How to Take Soil Samples for Pesticides
Pesticides are often toxic to more than the target species, damaging or killing animals further up the food chain or weakening sensitive plants. Some pesticides are dangerous to humans, even long after use. They are also toxic to fish, something to consider if you plan to dig a pond. Testing the soil normally requires laboratory equipment, but you can take the samples yourself before sending them to a commercial laboratory. If you have any suspicion that the site is contaminated to highly dangerous levels, however, do not take samples yourself. Instead, ask the laboratory to send a specialist over or contact a local government agency for advice. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Plastic bags
- Labels
- Waterproof pen
- Map of the site
- Disposable gloves
- Spade
- Bucket
- Spoon
Instructions
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1
Phone the laboratory that is doing the tests beforehand and ask how it wants the samples taken, labeled and packaged. Different labs have different procedures.
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2
Print or sketch a map of the site, noting where samples are to be taken.
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3
Stick labels on plastic bags until you have one labeled bag for each sampling site. Write a letter on each label to correspond to a sampling spot on your map.
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4
Rinse and dry the spade if it has soil clinging to it.
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5
Put on disposable gloves to avoid contaminating the samples. Gloves also protect you if pesticide levels are dangerous.
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6
Part the ground with the spade to a depth of about 7 inches. Slice through the entire depth of the soil with the spade and place it in the bucket.
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Take further samples from around the same area. You don’t need more than about five or six for the average flowerbed.
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8
Mix the samples thoroughly with a spoon and place some in the appropriate sample bag.
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9
Clean the bucket and spade and repeat the procedure for each area on the map, taking the same number of samples with the same amount of soil each time.
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References
- Photo Credit Thinkstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images
