Need to Know...                                       www.NYSLCA.org

From... The New York State Lawn Care Association... 

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     It’s important to remember pesticides in Lawn Care are approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and by authorities in states where they are used. Normally only 1 in 20,000 compounds, commonly costing $50,000,000 or more, and requiring at least 10 years of rigorous testing and reviews, will make it to the market. For children, pets — your family and neighbors, can feel at ease because even with incidental contact from these materials, any health concerns should be remote, or non-existent.
 
And interestingly, numerous outdoor pesticides are medicines too!  Examples: Lindane used for spider mites, also in shampoo to control body lice; Myconasol or Mycotin to combat turf fungus,-  in a cream controls athlete’s foot; Streptomycin and Oxytetracycine for turf diseases, are used as antibiotics to control strep-throat and tuberculosis; and Warfarin, a rodent control, is likewise a blood thinner to reduce clotting, especially for vein thrombosis.  Also for pets, i.e., Merit ® (Imidacloprid) possibly now the most widely used subsurface grub larvae turf insecticide (very low dose, very low toxicity) is the same exact ingredient used at 9 times the strength (over turf) for control of fleas and skin/hair insects on pets (Advantage ®, trade name by Bayer ®). Also, F.Y.I., commercial lawn care applicators get 10,000 times more potential exposure than customers; and yet, studies show applicators actually have less short and long term adverse health effects. In fact, applicator technicians are among the healthiest people in society!