Resources

1. Articles

HELP – I’VE BEEN EXPOSED TO PESTICIDES! (EMERGENCY CARE INFO)
http://www.dontspraycalifornia.org/pesticideexposures.htm

Researchers Show That Organic Farming Enhances Biodiversity and Natural Pest Control

http://www.csrees.usda.gov/newsroom/news/2010news/07011_organic_study.html
The study, which was funded by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and published in the July 1, 2010 edition of the journal Nature, shows that organic farming practices lead to many equally-common beneficial species, and that this reduces pest problems.

Use vinegar to kill weeds naturally and give Monsanto’s Roundup the heave ho
by JB Bardot

http://www.naturalnews.com/035750_weed_killer_vinegar_Roundup.html

(NaturalNews) There’s been lots written recently about the toxicity of Monsanto’s poster child product Roundup, exposing how harmful it is for the earth and how poisonous it is on exposure for both animals and humans. However, what is not common knowledge to most organic gardeners and back yard enthusiasts is how they can manage weed control safely without the need for dangerous pesticides. Use vinegar to kill weeds naturally and safely, with no side effects to you, your pets, wildlife and mother earth. Killing weeds naturally with vinegar allows you to target exactly what weeds to eradicate, and it’s cheap and easy to use.

Vinegar is not choosy and cannot differentiate between broad-leaf weeds, narrow-leaf weeds, grass, flowers or vegetables. If you’re not careful when applying vinegar for weed control, it will kill whatever it touches. So although it’s eco-friendly and biodegradable, it takes a little forethought to manage an effective application.

How to apply vinegar for natural weed control
The best way to apply vinegar for weed control is with a spray bottle or pump sprayer. These tools are most effective if you’re wanting to eliminate large swatches of weeds on walkways, driveways or other areas where there are no other plants immediately at risk. Because vinegar is not selective, using it for killing weeds naturally should be done on a sunny day when there is no wind to prevent it from blowing onto other plants. Part of the killing process uses the sunlight to activate the vinegar; so check the weather beforehand to be sure it’s not about to rain right after you spray. If you’re trying to be very selective and kill small batches of weeds in among other plants and flowers, apply vinegar with an old brush only to the weeds being targeted.

Spray or paint the vinegar on liberally to kill weeds naturally. Leaves and stems should be soaked. Allow it to dry and wait for a day or two to see full results. You may have to reapply more vinegar periodically. Any type of vinegar will work to kill weeds and white vinegar is the least expensive. Keep several gallons in your shed so it’s on hand when needed.

When to apply natural herbicides
Use vinegar to kill weeds before the weeds go to seed to prevent new weeds from growing. Catch them when they’re small in the early spring. Alternatively, it’s best to treat perennial weeds like dandelions in the early fall. Remove the seed heads throughout the summer when you see them. Spraying in the autumn uses the plant’s natural cycle to absorb nutrients through the leave to the roots and allows the vinegar natural weed control to penetrate to the core of the plant killing it at the root.

Sources for this article include:

A Garden for the House: Got Weeds? Use Vinegar, Not Roundup

http://www.agardenforthehouse.com

About.com: Landscaping: Vinegar as a Natural Weed Killer

http://landscaping.about.com/od/weedsdiseases/qt/vinegar_weeds.htm

The Garden Counselor: Lawn Care — Vinegar Weed Killer

http://www.garden-counselor-lawn-care.com/vinegar-weed-killer.html

About the author:
READ MORE OF JEAN (JB) BARDOT’S ARTICLES HERE: http://www.naturalnews.com/Author1686.html

JB Bardot is trained in herbal medicine and homeopathy, and has a post graduate degree in holistic nutrition. Bardot cares for both people and animals, using alternative approaches to health care and lifestyle. She writes about wellness, green living, alternative medicine, holistic nutrition, homeopathy, herbs and naturopathic medicine. You can find her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001364941208&ref=tn_tnmn or on Twitter at jbbardot23 https://twitter.com/#!/jbbardot23

December 2009 EPA Plan on Glyphosate: EPA-Glyphosate_Plan_2009.pdf

Choose Your Poison – flyer educating about pesticide dangers and alternatives

White List: following the money to the nature killers


House and Garden

Pesticide Information

2. Booklist

Clean House Clean Planet
by Karen Logan (Pocket, 1997)

