil filtration, so even well water can be affected.)
The bottom line is: we drink the chemicals I spray on my lawn.
So I asked myself: how important is a weed free lawn to me? How important is it to remove any insect I may encounter?
It has become less important. However, because of this no spray policy and a lack of care for my ornamental areas because of being too busy to pull weeds, we are overrun. I decided to do some research into natural, homemade weed control options.
Here are 2 that I found that I tried tonight:
1) Boiling hot water. I know, seems too simple doesn’t it? Apparently, if you pour boiling water onto a plant, it immediately starts dying. It is supposed to be great for weeds growing in cracks on sidewalks and driveways, although it can also be used in flowerbeds, etc. if it's applied carefully. I tried it tonight on our driveway. The weeds did not immediately change in appearance, so I will have to look again tomorrow to see if there is any difference.
2) Vinegar, soap and water. There was some disagreement on this method on sites that I visited as to the amount of vinegar to use and whether to add salt. I did not add salt. Adding salt to soil seems pretty stupid to me. Of course it will kill the weed, but it will also salinate the soil, preventing any plant from growing anytime soon. No thank you. I sprayed several areas in my yard with a mixture of 200 ml vinegar, a few squirts of dish soap, and enough water to fill my sprayer. Again, there was no immediate change, so I’ll have to keep checking to see what happens.
Here's hoping it works!! Otherwise we've got a lot of weed pulling in our future.
Here I used boiling water:What I learned in this class is when I spray chemicals to control weeds in my yard, excess chemicals are washed straight into the storm drain when we get rain. We don’t have actual storm drains at our house; we have a small creek which collects all rainwater from the drainage ditches in my yard and my neighbors’ yards. Whatever the rainwater collection system is at your house, the effect is the same. The water rushing out of your yard (into the storm drain, creek, pond, etc.) is carrying the chemicals you sprayed in your yard. In my case, the storm water is carried directly to the Dan River.
Those chemicals go directly into the drinking water source for all of my city (and many other cities and counties in the river’s path).
Did you know drinking water is not treated for chemicals such as this? Storm water is rarely treated in any way (I know it is not treated in my city). It flows directly from the storm drain to the river. Waste water and gray water are only treated for bacteria and viruses. There is no system to remove chemicals added from household chemicals. (These chemicals often chemically bond to the water molecules, so they are not removed naturally through soil filtration, so even well water can be affected.)
The bottom line is: we drink the chemicals I spray on my lawn.
So I asked myself: how important is a weed free lawn to me? How important is it to remove any insect I may encounter?
It has become less important. However, because of this no spray policy and a lack of care for my ornamental areas because of being too busy to pull weeds, we are overrun. I decided to do some research into natural, homemade weed control options.
Here are 2 that I found that I tried tonight:
1) Boiling hot water. I know, seems too simple doesn’t it? Apparently, if you pour boiling water onto a plant, it immediately starts dying. It is supposed to be great for weeds growing in cracks on sidewalks and driveways, although it can also be used in flowerbeds, etc. if it's applied carefully. I tried it tonight on our driveway. The weeds did not immediately change in appearance, so I will have to look again tomorrow to see if there is any difference.
2) Vinegar, soap and water. There was some disagreement on this method on sites that I visited as to the amount of vinegar to use and whether to add salt. I did not add salt. Adding salt to soil seems pretty stupid to me. Of course it will kill the weed, but it will also salinate the soil, preventing any plant from growing anytime soon. No thank you. I sprayed several areas in my yard with a mixture of 200 ml vinegar, a few squirts of dish soap, and enough water to fill my sprayer. Again, there was no immediate change, so I’ll have to keep checking to see what happens.
Here's hoping it works!! Otherwise we've got a lot of weed pulling in our future.
Here, I used vinegar:
Let's see what happens, shall we??
