Are bee-killing pesticides hiding in your garden?

"Bee-friendly" plants may carry hidden dangers. Photo: Andrea_44

by Lynne Walter, Associate Director

I love gardens because they give us a chance to grow beautiful flowers, plants, fruits, and vegetables. Besides providing a relaxing oasis for me, the gardens I love also provide a haven for butterflies and bees.

Unfortunately, new research shows that bee-killing pesticides may be lurking in our gardens - without our knowledge!

Toxic Free NC participated in a recent study of garden plants marked as "bee-attractive" that are sold at top retailers.  We purchased several "bee-attractive" plants from Lowe's and Home Depot stores in Raleigh, NC, to be tested. Colleagues in 17 other cities across the U.S. and Canada did the same.

The report, Gardeners Beware 2014 from our colleagues at Friends of the Earth, shows there is a good chance bee-killing pesticides are lurking in our gardens and backyards.  The report reveals that more than half of the garden plants we tested contain neonic pesticides. Neonics are highly toxic to bees - they can kill bees outright, and also make them more vulnerable to diseases and other stressors.

And these "bee-attractive" plants carry no warning labels for us, the consumers.

So, what can we do?

• Sign the Petition: Ask garden retailers to stop selling neonicotinoid-treated plants and products that contain neonicotinoids.  

• Raise Your Voice Locally:  Let your local nursery know you will only purchase neonic-free plants and ask the nursery to communicate your request to their corporate headquarters and supplies who grow the plants they sell.  You can find a sample letter here for U.S. companies.  
• Grow Bee-Safe: Avoid buying neonicotinoid-treated seeds and seedlings.  Purchase organic plant starts or grow your own plants from untreated seeds in organic potting soil for your home vegetable and flowers gardens.
• Practice Bee-Safe Pest Control: Avoid using bee-toxic pesticides in your garden and use alternative methods of pest control, such as providing a habitat for beneficial insects that prey on garden pests.  You can find more information at Toxic Free NC's Organic Gardening resource pages.
• Don't Buy Products that Contain Neonicotinoids: Read the label and avoid using off-the-shelf neonicotinoid pesticides in your garden.  Look for active ingredients like acetamiprid, clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and dinotefuran.  You can see the appendix at the end of Gardeners Beware 2014 for a list of common products that contain neonicotinoids.
• Do a Clean Sweep: Check if you have neonic pesticide products at home, and dispose of them as municipal hazardous waste or take them back to the store where you bought them.

Thank you for taking action to help protect these critical pollinators, and please spread the word!

Bees, bees everywhere!

by Lynne Walter, Associate Director

It was an early morning in May, and I found myself traveling through the mountains of western North Carolina.  I drove further and further northwest in Madison County, passing through Mars Hill and beyond.  Finally, I arrived.  And there they were: Bees.  Lots and lots of bees.  Behind the electric fence, their hives stretched across a cool, green mountain field, and their low, resonant droning could be heard over the bubbling of the creek and the twittering birdsong.

Jon Christie and assistant, of Wild Mountain Bees, with their bees.

You may be asking yourself, is this the picturesque beginning to the new fictional novel I am writing?  Nope.  Just another day at Toxic Free NC, helping protect pollinators and supporting community gardens!

Back in October 2013, we held our annual Beehive Giveaway, and the winner was Briggs Avenue Community Garden!  But, the bees they won weren't going to be ready until the spring.  The nucleus colony of bees came from the fantastic people at Wild Mountain Bees, whose shop is in Asheville and whose apiary is in northwest North Carolina.

But wait, you may be saying, Toxic Free NC is in Raleigh and Briggs Avenue Community Garden is in Durham.  How did the bees get from one end of the state to the other?

*Enter brave and intrepid Toxic Free staff member*

I was already going to be in western NC, and after many coordinating phone calls and emails by my coworker Ileana, everything was set for the Great Bee Transport of 2014!

Everyone buckled in?  The bees in their transport box.

