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Combat in a New Mode
Shirlee Sky Hoffman
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the moving crumbs are on the march
across the thawing land.
they'll occupy our homes as nests
if we don't take a stand.
arising up from where they've been,
below our sight and mind,
foraging scouts are launching forth
for goodies they can find.
we fool ourselves our homes are clean,
not seeing what survives,
the tasty morsels that attract
formicidae to our hives.
despite our blind complicity,
we can't forsake the field;
instinctive folk, relentless foe
they're not about to yield.
buy up the poison sprays and traps,
deploy them at the breach.
except--that's deadly wrong today!
instead, here's where we reach:
a new approach, unlike the past,
when mindlessness was rife,
and no one had a greening thought
'bout taking a little ant's life.
ants have a niche we must preserve
in earth's ecology chain.
destroying them is not the way
to guard their role, maintain
the scale that homo sapiens tilts--
who knows how far off kilter?
for answers, call in the web's
ever-spinning quilters:
cinnamon, mint, vinegar, chalk,
one might just do the trick,
repel the advancers, back, toward our neighbors...
without making living things sick.
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Safer Pest Control Project
is dedicated to reducing the health risks and environmental impacts of pesticides and promoting safer alternatives in Illinois.
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Natural Lawn Care for Homeowners
Spring Workshops Scheduled Across Chicagoland Region
Just in time for the spring green, Safer Pet Control Project is conducting a series of workshops on natural lawn care in May and June. These workshops are designed to introduce homeowners to the key concepts and terms in natural lawn care. Participants will gain a better understanding about the hazards of traditional lawn care and how going natural is a better choice for the environment, public health and the lawn itself. Natural lawn care creates healthy soil that leads to healthy turf, requiring less maintenance and inputs over time.
Questions will be answered. Catch us at any of these events:
May 12th
Batavians for Clean Energy and Conservation, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Batavia Library, 10 S. Batavia Ave, Batavia, IL 60510. Call 630-879-1393 for more information or click on Batavia Library.
May 17th
Green Festival, 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. Green Homes Pavilion, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL. For more information visit the Green Festival.
May 31st
Chicago Center for Green Technology, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 445 N. Sacramento, Chicago, IL 60612. To register call 312-746-9642. Visit Chicago's Department of Environment website.
June 7th
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. McCormick Room, 2430 N. Cannon Drive, Chicago, IL 60614. To register call 773-755-5191, ext. 1 or e-mail RSVP@naturemuseum.org.
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Help Renew the Structural Pest Control Act!
Immediate Action Needed
HB 4407, the bill to renew the Structural Pest Control Act has been allowed to expire due to a sunset provision. The Structural Pest Control Act licenses and regulates all Illinois pest control operators and protects you and your family from the improper use and disposal of pesticides. It also allows the Illinois Department of Public Health to enforce the provisions in the law.
All of the School and Childcare Integrated Pest Management Laws that SPCP and its partners worked so hard to pass over the past 14 years are in this bill.
It has passed the House and it is now in the Senate Licensing Committee.
Please call you local Senators to urge quick passage of this law.
Listen to Executive Director Rachel Rosenberg's interview with reporter Debra Dale of WBBM at
http://www.wbbm780.com/pages/467086.php
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Natural Lawn Care is promoted in City of Chicago Parks
Safer Pest Control Project has partnered with the Chicago Park District and Department of the Environment of the City of Chicago to promote natural lawn care techniques. Check out the materials that will be placed in all of the field houses in the Park District.
Chicago Park District Healthy Parks | |
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Stop sale of Scotts Miracle Gro Company products
U.S. EPA 5 issued a “stop sale, use or removal” order against Scotts Miracle Gro Co. for its distribution of unregistered and misbranded pesticides. Two products marketed under the names “Garden Weed Preventer + Plant Food” and “Miracle Go Shake ‘n’ Feed All Purpose Plant Food Plus Weed Preventer” have an invalid EPA number listed on their packaging (62355-4). Scotts Lawn Service, a lawn care company owned and operated by Scots Miracle Gro is also using an invalid registration number (538-304).
