Cosmetic Pesticide Ban in Nova Scotia

If you live in Nova Scotia and think you and your family already absorb enough toxins, why not tell the government you agree with a ban on cosmetic pesticides. Here are my responses to this short petition at https://www.gov.ns.ca/nse/pests/comments.asp

Question 1:

Do you believe that the application of pesticides for lawn maintenance is non-essential? Why or why not?:

I believe that the application of pesticides for lawn maintenance is non-essential because I have a lawn and do not use pesticides. I aerate the lawn in the spring, and manually pull weeds such as dandelions. Weeding is a daily after work routine for about 2 weeks as the dandelions first appear. For the rest of the summer and fall it takes about 20 minutes per week. Vitamin D and a bit of exercise come free with this work. Also, I have a vegetable garden and various other plants and shrubs. Aphids are a bit of a problem but easily solved with ladybugs (which you can purchase for about $25/1000 at good gardening stores).

Question 2:

Do you agree with the provincial ban on non-essential lawn care pesticides proposed by the Government of Nova Scotia? Why or why not?:

I agree with the provincial ban on non-essential lawn care pesticides proposed by the Government of Nova Scotia because the toxins in pesticides have unintended AND unexpected outcomes in the environment in both the short and long term. People never seem to understand that individually small applications of chemicals/poisons add up to very large amounts when everyone participates. If you ban the chemicals/poisons outright, then perhaps fewer people will apply them.

Question 3:

Do you have any additional comments about the proposed non-essential pesticide ban?:

The problem is that the chemical solution to lawn care is very well marketed, and natural solutions are not. Humans always fall for marketing, so perhaps out-marketing the chemical pesticide industry is also going to be required as part of a long term prevention of chemical pesticides.

Additional comments:

Give people alternatives to chemical pesticides and they will probably try them. Find experts that practice natural lawn and garden maintenance and give them a forum to educate consumers. You can probably even align these goals with health and fitness goals at the same time.