$9.

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Prevail Against Pests without Pesticides...

Natural New Solutions for Your Pest Problem
DR. MERCOLA

Mercola.com is the worlds #1-ranked natural health website, with over one million
subscribers to its free newsletter. Millions of people visit www.Mercola.com each day
to search for proven and practical solutions to their health and wellness concerns.
 Stop Poisoning Yourself: The Problem of Toxic
Pesticides and How to Combat Them Naturally

In your busy world today, you have to contend with an endless array of pests:

Ants in your kitchen

Wasps in your sunroom
Squirrels in your attic
Bugs in your garden

It has become so convenient to just run down to the

hardware store for the latest bug killer to solve the
problem, you dont think twice about it. But perhaps you
should.

For in trying to solve one small challenge, you could be

creating an even bigger one.

One of the main issues with pesticides is that you cannot

see them and they tend to easily spread by the wind. If
they would just remain where they were sprayed, that
would be one thing, but they do not. Volatile pesticides drift all over when sprayed,1 and
can spread a good distance if there is circulating air or a breeze.

Most spray droplets are so small in fact, they can stay suspended in the air and carried
by air currents until they contact a surface, or drop to the ground.

What that means is they can contaminate many different surfaces inside and outside
your home, including yourself, your family, pets, wildlife and their habitats, as well as the
plants, trees, and grass around your home.

And those who come in contact with areas that have been sprayed or where spray has
driftedfor example, a pet rolling on the grass (or eating it), or a child playing in the
garage or sunroomcan also be negatively affected.

How Extensive is Pesticide Use?

In 2001, Senator Patrick Leahy reported that there had been a 40-percent increase in
annual pesticide use since 1993.2 We now use over 4.5 billion pounds of registered
pesticides annually.3

In addition, it has been estimated that about 70-75 million pounds of over 300 different
active pesticide ingredients are applied to lawns and gardens yearly.4

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Thousands of pounds of these poisons then find their way, intentionally or
unintentionally, into your food and water supplies on an annual basis.

The Impact on Our Environment

The damage caused by reliance on pesticides has resulted in pesticide-related

destruction of many natural enemies of pests, as well as the development of pesticide
resistance; crop pollination problems and honeybee losses5; crop and crop product
losses; and bird, fish, bats,6 and other wildlife losses.

Crop losses caused by pesticides cost

farmers and producers approximately $1.4
billion yearly; bird losses due to pesticides
ring up at $2.2 billion yearly; and
groundwater contamination at $2.0 billion
yearly.7

Ironically, studies have shown that often less

than 0.1 percent of an applied pesticide
reaches the target pest, leaving 99.9 percent
as an unintended pollutant in the
environment.8

Groundwater and soil contamination is caused when pesticides that are sprayed or
applied directly to soil are then washed off by rain, irrigation, or flooding, into nearby
bodies of water. Or they may seep through topsoil into lower layers of soil and into
deeper groundwater.

Some pesticides, which are applied directly to bodies of water for weed control, or
indirectly from soil runoff or other factors, can cause not only a buildup of pesticides in
water, but can lead to a buildup of pesticides in the air, through evaporation.

Pesticide Persistence in Soil

Some pesticides break down faster and more easily than others, having shorter half
lives, but some may remain longer in soil.

The chart on the next page shows some of the major pesticides and their relative
duration in soil:9

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 Low Persistence Moderate Persistence High Persistence
(half-life 30 days) (half-life 30-100 days) (half-life >100 days)

Aldicarb Aldrin TCA

Captan Atrazine Picloram
Dalapon Carbaryl Bromacil
Dicamba Carbofuran Trifluralin
Malathion Diazinon Chlordane
Methyl Parathion Endrin Paraquat
Oxamyl Fonofos Lindane
2,4-D Glyphosate
2,4,5-T Heptachlor
Linuron
Parathion
Phorate
Simazine
Terbacil

The more difficult a pesticide is to break down, the more damage it can cause to the
environment and living beings, because it is more susceptible to soil runoff and
evaporation into the air. In addition, measurable amounts can move through the
atmosphere and accumulate in more distant locations.

Furthermore, most pesticides contain unregistered and untested inert ingredients.

These so-called inert substances can be more dangerous (or can contaminate an area
longer) than the active or registered poisons in the pesticide formula itself.10

Pesticide Resistance

Over time, pesticides can become ineffective at killing pests because they develop
resistance to it. Most farmers and other growers became familiar with pesticide
resistance in the 1950s, as a result of widespread insect resistance to DDT.

