OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Organic foods have been a growing trend over the lastthree decades.
For lawn care, there's a similar choice to be made.
According to Beyond Pesticides, of the 40 most commonly used lawn pesticides, 33 are toxic to bees, 28 are toxic to birds, 26 could cause cancer and 21 are detectable in groundwater.
"They're harmful to the people around us, the wildlife, our entire planet," said Rachel Stecker, general manager of the Omaha branch of Dreamlawn. Dreamlawn is a company that has the impact of the product they use at front of their mind.
"I became passionate about this because my dad was sick with cancer," she said. "So I kind of deep-dived into it to see, and I was astounded by how dangerous it is. Even if you're spraying and it's a little bit of a windy day ... it's going into your neighbor's yard."
In addition to fewer health and environmental risks, she says the nutrients and probiotics are used just to make it a better lawn.
"Because the soil is so rich and healthy," she said, "You're just not going to need to water as often.
The healthier soil could take a while to take hold, she said, depending on the quality of the lawn. But when it does, improved soil quality prevents weeds from springing up, she said.
In the meantime, the synthetics they do use are pinpointed just to where they need to be.
John Fech, a horticulturist at Nebraska Extention's Douglas and Sarpy Counties Office, said organic options "generally (tend) to have more environmental safety."
"But that can certainly be fouled up simply by applying is incorrectly or at the wrong time of the year," he said.
Fech said UNL and other university's research show "organic fertilizers tend to promote soil health ... to a little bit larger extent than the synthetic products. But they also promote soil health."
He said the most harmful environmental impact can be from the misuse of either organic or synthetic products.
"The bottom line to all of them are how they're applied and when they're applied, regardless of the source," said Fech.
He said that means carefully reading labels. And, of course, Nebraska Extension offices take questions.
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