Lawn and garden chemicals include some of the most hazardous products used in the home. Pesticides and fertilizers are commonly used lawn and garden chemicals. Pesticides are agents used to kill pests. One type of pesticide is insecticides, a chemical used to kill insects. Other types of pesticides are herbicides, used to kill vegetation and, fungicides, used to kill fungal disease.
Fertilizers add nutrients to the soil.
The top pesticides sold at a leading home improvement store in King County are weed and feed, moss killer, slug killer, Roundup and Dursban. All were found in King County streams at levels exceeding EPA standards. Pesticides most often found in local waterways include the insecticide diazonon and herbicide components of weed and feed. Quick-release fertilizers, used in most weed and feed products, apply a quick and heavy dose of nutrients to the lawn and are likely to wash off into local waterways. These are likely to kill more beneficial bugs and birds than pests.