Lawn chemicals harm pets?
Elizabeth Ruben
Does anyone have any information regarding lawn chemicals
(fertilizers, etc.) harming family pets - particularly cats and dogs?
lba36727
Elizabeth Ruben <elr...@unx.sas.com> wrote in article
<3771ced4....@newshost.unx.sas.com>...
> Hi everyone,
>
> Does anyone have any information regarding lawn chemicals
> (fertilizers, etc.) harming family pets - particularly cats and dogs?
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who can tell you that using
a "weed & feed" formula of fertilizer may be dangerous to sensitive
dogs or cats or kids. Most of the weed & feed formulas use 2,4,D
which can be highly toxic. Many dog breeders know someone who
has lost a special animal to exposure, either right away, or via the
development of leukemia or cancer. I personally know of a number
of them whose owners say the ONLY thing different in the dogs' en-
vironments immediately before a fatal problem developed was that
they or a neighbor applied something containing the weed killer to
a lawn the animal could reach or smell, or walked and played and
pottied on. Most of them had followed labeling directions and kept
the pets off the yard the recommended time, but still had problems.
There was a neighborhood in Florida where EVERY dog in a certain
area got cancer or leukemia and died within a short time (a year or
so). It turned out that the one person who lived in the center, sur-
rounded by the homes of the dog owners, was obsessed with weeds
and not only sprayed his own yard for weeds, but would spray the
weed killer over the fences and property lines into the neighbors' yards,
to make sure they in their "carelessness" didn't raise weeds whose
seeds would end up in HIS perfect and pristine yard. Since the owners
didn't know the neighbor was doing this spraying, they didn't keep their
dogs off the freshly-applied chemical as recommended on the product
labeling; some pets must have walked out into it when it was wet and
freshly applied and therefore at its most toxic. A six-and a half year
old mastiff I owned was killed by an overly strong spray the next door
neighbor had applied to his yard, which he had also managed to over-
spray past the property line. Zach died in 36 hours. I still think that
creep actually sprayed it AT the dog, but could not prove it.
These chemicals are absorbed through the skin, so can be absorbed
through the skin of the belly if the animal is lying down, or the pads
of the feet. Also, if it stings or burns or is at all irritating, the
animal
is likely to lick the exposed area, thereby ingesting more of the chem-
ical. I have observed lowered immune response in my early dogs
when the neighbors or I put out these chemicals, even if we did follow
directions for keeping animals and kids off them the recommended
time.
I no longer use these substances, or if I do, it is only in the parts of
my yard that my dogs CANNOT reach or sniff, and where it won't run
down toward where they are, or anything I'm growing to eat. Mostly,
it isn't worth the risk, and I sure wish someone would post their ex-
perience using the corn gluten or other natural treatments for lawn
weeds.
cheers, laurie brooke adams (a dog breeder)
mastiffs_at_mindspring-dot-com
Baine Carruthers
2,4D is not highly toxic. Perhaps you should read a label and become
familiar with a product before you go off half cocked with "I heard" or
"someone said". Please give names and addresses where we can get proper
testimony to back up your claims.
2,4D is the most widely used herbicide around. There are mountains of
documentation on this product, more than any other pesticide. If applied at
the recommended rate and one follows label instructions, it will not hurt
any dog or cat. I had a dog that actually drank Trimec (2,4D ,MCPP &
dicamba) from a mixing tank without ill effects accidentally. Many of the
formulations carry a CAUTION label, which is the least hazardous rating
available. Common aspirin is more toxic than 95% of the chemicals typically
used in the landscape.
I had a client this spring become concerned that her dog got sick from
something applied to lawn. She was sure that the lawn application had to be
the problem. I I advised her to go to an animal clinic to have dog
checked. I called the vet and told him the materials I used and when they
were applied. The vet said dog had some other intestinal infection not even
remotely related to pesticide poisoning. The owner was sure it had to been
the material sprayed on her lawn.
Cancer...that's interesting. I had not realized that 2.4D was so
carcinogenic. Now that the cause for cancer has been discovered. I expect
a cure to be found any day.
I'm sure somewhere someone has an animal allergic to the product. Does this
mean no one else should use the product or should it be declared "highly
toxic". That would be like declaring peanut butter highly toxic because of
the few people who are allergic to peanuts.
I am all for less chemicals being applied to our environment.
Most of my
bad experiences have been where people did not follow the label directions
and applied product in an improper manner or to wrong crop.
Baine
ALurie6171
*I think* is CDC's Agency for Toxic Substance & Disease Registry:
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/atsdrhome.html
Check the "chemical list" -- sorry, Netscape was balky & I could not return
to the list myself :( Note: I *think* that #99 is the referenced chemical
(compound?), but I could be wrong about that -- in any event, it's an
interesting list.
I confess that I don't have the background to interpret this information.
Baine was, in fact, the one person in the newsgroup upon whom I have always
relied to provide impartial, scientific information.
Anne Lurie
NE Raleigh
Baine Carruthers
2,4D was #238 out of 275 listed. It was an interesting list. I did note
that phosphorus was listed as #28. Wonder how many have been polluting
their landscapes with that toxin : ). Our clay soils have a very low P
index and I doubt many in this newsgroup would have the kind of gardens,
lawns, & landscapes they have without having added phosphate.
It's amazing to me that 2,4D hasn't caused more problems due not to its
toxicity, but the amounts that are and have been applied since WW2. It's
one of the best herbicides for the buck. Chemical companies spend millions
of dollars for research and toxicology testing just to get a label.
If people weren't concerned about having a weed free turf or apples without
spots etc, we wouldn't have the need for such products. Why are
groundcovers and alternative plantings not more widely used? Hey, annual
grasses seem to proliferate without any attention. Anyone for a crabgrass
or foxtail lawn! Some of you are smiling.
I would love to get away from the liability and risk from applying
pesticides. But if someone has to apply these chemicals, I think there is
much less risk to homeowners and the environment when applied by
professionals with appropriate equipment and training. Anyone can go to
Lowes or Home Depot and get just about anything especially 2,4D mixes to use
on your own property without any knowledge or training. What percentage of
homeowners handle pesticides properly? What about that good information you
get from the salespeople at such places?
Let's change the way we do things. Let's educate and be informed so we can
make quality descisions about our environment. Let's not jump on the
chemicals or those who apply them. Remember the saying "guns don't kill,
people do", it applies to chemicals also.
Forgive my soapbox.
Baine