Scotts Miracle Gro Co. is in violation of Federal Law (FIFRA), and must stop selling and distributing pesticide products that have not been properly registered with the EPA and display invalid registration numbers on the labels. Scotts has agreed to recall the products and is currently working on recall procedures. If you think you may have purchased one of these unregistered products, please look at the “EPA registration number” provided on the label. If you see the invalid numbers 62355-4 for garden weed prevention products or 538-304 for fertilizers, you have an unregistered pesticide. Until a recall plan is put in place by the EPA, please store these products in a safe, cool and dry place such as a garage or utility shed. Do not dispose of them down the drain, in the garbage or at a community waste disposal site.
The Columbus Dispatch wrote an article on this issue.
A fact sheet and regularly updated information are maintained online by the U.S. EPA .
If you have any additional questions about the stop sale please feel free to contact Safer Pest Control Project at 773-878-7378 or the EPA directly at 1-888-838-1304.
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SPCP IS NOW HIRING
We are looking for a part-time program assistant for our office, with the possibility of going full-time in the near future. Please download the job description for complete details. | |
JobDescription-ProgramAsst508.pdf |
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Pesticide Free Zone
Let everyone know that your yard is pesticide free and pet and child friendly by posting a pesticide free zone sign. You can post these signs at schools, parks, and businesses.
Ideally, pesticide free means that no chemical pest controls at all are used. However, we consider the use of organically certified materials and EPA-exempt pesticides to be compatible with our philosophy because we want to encourage manufacturers to develop safer products. If the sign accurately reflects your practices, you can purchase it from SPCP.
The signs are eight-inch diameter aluminum signs that will last through harsh winters and hot summers. Each sign costs $10.00 which includes shipping and instructions for posting. Use our order form (at right) to place your order. Call about discounts for larger orders.
This sign comes with two factsheets: Talking to Your Neighbors About Pesticides and Pesticide Free Zone Yard Sign, including display instructions. | | 
orderform1.pdf |
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Intersex Frogs Found in Suburban Ponds
New York Times Reports on Troubling Study
New York Times article
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BED BUGS BE GONE
Fact sheet offers solution to this not-so-little problem
Bed bugs are on the rise nationally -- from four star hotels to one bedroom apartments. Since they are so small, bed bugs are one of the most difficult home pest problems that you'll see (or not see as as the case may be!). They don’t just hide in mattresses but also bed frames, furniture, wooden floors and carpeting. Even after you have found them bed bugs are still very hard to remove. Not even the use of hazardous pesticides is totally effective.
Don't panic. The best strategy is one of persistence and patience. If you have bed bugs, immediately remove all sheets and wash them in hot water. Place them in a dryer, and turn the heat on high for maximum effect. Next, put a plastic mattress cover over the bed. This will have to stay in place for at least 4 months. For treatment in carpets and furniture, use a portable hand held steamer set at the highest setting. Press the steamer hard into the fabric and slowly move it over the entire surface. This will kill bed bugs and their eggs. You may need to repeat this several times over the next few months.
For more tips please take a look at our Bed Bugs fact sheet. For our fact sheet in Spanish click Bed Bugs (Spanish).
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SPCP featured in Green Options Media Blog
SPCP Executive Director, Rachel Rosenberg, spoke at length to local writer, Jason Phillips about our work.
Both articles address the problems with chemical lawn care, and with pesticides in general. Please pass it on to your friends.
Getting Americas Lawns Off Drugs
Tackling the Toxic Problem of Pesticides
Ironically, notice the Google ads on the page for chemical lawn care. If the advertisers featured could only read what the article said, I don't think they'd want to be linked on this page!
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Protect Yourself from Involuntary Pesticide Exposure
The State of Illinois Has Laws to Protect Homeowners and School Children
Did you know that there are a number of laws in Illinois that protect homeowners and school children from involuntary pesticide exposure? SPCP has written a fact sheet that you can easily download that explains the two laws and gives you information on reporting violations. Laws to Protect You From Outdoor Pesticides
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