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5 ways dangerous pesticides are entering your home
When you’re sitting on the couch in your PJs watching Seinfeld reruns, the last thing on your mind is pesticides. Why would you worry about pesticides now when you’re safe and snuggly inside your home?
I’ll tell you why…
Because your safe and cozy home is probably filled with pesticide residue. Pesticide use has spiraled out of control in the past few decades. Case in point…we now use more than a billion pounds of pesticides per year in the U.S. alone.
And while we’d all like to think pesticides don’t affect the people, animals and plants they’re not intended for, we know better. Those chemicals move and drift…and even find their way inside your home…
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Most homes contain pesticide residue
A study from researchers at Cornell University found that most rural New Yorkers have an uninvited guest in their homes — dangerous pesticide residue.
These researchers tested 350 homes in rural New York for 15 potentially toxic pesticides used locally for agriculture. And guess what?
Every home they tested contained pesticides.
The pesticides detected can contribute to cancer, birth defects, leukemia, vision-related toxicity and a bunch of other issues. But do you know the worst part?
Once pesticide residue gets inside, it sticks around for a long time. Outside it degrades quickly because it’s exposed to the elements — rain, sun and soil microbial activity. But inside it’s protected from all that, so it lasts much longer.
Where is all this pesticide residue hiding?
It settles into the dust in your home. So, when your kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews or any other little ones crawl on your floor, they’re getting pesticide residue all over their hands. Then they’re putting their hands in their mouths. It’s a bad situation. Especially since pesticides are most hazardous to infants and children.
But how the heck is this dangerous pesticide getting inside in the first place?
Previous research shows that pesticide residue gets inside in one of the following five ways:
- It’s tracked in on shoes.
- It’s brought in on bare feet.
- It sneaks in on clothing.
- It takes a joy ride on your animal’s fur.
- It gets in through windows, vents or other openings in the house (aka airborne entry).
- It seeps in from gas released by the soil (aka soil gas entry).
How to prevent pesticide residue from residing in your home
Obviously, people who live in rural areas where agricultural operations are spraying large amounts of pesticides are most at risk. But just because you’re not in farm country doesn’t mean your safe.
Pesticides applied to lawns and gardens can sneak into your house too. And we all know how popular those are.
Since we can’t control our neighbors’ pesticide use, we have to find other ways to keep ourselves as protected as possible. To reduce your indoor pesticide exposure, you can:
- Be a neatnik. Cleaning dust will get rid of pesticide residue that found its way in too.
- Install hardwood, tile or other types of hard flooring. They’re easier to clean than carpet and much less likely to hold onto pesticide residue for long periods of time.
- Be thoughtful about your home’s entry way. If you create an entry way that prevents pollutants from entering your home, you’re a step ahead. Choose a hard-surfaced walkway, like a paved sidewalk, which helps remove pollutants from shoes. You can also add a shoe scraper mat outside your door, and a highly absorbent entry mat.
- Close your windows when others are spraying. If your neighbors are treating their lawn or you see a sprayer running at a nearby farm, close your windows. That will limit the amount of reside that gets in.
- Choose alternative pest control methods. Obviously, the pesticides that are most likely to find their way into your home are the ones you use in your own yard and garden. So, find pesticide-free ways to tend to your outdoor space.
Sources:
- New study finds harmful pesticides lurking in NYS homes — MedicalXpress
- Common Pesticide Residues in Rural Homes of New York State — JSM Health Education & Primary Health Care
- Pesticides’ Impact on Indoor Air Quality — United States Environmental Protection Agency
By Jenny Smiechowski
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