Toxic herbicides are used globally to manage unwanted vegetation in agriculture and forestry to maintain lawns in urban and suburban areas.
While mostly used to get rid of weeds, herbicides can harm any plant they come into contact with, as one angry tenant recently found out. In a post on Reddit, the tenant reached out for help to confirm if the damage to their plants had been caused by a landscaping company spraying herbicide. The photos showed several plants whose leaves were either covered in yellow spots or dying.
The original poster explained that they had found the damaged plants after a lawn care service employed by property management had been there to take care of the lawns. The tenant had planted the native plants in a dead patch of soil to create a meadow strip. "I've suspected the company of spraying herbicide before but never saw any clear proof," the tenant wrote.
🗣️ Do you worry about pesticides in your food?
🔘 All the time 😨
🔘 Sometimes 🫢
🔘 Not really 🤷
🔘 I only eat organic 😤
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
Native plants are a great alternative to traditional lawns as they are adapted to local environments, meaning they don't require fertilizer or additional watering once established. As a result, native lawns are low-maintenance and also easy on your wallet. Native plants also provide food and habitat for wildlife and support pollinators that are important for food production. Unfortunately, many people mistake native plants for weeds.
Herbicides have been widely used to kill weeds since the 1940s. Research has shown that these chemicals are present in our bodies and are having a negative effect on our health. Herbicides have been linked to cancer, osteoporosis, and neurological problems, among other illnesses.
The U.S. lags behind other big agricultural producers, such as the European Union, China, and Brazil, in banning some of these harmful chemicals. Research has shown that there are 85 pesticides currently in use in the U.S. that are banned in at least one of these nations because of their negative impact on human health and the environment, and of these 85 pesticides, 58% are herbicides.
The OP's anger was not only about the destruction of the plants but also because they had not been notified, and there were children and animals living nearby. "We should absolutely be notified," they wrote.
Folks in the comments agreed with the OP. "Totally agree with you and I am so sorry and amazed by so many people that have no idea," one person wrote.
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