Pet Danger From Lawn Chemicals
Every spring, people start to get their lawns ready for the summer by doing things like spreading or spraying lawn chemicals. They do this to make their grass as green and weedless as possible without realizing the effects it can have on their pets.
Other People Are Reading
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Lawn Chemicals
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Lawn chemicals have all kinds of warnings on them for consumers. The Scotts Turf Builder Lawn Fertilizer label, for example, says to make sure the product does not touch your skin or clothing. It also says that if you have inhaled the product for long periods of time you may experience damage to your central nervous system. The same is true for your pets.
Dangers
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Lawn chemicals harm or kill thousands of pets each year. Even the spray that you may use to kill bugs or the spray you use to kill weeds can be harmful to your family pet. There are numerous harmful agents in lawn chemicals, but a common ingredient called 2, 4-D is linked with cancers and deaths in pets and people. It was also an ingredient in Agent Orange, a deadly nerve gas used in Vietnam.
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How They Get It
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Even if you catch your pet stepping on a lawn that has been sprayed or fertilized right as they touch the lawn they can still be in danger. Your pet can get the lawn chemicals in its mouth when it cleans itself.
What to Do
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If you think that your pet has been on a lawn that has had chemicals on it, you need to make sure it doesn't lick its fur, and you should give it a bath.
Alternative Lawn Care
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An good alternative for lawn care that will not harm your pets is organic fertilizer. The organic fertilizers slowly feed your lawn, which makes them superior to synthetic chemical fertilizers.
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References
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Stefano Mortellaro
