That rate of pesticide use is more than three times as high as rates of pesticide use on farms, and it means that we are exposing ourselves, our children and our environment to the unintended effects of as much as 200 million pounds of pesticides nationwide from lawn care alone. This figure does not include the thousands of pounds of pesticides used by homeowners around the state. Obviously, reduced use of household pesticides could prevent many of these poisonings. Humans and their pets can be exposed to lawn care pesticides in a variety of ways by swallowing, inhalation or absorption through the skin. Despite labels that indicate that treated lawns are safe for human and animal contact after 24 or 48 hours, many lawn and garden pesticides have been found to persist far longer than that period of time.
Pesticides can also contaminate indoor environments when tracked or blown inside.
Thus family members or pets can be exposed to pesticides when playing on a treated lawn or contaminated carpet or using an exposed toy or tool, even after the reentry period listed on the label. Even when used as directed, pesticides kill non-target organisms beneficial insects, desirable plants, birds and other wildlife along with their target pests. Because most pesticides work by interfering with physiological processes shared by many organisms, they can kill indiscriminately. Crashes in honeybee populations, damage to wild plant life, fish and bird die-offs have all been linked to herbicide and insecticide use. Lawns and gardens treated with chemical pesticides and fertilizers can be a significant source of surface water contamination when the chemicals used run off into neighboring water bodies.