snip
Then comes the tricky part. The bugs.

Yes, a very tricky part.


Most people wait until signs of an insect problem before going after
them.

Thank God for 'most people'. Do you call the fire dept before signs of a
fire?

I have always worried about killing something that was put here by
someone higher than me.

I also was worried about 'just who am I
killing'. If the pesticide I use will kill this bug, will it also kill
that bug? There are you know predator bugs ie: the lady bug, to name
just one.

With the above thoughts in mind I decided that I needed to be
conservative in my approach to killing 'the unwanted'. It was the
leather jacket I was after...wanting to kill. I had heard from
'somewhere' that I needed to use pesticides, or I should say, 'A'
pesticide to do this.

I sprayed only half of my front lawn to see if there was an obvious
difference one from the other. My decision not to ever use pesticides
again was reached soon after the application.

The pesticide worked. The larvae of the leatherjacket were in stress and
were coming to the surface of my lawn. I did not at first notice them
surfacing. But what attracted my attention was a much increased bird
activity. I went outside, saw the surfaced larvae and knew why the birds
were there. I tried to chase them away but it was a futile effort. I
don't know how many baby birds died because of the application of this
pesticide. I haven't used it since.

In addition, I later determined that there was no difference to the
condition of my lawn; the sprayed side compared to the unsprayed side.

Using pesticides will kill both the bad, or unwanted bug (it's not
really a bad bug; after all it feeds the predator bug and helps them
reproduce). Using pesticides will also kill the predator bug, the ones
we need or want around! Ouch! And what about the birds? They eat the
good, the bad and the ugly...now that sounds like a movie...

If pesticides kill both the good and the bad please consider this: 100
aphids and one lady bug (a predator). Apply a pesticide: Consider a 90%
kill rate...that leaves 10 aphids and...and...."Hello, is there a Lady
bug hiding here...somewhere?" Oops....and we wonder why aphids keep
coming back-in number. Then out of the blue comes a Lady bug...after
eating the sprayed aphids...."Hello, where is that Lady bug. I just saw
her". In the mean time a bird has flown away to feed her young...the
onegoing saga of pesticides.

Be sure to
follow the manufacturer's instructions and keep the kids off the lawn

Another ouch! Pesticides are not good for kids.

Have you ever noticed how kids always want to go where they are not
supposed to? After applying...do you watch and make sure they don't go
'on the lawn'? What if your neighbor uses a pesticide...does he/she make
sure YOUR kids don't go 'on his/her lawn'?

Pesticides also kill the common earthworm. The '24/7 workers' most of us
have forgotten. Earthworms not only aerate the soil but convert humus
into nutrients that plants (ie: grass) can use to grow.

until
watered in and then completely dry.

Watered in....watered in? After it's watered in...kills bugs (the good,
the bad and the ugly)...and kills the common earthworm....then what?
Where does the pesticide/herbicide go now after it's watered in?

I'm going to tell you where it goes because I hate movies that don't
tell us 'the happy ending'. I want to see a happy ending to movies and
to the use of pesticides. The pesticide goes into the ground and ends up
in our drinking water or in streams where fish live and eventually in
lakes/oceans.


Peter H

Peter H,

I am not familiar with the pesticide you recommended-imidicloprid. I
hope that it
is not the type to which I refer....the ones that kill the good, the
bad and the ugly. The ones that will go into ground water and carry on
ad infinitum. I hope that the ones you recommend are different.