Better Basics for the Home: Simple Solutions for Less-Toxic Living
by Annie Berthold-Bond (Three Rivers Press 1999)

Tiny Game Hunting: Environmentally Healthy Ways to Trap and Kill the Pests in Your House and Garden
by Hilary Dole Klein & Adrian M. Wenner  (University of California Press, 2001)

How to Get Your Lawn & Garden Off Drugs: A Basic Guide to Pesticide-Free Gardening in North America
by Carole Rubin (2nd ed 2003, Harbour publishing)

Raising Healthy Children in A Toxic World
by Philip Landrigan  (Rodale Organic Style Book)

Chemical-Free Kids: How to Safeguard Your Child’s Diet and Environment
by Allan Magaziner, Linda Bonvie, Anthony Zolezzi (authors) (Kensington Press 2003)

The Estrogen Effect: How Chemical Pollution Is Threatening Our Survival
by Deborah Cadbury (very unfortunately out of print – from St. Martin’s Griffin division of St. Martin’s Press, 2000)

Hormonal Chaos: The Scientific and Social Origins of the Environmental Endocrine Hypothesis
by Sheldon Krimsky (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000)

How Everyday Products Make People Sick: Toxins at Home and in the Workplace
by Paul D. Blanc MD  (University of California Press)

Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What’s at Stake for American Power
by Mark Schapiro (Chelsea Green publisher)

The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place in Nature
by David Suzuki (3rd ed, Greystone Books)

Silent Spring
by Rachel Carson (Houghton Mifflin 2002)

3. Links

You can buy ready made ant traps containing boric acid by Terro:
http://www.biconet.com/crawlers/terroant.html

More info on boric acid for ant control can be found on this website:
http://www.ghorganics.com/page11.html

For brown snail problems, Matt uses decollate snails.

Info on decollate snails:
http://www.arbico-organics.com/category/pest-solver-guide-slugs-snails

Pesticide Awareness Organizations

This is an ever-growing list of people and organizations concerned about unwelcomed exposure to pesticides

 

Dont Spray California
A great resource for pesticide formula information and current state issues. Very useful safety and emergency info on home page. Supportive group for our Ojai concerns and efforts.

Environmental Health Network (EHN)
Probably the only internet resource you will ever need to know due to their extensive contact list.

Environment California
Great group of young people helping communities organize.

Center for Ethics and Toxics (CETOS)
Dr. Lappe and Britt Bailey wrote the book "Against the Grain"

National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides (NCAMP) now Beyond Pesticides
They produce great information and are helping organize communities all across the country.

California Public Information Research Group (CalPIRG)
The PIRG organizations do great research and keep us all informed.

Earthcrew
For personal water filtration equipment

CPR Californians for Pesticide Reform
Coalition of over 140 public interest organization committed to protecting public health and the environment from pesticide proliferation.


Northwest Coalition for Alternative to Pesticides
Great resource (Journal) for publications and researching health effects on the web.

Pesticide Action Network North America
Contact Cori Traub in San Francisco at 415/981-1771 x 349 or cori@pannaorg <mailto:cori@panna.org>
Need detailed information on pesticides? See their comprehensive database at http://www.pesticideinfo.org

Washington Toxics Coalition
Wonderful group of folks working to protect the people of Washington state.
They too are using the Pesticide Free Zone signs.


National Coalition for Pesticide Free Lawns
A national coalition of organizations working to create safe places for people and the environment by eliminating unsafe lawn chemical use.

Pesticide Free Zone The "Pesticide Free Zone" sign is an integral part of the work of the Marin Beyond Pesticides Coalition, the coming together of 44 Marin organizations and businesses working to change the way people view and use pesticides. Formed in 1997 by Marin Breast Cancer Watch and the Health Council of Marin under the guidance of Pesticide Watch, our first objective was to get the County of Marin to reduce the use of pesticides in public spaces and implement an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy. That goal was realized in December 1998 when the Marin County Board of Supervisors passed the IPM Ordinance. Today the IPM Commission is meeting and pesticide use is being reduced.
For a copy of the ordinance just click on IPM Ordinance.
Read what the County of Marin has to say about IPM here.

 

David Suzuki Foundation – natural and sustainable lifestyle information and inspiration

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