Herbicide Concerns and Alternatives
Among other initiatives, the Citizens Alliance for Sustainable Englewood (CASE) is currently working with the city of Englewood on the matter of herbicides the city uses and consequently possible alternatives. As we go through this journey, we’d like to share our findings that may also be helpful to the community at large.
The city of Englewood uses the following herbicides:
Milestone VM (Aminopyralid), Suregard (Flumioxazin), Prosecutor (Glyphosate), Rodeo (Glyphosate), Trimec 992 (2,4-D), and Garlon 3A (Triclopyr).
While it is true many of these chemical herbicides provide desired results in terms of weed control, they unfortunately have undesired effects on the health of citizens, local wildlife, and “good” plants and insects. Many of the adverse effects are experienced after acute or prolonged exposure, accidental exposure, drifting via wind, and water contamination via run-off.
Simple Weed control alternatives
- Mow turf/grass at tallest recommended height - this will shade out weeds, create deep root systems to out-grow weeds, and help with drought tolerance
- Irrigate with deep and less frequent watering to discourage weed seed germination
Using safer alternative products.
- Look for the “OMRI” symbol on packing of herbicides/fungicides - these are approved for organic farms and gardens
- HALO selective herbicide, classified as a minimum-risk herbicide
- Chelated Iron, which kills broadleaf weeds. It does not harm lawn and is environmentally safe
- Vinegar can be effective for precise (individual plant) use. Spraying vinegar on plants strips the waxy coating off of the leaves and changes the pH.
Why alternatives?
Herbicides are not a one-time-fix-all solution for weed management. They require multiple applications, and often only mitigate part of the problem temporarily. Many weeds will return, and may have also gone to seed which will result in many more new weed plants. Therefore, higher volumes of herbicides are required, and in constant applications, resulting in larger amounts of harmful chemicals released into our air, water and soil.
Safer and healthier together
As a community we hope to embrace a safe and healthy environment in our parks, public spaces, and back yards. This endeavor not only benefits us and our children, but also the wildlife we share the spaces with. We hope this information has been helpful to our Englewood residents. Thank you.