It’s that time of year! People are mowing, and gardening, and spraying their lawns. But did you know that most of those lawn sprays are known to cause cancer in both people and animals? They sometimes put up those little yellow flags warning people to stay away for 24 hours. But that doesn’t help the rabbits, and ducks, and chipmunks, etc. It doesn’t help that studies have found that those toxins stick around for longer than 24 hours. And it that doesn’t help the fact that the fumes are toxic and can travel to all the neighbor’s yards.
Weeds are also some of the first things to flower in the spring, which means they are a very important food for pollinators. Weeds are also often shorter and/or slower growing than grass, which means less mowing!
So don’t spray your lawn with toxic weed killers or pesticides. If your neighbor sprays and you think they might be open to learning, let them how bad it is. If they’re not open to it, avoid their lawn, even if you don’t see the little yellow warning flags up. It’s also a good idea to bathe your dog or at least rinse his feet after a walk. If it’s an issue that you’re passionate about, you can even buy “pesticide-free” and “pet friendly” signs to go on your lawn.