Editorial of June 19, 2025
Pesticides—Really?
In the last few years we have lost, here in Otsego County, way too many birds, aquatic animals, butterflies and bees. These losses should be, and are, worrisome; they are also a challenge to us and to our environment. Although it can be said that climate change, which to some of us is essentially non-existent but to others is a very real threat, loss of habitat due to human-inspired activities, and bird-sniping cats have a lot to do with the decline and depletion of our beloved wildlife, it is also true that the widespread use of pesticides, not just in the agricultural domain but residentially as well, contributes considerably to these losses.
It’s still spring around here, and spring is the time that many homeowners decide to rid themselves of what they consider bothersome, and numerous, tiny living creatures—bees, spiders, caterpillars, slugs, bugs, butterflies, mice, voles, worms, and ants, the majority of which make highly positive contributions to our environment, be it as food, fertilizer, gardener or pollinator—and weeds, many of which are beneficial to wildlife and their young. On come the pesticides, applied frequently to already green lawns well into the summer. The sprayed lawns, which in North America absorb (and spread) an astounding 80 million pounds of pesticides every year, are easy to spot, as they are marked very clearly from border to border with signage that warns any approaching runners, strollers, bikers, babies and dog-walkers to stay clear of the grass. Would that not be an obvious admission of the presence of chemical poisons?
All pesticides are designed to repel or kill pests. All pesticides, then, including organic and natural formulations, are poisons, and they have a strong capacity for harming people and animals. Pesticides can be inhaled, absorbed through the skin or swallowed. They can contaminate the air, the water, and all surfaces, both living and inanimate. Anyone with feet can bring pesticides into the house, while the passing wind can spread the chemicals abroad, on and across our sidewalks, into our gutters and drains, down to the groundwater and streams and on to the lakes, our lake included, and thence to the water we drink, threatening aquatic life along the way.
In humans, mounting evidence shows that lawn pesticides are linked to a variety of health issues, including cancer, immune deficiencies, neurological disorders, liver and kidney damage, reproductive problems and birth defects. Children are particularly vulnerable due to their developing nervous, respiratory, reproductive and immune systems. And wildlife, birds, bees and other insects that are so beneficial to our environment are of course vulnerable as well.
And we cannot forget the effects of pesticides on our beloved canines, which can include skin irritation and nausea, respiratory distress, lethargy, and seizures as well as long-term health issues such as lymphoma and bladder cancer. Dogs can be exposed by simply walking along a sidewalk that contains pellets blown from adjacent pesticide-ridden lawns, which then nestle in between the pads on their feet, or by ingesting contaminated grass and poisoned creatures, by licking their paws or by merely sniffing the air around them. Just by walking by.
Perhaps, just perhaps, we should follow the example set by France, Luxembourg, and Denmark and ban the use of pesticides in our towns, villages, and cities. Maybe we can admire our lawns as they are, a heathy feeding habitat and grassy safe haven for our wild friends that we can nurture, with their help, into a pleasant natural surrounding that we can all enjoy.
