Is My Pest Control Product Safe?
Is it important to use a ‘safe’ pesticide? As long as a product has an EPA number on it, it is safe to use, right? I don’t need to worry about it because my government is looking out for me and my health! Surely, nothing is available for purchase to use on my family could be dangerous!
Well, that line of thinking needs serious reconsideration. Just because a pesticide is available for sale, it does not mean there aren’t serious concerns about the safety of using it. Let’s take a quick dive into pesticide history and some of the safety concerns.
Traditional pesticides in use today are basically leftover nerve gas technology from World War II. There was an insane amount of research and development during WWII all in the hopes of ending the war. Nerve gases are a special breed of chemicals developed in laboratories that target the nervous system, or the brain and how it functions. Some nerve gas technology targets reproduction. Some of target basic living needs like breathing or digestion. Some target cell division, others absorption of nutrients, etc. There are all sorts of ways to screw up something you don’t want to live anymore by screwing up the brain.
After WWII, it seemed a shame to lose all the valuable R & D so the emphasis changed to utilizing (and monetizing) these non-natural (synthetic) scientific breakthroughs. Scientists thought, let’s take these same neuro-toxins and use them to kill bugs. Perfect! We will use very low doses – just enough to kill a bug but at a level low enough that humans and the environment can’t feel it, experience issues, or suffer due to exposure in any way. Brilliant! Next up – the widespread use of DDT.
When DDT was first introduced, it was a miracle. DDT actually won the Nobel Prize for Medicine! Yes, DDT, which is the poster child for pesticides gone wrong. DDT affects reproduction and the swiftly declining birth rates of dozens of species in the wild were all tied back to DDT exposure. It was removed from the marketplace in 1972 (side note – DDT is still used with frequency in developing countries – but that is another story for another time). DDT was widely used for less than 25 years but the environment and many species are still reeling from the effects more than 50 years later.
DDT is a simple example of the government authorizing the sale of a product that ends up being a disaster. Consumers were led to believe it was safe. Ask your grandparents about how the kids would run and play behind the trucks misting DDT each week through the neighborhoods. Not kidding about that! Of course, these same grandparents today are the ones suffering from escalating rates of Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Cancers, and other neuro-degenerative diseases. There is most definitely a correlation to exposure to synthetic pesticides and illness! And the more exposures, the greater the risk.
While DDT is not an option today for mosquito repellent, there are dozens of other synthetic chemicals widely available and used every day. If a pest control product lists the percentage of an active ingredient such as Picaridin, Permethrin, Pyrethrum and other derivative of pyrethroids, these are ALL synthetic neuro toxins. And the government says it is fine to use these! (Side note – the government has tested to determine the “safe” upper levels of exposure of these products and therefore the instructions are clear to not use more than needed. But the testing is based on 180-pound males, not 40-pound toddlers. And there are people who think if one application is good, two must be better so they over apply for greater exposure to toxins…)
Getting the picture? Which of the products being used everyday on young children will be identified as the next DDT? Don't get me started about DEET - now that is one strong, dangerous product! A synthetic neurotoxin may do a good job in the next hour to keep mosquitoes away, but at what price in a lifetime?
You deserve safe pest control products!
Greenbug All Natural Pest Control Products offers alternatives to traditional, synthetic pesticides using Cedar as the active ingredient. Just like cedar chests and closets where you never see a bug. For personal use, the Greenbug for People/Pets is a personal pest control solution. For structures, Greenbug Concentrate and Greenbug Ready to Use offer excellent D-I-Y pest control using ingredients from Nature herself, not those derived in a laboratory.