Since then, growers have come to expect the eventual loss of pesticide effectiveness
because of resistance. By the mid-1980s, there were records of about 450 resistant
species of insects and mites.

Resistance occurs when products of a chemical group are used repeatedly. At first, only
a very small proportion of a pest population survives exposure to the pesticide, but each
time the pesticide is reapplied, a greater proportion of resistant pests survive.

The resistant pests then pass on the genes for pesticide resistance to their progeny.
Each subsequent use of the pesticide increases the proportion of the less-susceptible
pests in the population.11 And because the resistance happens so quickly, it is generally
not recognized until wide-spread resistance has occurred.

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When pests do become resistant, more virulent and dangerous pesticides are rolled out
to address the resistance, causing greater human and environmental damage. It is
estimated that the cost of catering to pest resistance costs the government at least $1.5
billion annually.12

Ironically, while bugs and other pests have very short life spans and can easily become
resistant to these toxic chemicals. You live much longer than these pests and are
unable to develop resistance in your lifetime. 13 So the poisons in pesticides, which are
often stored in your fatty tissue, can become carcinogenic, or they can emerge later to
cause further harm.

The Problem of Bioaccumulation

There is another inherent hazard to allowing pesticides to contaminate water supplies

and other areas of the environment. Fish that live in, or animals that drink pesticide-
tainted water or eat vegetation, become carriers of the pesticide. In other words, they
store and accumulate the pesticide in their bodies over time.

The bioaccumulation by fish, for example, of

a very water-insoluble pesticide (which
means it doesnt break down in water)
means that if a tainted fish were eaten by a
human, who can also store the pesticide, the
levels of the poison in the human can reach
much higher levels than those present in
either the water, or in the fish.

Since levels of a pesticide in a fish can be

tens, to hundreds of thousands of times
greater than in the water in which the fish lived, you can see how this problem escalates
tremendously. Scientists call this toxic buildup bioaccumulation.14

Because you and your family are at the top of the food chain, you are all exposed to
these high levels of toxins whenever you consume fish or other animals that have
bioaccumulated pesticides or other organic chemicals in their bodies.

Environmental Illnesses: Can Be Caused by Pesticides

Zane Gard, M.D., noted that current clinical, scientific and governmental studies indicate
a staggering increase in the incidence of environmentally induced illnesses.15

Virtually all commercial pesticides are neurotoxins. That means they can damage your
nervous system. It is no surprise then that they can cause all sorts of illnesses.

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According to Thomas Kerns, author of Environmentally Induced Illnesses, pesticides
may be responsible for many adverse health effects including cancer, immune system
dysfunction, neural damage such as Parkinsons Disease, and respiratory disorders,
just to name a few. 16

Studies have found that pesticide residue can be found not only in yards and outside
areas where children and adults play and sit, but on household items such as carpets,
toys, pillows, bedding, furniture, and other items.17

A few years ago, the Environmental Protection Agency had to stop builders from using
the pesticide Dursban in new homes, because studies showed it affected the nervous
system of children.18

Because these poisons have become so pervasive and have been seeping into your
soil, water, and air for many years, it is becoming increasingly difficult to control their
impact on you and your environment.

Who are the Most Susceptible to Pesticides?

While everyone is susceptible to environmental pesticides, some groups of people are

more sensitive than others. One group is pregnant women.

Research has shown that exposure to a number of different environmental chemicals

has been linked with infertility.19 Chemicals contained in such items as Teflon cookware,
floor wax, food wrapping, carpet treatments, and other cleaning products were blamed.

It is not a far stretch to assume that

pesticides, composed of even more toxic
ingredients than these household products,
could also adversely affect fertilityfor
males as well as females.20

In fact, a 2007 article in the Los Angeles

Times reported that women who lived near
California farm fields sprayed with
organochlorine pesticides were more likely
to give birth to autistic children.21

Additional studies have found that exposure to chemicals is believed to be a causative

factor in miscarriages22 and stillbirths.23 And alarmingly, recent research shows a drug
often given to stop premature labor could be making the brains of young children more
vulnerable to contaminants in the environment.

One of the studies involved rats that were exposed to terbutaline, the pre-term labor
drug. Researchers found the rats getting the drug suffered more brain cell damage upon
exposure to an insecticide than those not given the drug.24

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It is not unusual for one drug to cause a heightened sensitivity to another drug or
chemical, because chemical exposure has been known to sensitize you to future
exposures. It seems you have the opposite problem of pests; instead of becoming
resistant to repeated exposuresyou unfortunately can become more sensitized to
them!

