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THE ALTON HILLS Saturday August Page Safety of pesticides concerns gardeners Many Canadian gardeners inquire ibout he relative safety of various pesticides they use in their garden For dale information the sought data from the rop Protection In stitute of Canada specifically lawn and garden section of the In The institute has a new pamphlet entitled and A on Pesticides for your and Garden The phlet answers 16 commonly asked questions about lawn and garden pesticides For example one of the most common questions in gardeners minds has to do with just what an organic or natural pesticide is and the difference bet ween organic or natural products the chemical pesticides The pamphlet states Organic or natural pesticides are terms com applied to organisms and chemicals found naturally in the en vironment Although it may be perceived that these products are safer than those produced synthetically this is not necessarily the case Many sjn chemicals are less toxic than those that occur naturally Both synthetically produced and organic pesticides require the same extensive and stringent federal government evaluation and ap example Nicotine Sulphate formerly used to control garden insects is a highly toxic occurring product which is no longer registered for use as a pesticide Another frequent Iv asked question about garden pesticides has to do with In children andor pels I here is no such thing as zero risk tune handle a pet a sport cross the street or ride in a car there is risk taking reasonable precautions and follow ing directions we tan minimize necessary risk with pest it use Keep children and pels out of any area during pesticide application and until the area is dry which may be up to 24 hours In all cases applicators should avoid skin contact with pesticides Skin should be covered with protec live clothing such as rubber gloves long sleeved shirts long pants and boots Having received the answer about children and pets gardeners often ask about the potential hazard from pesticides to birds worms bees and target plants The new explains All pesticides must be biologically active to do their job properly so they may affect non target plants and animals Careful observance of label instructions will minimize hazards to other species Since the introduction of phosphate free laundry detergents some gardeners are concerned about pollution of water by pesticides The- rop Protection In savs Home and garden pesticides and fertilizers are used in small quantities When used cording to directions will not percolate the soil into drink ing water or groundwater It is still up to us to eliminate am of risk due to human through safe handling To help minimize harm water and do not wash containers in streams or lakes All empty con should be rinsed three tunes within the treated area and dispos of regular garbage The word biodegradable has become a buzz word today and gardeners occasionally ask about the of pesticides The new pamphlet explains it thus Pesticides and fertilizers all degrade in the environment but the rale of breakdown vanes with each product Some compounds may react with moisture in the soil or in plants or they may be broken down sunlight if they remain on the plant or soil surface If not overused the nutrients in fertilizers will tie us the plants and none will per in soil or leach to water How ever most pesticides degrade as a result of the normal metabolic processes of plants or soil The degradation ultimate leads to the formation of harmless substances such as carbon dioxide and water testing of each pro duct manufacturers in laboratories and in the environment anahses pesticide degradation and metabolism to ensure that they are not harmful to humans and the The information here is from the SUNDAY SALE FINAL 6 HOURS NEW FURNITURE CLEARANCE CONTINUES 115 pm ONTARIO CHESTERFIELD WHOLESALERS BEHIND GUELPH AUTO MALL MALCOLM RD 7634477 GUARANTEED LOWEST PRICES SATISFACTION pamphlet and A on Pesticides for your Lawn and Garden It is not a publication of the Canadian Garden Council Free copies of the phlet and another Science and Sensible Gardening The Balanced Approach to Pest Control are available from the rop Protection Institute of Canada Four Seasons PI Suite Please remember to recycle his newspaper along with your glass bollles and jars and steel food and beverage cans alun and beverage cans plastic soft drink RECYCLING It works if we ail do our part Does your pool look like a pond Il pen UK ill llN in I- lint it not Lionel lot pool i It nut make lot til kind- I Hit Bit it iIljr ipul- in it 1 1 pc urn we die a vow pool to m ike uiminuiLi i in i Bring your pool to BioGuard ACADIAN POOLS 134GuelphSt GEORGETOWN Ontario 8733320 8779562