After a very troubling incident in which a resident’s pet became severely ill due to direct exposure to lawncare treatments, many of us have taken a hard look at the costs of continuing to apply such chemicals.  Research shows that these chemicals pose serious risks to human and pet health as well as to the environment.  We are asking the HOA to terminate our neighborhood’s use of TrueGreen as a subcontractor of Advantage landscaping as soon as possible for the sake of our collective health and safety.

The two active ingredients in Barricade are prodiamine and propane-1,2-diol.  The active ingredients in Escalade are 2,4-D, Fluroxypyr and Dicamba.  Using the NIH’s Pubchem database as a starting point for research, it is clear that these chemicals are each very dangerous.  Three are associated with serious human health problems.  One is known to cause canine cancers.  Three are indicated to be serious environmental hazards and are not meant to enter the water system.  Widepread herbicide use, as occurs in Countryside, is a major cause of pollinator decline, and jeopardizes our food system at a time when prices are already soaring.  Applying these chemicals together across vast expanses of the neighborhood is horrifying.

Importantly, these pesticide treatments do not stay where they are applied, linger for weeks, and easily contaminate water as they do not adhere well to soil.  Dicamba has a half-life of 30-60 days in soil.  Similarly, prodiamine has a half-life of over two months. This gives the chemicals a long period of time to harm humans, pets, and wildlife who interact with the lawn. Additionally, dicamba is notorious for volatilization and contamination nearby plants. This puts non-target plants in the neighborhood at great risk, including resident’s landscaping, vegetable gardens, as well as wild plants and trees.

By overvaluing turf grass, we are failing to care for our real assets in Countryside.  Many chose this as a very safe neighborhood also known for the good schools and proximity to natural spaces.  Why then would we want to make it a dangerous place to raise children and degrade the adjacent ecosystem?  Access to quality natural areas is known to improve health and wellbeing.  Additionally, neighborhoods with better tree canopy and denser vegetation enjoy lower crime rates.  Both our wild and landscaped trees and shrubs suffer when herbicides are used, especially dicamba, which is known to weaken and damage hardwood trees when it drifts from application zones.  This leaves trees more vulnerable to disease and pests.  

We are using enormous quantities of very dangerous chemicals.  Unnecessary harm is continuously inflicted on all residents, but especially young children, pets, and wildlife, who are more likely to ingest the applied chemicals and have lower safe thresholds for exposure due to their smaller size.  We are destroying the local ecosystem, including waterways and mature trees, which contribute greatly to resident well-being and safety.  We understand that these chemicals are applied to improve the appearance of the neighborhood and safeguard home values.  Yet, we feel that the costs greatly outweigh the benefits.  Members of the community who want to avoid chemicals with known human health risks should be protected, not assured that some completely ineffective precautions will be taken.  We hope, given all of the downsides of applying treatment, that the HOA will discontinue these lawn treatments as soon as possible.