Pregnant Women and Children at Increased Risk

You can see just how dangerous pesticide exposure can be, and even more so for
children in the womb. Pregnant women need to be excessively cautious during this time
and make as great an effort as possible to avoid these chemicals.

Another study, on the pesticide Atrazine, a toxin that has been banned in seven
European countries, showed it could cause mutations in frogs.25 Atrazine is widely
found in U.S. waters, particularly after planting season, when rain causes the chemical
to spread from the fields into the water supply.

Given that toxins like this are migrating into your waterways, and likely into your drinking
water, it would not surprise me to soon find they are clearly implicated in human birth
deformities.

And another very susceptible portion of the population is

undoubtedly young children.

According to one study, which tested over 2,600 people

for levels of 34 different kinds of pesticides, a large
percentage of those tested were found to carry harmful
levels of pesticides in their bodies.

Children, women, and Mexican Americans showed the

greatest effects of exposure to these chemicals.

Children ages 6 to 11 in the study had been exposed to

chlorpyrifos, a pesticide designed to kill insects by altering
the nervous system, and had four times the level
considered safe by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency.26

Research also shows that a vast majority of schools are now routinely using pesticides,
whether they need to or not.27 Entomologist Mark Lame believes this is an entirely
unnecessary practice that carries more risks than benefits to students and faculty.

The most widely used pesticides are actually nerve poisons. They cause uncontrolled
nerve firing and disrupt delicate hormone systems. Children are most susceptible to
being affected by these toxins.

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They should never be used around schools, especially when children are present, either
in the classrooms, or especially when children are outside.

Protecting Yourself from Pesticides

Despite all the influx of pesticides into your environment, there are ways you can protect
yourself from exposure, and minimize future exposure. One of my best suggestions, if
you live in a geographical area that uses a great deal of pesticides, is to move to a more
rural, protected area.

There are other ways you can avoid pesticides and common household toxins, and
thereby reduce your total body burden of chemicals.28 But first and foremost, if you have
children in your home, you must protect them from any contamination by removing all
dangerous pesticides and toxic products in your home.

EPA Study: Most Home Storage of Pesticides is Unsafe

A recent survey conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency29 regarding

pesticides in and around the home revealed some startling findings:

1. Almost half of all households with children under the age of five had at least one
pesticide stored in an UNLOCKED cabinet less than four feet off the ground,
which was within a childs reach.

2. Approximately 75 percent of households without children under the age of 5 also

stored pesticides in an UNLOCKED cabinet, again less than four feet off the
ground.

3. Bathrooms and kitchens were cited as areas most likely to have improperly
stored pesticides for example, common household pesticides such as roach
spray, chlorine bleach, disinfectants, insect repellents, pet shampoo, and flea
and tick products. All these products, plus swimming pool products and lawn
products like weed killer, can potentially cause poisoning if not used and stored
properly.30

These numbers are very significant, because 13 percent of all pesticide poisonings
occur in homes other than the child's home.31

Basic Precautions to Protect Your Family from Pesticides

Get rid of any pesticides or herbicides in your home, including insecticides or

lawn and garden products. There are safe natural alternatives that can be used

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 in their place. See the section below, called The Safe Alternatives.

Make sure the food you eat is organically grown32 and organically produced.
Especially avoid the non-organic produce that tends to be the highest in
pesticides.33

The following 12 foods have the lowest pesticide load when conventionally
grown. Consequently, they are the safest conventionally grown crops to
consume:

Broccoli Eggplant Cabbage Banana

Kiwi Asparagus Sweet peas Mango

Pineapple Sweet corn Avocado Onion

Meanwhile, these 12 fruits and vegetables had the highest pesticide load,
making them the most important to buy or grow organic:

Peaches Apples Sweet bell peppers Celery

Nectarines Strawberries Cherries Lettuce

Grapes (imported) Pears Spinach Potatoes

Unless you have an Artisan well or well water that has been tested so you know
it is safe and clean, then the water you use for showering, bathing, washing
dishes, cooking, and drinking is likely to be contaminated with pesticides,
herbicides, and other toxins. I recommend you use or purchase a Reverse
Osmosis water system,34 or at very least, a good charcoal filter that will eliminate
the main contaminants, such as chlorine, fluoride, lead, arsenic, residual
pesticides, and other toxins.

