Those pesty pesticides

By Whitney

When it comes to fruits and vegetables, organic means that the food is grown in a way that eliminates the use of toxic pesticides and fertilizers . The reason so much focus in healthy living discussions centers on organic foods is because of the range of health problems associated with pesticides. (So, if you grow strawberries in a pot on your porch and haven’t sprayed them with anything but water or planted them in any synthetically enriched soil, they can be considered organic strawberries. Ooh la la.)

Our food is not the only source of pesticides in our environment, however. We may be using pesticides or insecticides on our lawns and then sending our children to play and roll around in them.

How about spraying inside your house for ants or roaches? Watch out for that stuff!

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kronicred/1896015893/

Look for natural alternatives when you can. One set of solutions involves using products with fewer chemicals. Some essential oils can act as bug repellents, for example. Another way to look at the problem is to identify the source of the pests and use non-toxic controls such as traps, sticky tape, or other physical blockades. Outdoors, ladybugs can be helpers. This approach is called integrated pest management or IPM. Fancy, right?

Protecting our families from everything is impossible, but switching a few of the products we use around the house to more natural options is a step in the right direction.