Never spray pesticidessuch as DEET-containing insect repellents35directly

on your body. Look for natural repellents instead, or simply wear long-sleeved
shirts and pants.

Is there any doubt that pesticides and herbicides -- not to mention fertilizers, plastics,
and toxic metals -- are affecting American childrens mental capacities, emotional
balance, and social adjustment? Not in my mind.

Talk to your childs school administration about their use of pesticides. Open up a dialog
and raise awareness to the fact that there are other, safer alternatives out there.

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 Safe Alternatives

More and more companies are responding to

consumer demand for cleaner, greener,
products. Suppliers are increasingly
providing cleaning products that contain
natural or naturally derived ingredients, while
avoiding the use of environmentally harmful
chemicals.

However, it can still be a challenge to find a

truly safe yet effective cleaner.

After extensive research and development, Im proud to be able to announce Greener

Cleaner as our latest product in the Mercola Healthy Home line of products created
especially for your health, safety, and wellbeing. I have been using this in my home for
the last year, testing it to make sure it works well. It will soon be available for purchase
on Mercola.com.

Made from naturally occurring enzymes that are known to have super powerful cleaning
properties , Greener Cleaner is so safe and nontoxic you could actually eat it with no
harmful side effects.

An additional alternative is boric acid powder. Boric acid powder has been found to be
a very effective deterrent to roaches and ants.36 Sprinkle some in the inner corners of
your cabinets and in the corners under your cabinets. Pests will carry it back to their
nests on their feet and kill the remainder of the infestation.

Cinnamon oil has been found to be a better and healthier alternative to DEET.37

What about head lice? Avoid using the pesticide lindane38 .Instead, use an old-
fashioned nit comb, plus the oils of anise and ylang ylang combined into a natural spray.
This has been found to be highly effective in eliminating about 92 percent of head lice.

For more types of natural pest solutions, check out the book Dead Snails Leave
No Trails, by Nancarrow and Taylor, or visit the website betterbasics.com.

BeyondPesticides.org is yet another excellent source of information on how to

limit pesticides in you and your familys environment.

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References
1
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, December 1999, Spray Drift of Pesticides,
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/spraydrift.htm, (Accessed February 16, 2009)
2
Stephen Tvedten, 2002, The Bug Stops Here, http://www.thebestcontrol.com, (Accessed February 16, 2009)
3
Stephen Tvedten, 2002, The Best Control 2, http://www.safesolutionsinc.com/, (Accessed February 18, 2009)
4
Jess Silver, Becky Riley, 2001, Environmental Impact of Pesticides Commonly Used on Urban Landscapes,
http://www.pesticide.org/RHSLEnvironImpofPs.pdf, (Accessed February 18, 2009)
5
Honeybees are Not Healthy, http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/09/30/honey-bees-are-not-healthy.aspx,
(Accessed February 18, 2009)
6
Why are Bats Dying?, http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/05/01/why-are-bats-dying.aspx, (Accessed
February 19, 2009)
7
Cornell University, Prof. David Pimentel, Pesticide Impact on the Environment, 2005 Impact Statement,
http://vivo.cornell.edu/individual/vivo/individual20939, (Accessed February 18, 2009)
8
Jess Silver, Becky Riley, 2001, Environmental Impact of Pesticides Commonly Used on Urban Landscapes,
http://www.pesticide.org/RHSLEnvironImpofPs.pdf, (Accessed February 18, 2009)
9
Movement of Pesticides in the Environment, http://extoxnet.orst.edu/tibs/movement.htm, (Accessed February 18, 2009)
10
Stephen Tvedten, 2002, The Bug Stops Here, http://www.thebestcontrol.com, (Accessed February 16, 2009)
11
Washington State University, Timothy J. Dennehy and John Dunley, 2009, Managing Pest Resistance,
http://jenny.tfrec.wsu.edu/opm/displaySpecies.php?pn=-70, (Accessed February 18, 2009)

12
Cornell University, Prof. David Pimentel, Pesticide Impact on the Environment, 2005 Impact Statement,
http://vivo.cornell.edu/individual/vivo/individual20939, (Accessed February 18, 2009)

13
Stephen Tvedten, 2002, The Bug Stops Here, http://www.thebestcontrol.com, (Accessed February 16, 2009)
14
Movement of Pesticides in the Environment, http://extoxnet.orst.edu/tibs/movement.htm, (Accessed February 18, 2009)
15
Stephen Tvedten, 2002, The Best Control 2, http://www.safesolutionsinc.com/, (Accessed February 18, 2009)
16
Thomas A. Kerns, 2001, 301 pp, Environmentally Induced Illnesses,
http://books.google.com/books?id=TyARDVVnjm8C&pg=PA54&lpg=PA54&dq=environmentally+induced+illnesses+pestici
des&source=bl&ots=MPgkUOy2ST&sig=Ls6G3HiofM_RB_BvnCr-
XDAqi6s&hl=en&ei=XbScSeTfMYLqNI6SzJYF&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result, (Accessed February 16, 2009)
17
The Mid-Atlantic Center for Childrens Health and the Environment, 2008, Pesticides,
http://www.gwu.edu/~macche/parents/pesticides.html, (Accessed February 18, 2009)
18
Controversial Pesticide Used in New Home Construction Halted by the EPA,
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2005/01/12/dursban-pesticide.aspx, (Accessed February 19, 2009)
19
Common Chemicals Linked to Infertility, http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/02/17/Common-Chemicals-
Linked-to-Infertility.aspx, (Accessed February 18, 2009)
20
Pesticides May Decrease Male Fertility, http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/01/02/pesticides-may-
decrease-male-fertility.aspx, (Accessed February 19, 2009)
21
Los Angeles Times. July 30, 2007, Maria Cone, Pesticide Link to Autism Suspected - A State Study Suggests Two Farm Sprays
May Raise Chances of Having a Child with the Disorder, http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jul/30/local/me-autism30, (Accessed
February 18, 2009)
22
Hidden Story Behind Baby Carrots, http://articles.mercola.com/sites/vitalvotes/archive/2007/05/15/hidden-story-behind-
baby-carrots.aspx, (Accessed February 18, 2009)
23
Pesticides Linked to Stillbirths, http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/01/02/stillbirths.aspx, (Accessed
February 18, 2009)
24
Pre-term Labor Drug Makes Babies' Brains Susceptible to Pesticide Injury,
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/04/17/labor-drug.aspx, (Accessed February 18, 2009)

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25
Common Pesticide Causes Frog Mutations, http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/07/05/pesticide-
mutation.aspx, (Accessed February 18, 2009)
26
How Many Dangerous Pesticides are in Your Body?,
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/05/29/pesticides-body.aspx, (Accessed February 18, 2009)
27
80 Percent of Schools are Applying Pesticides,
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/08/16/80-percent-of-schools-are-applying-pesticides.aspx, (Accessed
February 18, 2009)
28
How Many Dangerous Pesticides Are in Your Body?,
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/05/29/pesticides-body.aspx, (Accessed February 18, 2009)
29
An Introduction to Indoor Air Quality, http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pesticid.html, (Accessed February 19, 2009)
30
Pesticides Stored Improperly in Most Homes,
http://www.ssnewstelegram.com/news/2005/september/nt090905larryspradlin.html, (Accessed February 19, 2009)
31
Head Start Staff: What You Need to Know about Pesticide Poisoning,
http://www.epa.gov/oppfead1/Publications/whatyouneed-hsstaff.pdf, (Accessed February 19, 2009)
32
How to Get Inexpensive, Organic, Locally-grown Vegetables,
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2006/08/17/how-to-get-inexpensive-organic-locally-grown-
vegetables.aspx, (Accessed February 19, 2009)
33
The Dirty Dozen Fruits and Vegetable Containing the Most Pesticides,
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2006/11/28/the-dirty-dozen-fruits-and-vegetables-containing-the-most-
pesticides.aspx, (Accessed February 19, 2009)
34
Tap Water Toxins: Is Your Water Trying to Kill You?, http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/02/07/tap-water-
toxins-is-your-water-trying-to-kill-you.aspx, (Accessed February 19, 2009)
35
The Dangers of DEET & How You Can Safely Repel Mosquitoes Instead,
http://www.mercola.com/article/pesticides/deet.aspx, (Accessed February 19, 2009)
36
Alternatives to Using Pesticides, http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/07/30/pesticides-part-one.aspx,
(Accessed February 19, 2009)
37
Cinnamon Oil Better for Killing Mosquitoes than DEET,
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/08/07/cinnamon-oil-deet.aspx, (Accessed February 19, 2009)
38
Latest Medical Insanity: Insecticide for Your Head, http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/02/21/latest-
medical-insanity-insecticide-for-your-head.aspx, (Accessed February 19, 2009)

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