This involved driving into far northwestern North Carolina to get the bees; running the AC on full blast the entire drive to Durham so the bees wouldn't overheat, get angry, and die; wearing a hoodie sweatshirt as I drove; wearing the hood of the hoodie sweatshirt up on my head as I drove; getting weird looks from the other drivers for wearing my hood up; saying nice and soothing things to the bees during the trip; and turning off the raging AC every now and then to listen for angry buzzing.  Which, luckily, I never heard once.

You know, just buzzing out by the ventilation opening.

And you may be wondering, why would Toxic Free NC embark on this wild road trip adventure?  The answer is: because we care.

We care about protecting our pollinators.  We care about supporting local community gardens.  We care about helping ensure that everyone has access to healthy, pesticide-free food.  And, most of all, we care about keeping all North Carolinians safe from exposures to toxic chemicals and pesticides!

And sometimes that means you drive 4 hours down the highway with 25,000 buzzing passengers in your backseat.

The Bees at their new home!

See what the buzz about Toxic Free NC is all about!

Toxic Free NC's "Save a Bee Campaign" is made possible with support from The Burt's Bees Greater Good Foundation.  Want to bee a supporter, too?  Find out how you can help us keep the buzz going for protecting pollinators and organic gardening: http://bit.ly/tfncbuzz

Dig In: Dirty and Dignified

by Sarah Snow, Toxic Free NC Outreach Coordinator Intern

On March 8, 2014, community leaders and teachers gathered in the garden of Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh, NC.  There were there to attend the Dig in Community Garden & Urban Agriculture Summit , where I would be volunteering. This was my first time volunteering with Toxic Free NC, and I was excited to learn about the growth of the pesticide-free food movement in North Carolina!  Dig In would be the perfect place to meet people in our state who already cared about organic gardening.

Many of the people who attended Dig In were teachers who wanted to learn how to start organic community gardens at their schools.  While children played in the museum, I talked with teachers about organic food and why pesticide-free schools were important for their communities.  These teachers shared their concerns about the health of our state's children and their excitement about using what they learned at Dig In back in their own communities.

TFNC volunteers Jean and Margaret making seed bombs!

Our table also caught the attention of curious families who were visiting Marbles Kids Museum.  Kids were happy to get their hands dirty at our seed bomb station where they made balls of clay, soil, and seeds.  After they dried in the sun, the seed bombs could be "detonated" to set loose a sea of wild
flowers.  While kids were busy in the mud, parents collected our fact sheets about how to make their homes and gardens pesticide-free.

In addition to the interest in organic gardening, attendees at Dig In were also eager to sign Toxic Free NC's petition to the EPA!  After learning about the lack of pesticide protections for young farmworkers, people felt strongly about signing the petition.  Because children as young as ten can work in the fields with some crops in North Carolina, young farmworkers are at a very high risk for pesticide exposure.  No on understands better than parents and teachers how important it is to protect growing minds and bodies from dangerous chemicals!  Teachers and parents also want to make sure that the food their children eat is grown safely and responsibly.  These signatures will increase the growing tide of voices calling for protections for young farmworkers!

After a long day of tabling, I felt refreshed!  It felt good to volunteer with energetic people ready to "dig in" to organic gardening.  All the people I met that day strengthened my own belief that change begins with individuals.  When motivated communities come together, organizations like Toxic Free NC and their volunteers help change our state for the better!

Seed bombs that kids at Dig In made, waiting to dry and be thrown or planted!

Let’s make Seed Bombs: A fun-filled flower planting activity for all ages

by Lynne Walter, Associate Director

Spring has officially arrived!  And there is no better time than now to get outside with your friends and family to do some gardening and planting.  A simple and easy activity you can do together is to make and plant seed bombs!  This is also a great take-home activity for kids ages 3 and up--ready-made for classrooms, birthday parties, and festivals.

Photo by NCDOT via flckr

Seed bombs are made of clay, organic compost, and flower seeds.  They were inspired by guerrilla gardeners, who plant beautiful things in less-then-beautiful places.  Seed bombs are designed to be easy to plant and to automatically fertilize the beautiful flowers that grow from them, attracting pollinators like butterflies, honeybees, and even hummingbirds.

How Do We Do This
First, you will need to gather your supplies:

• Clay (you can use potters clay or clay dug right from your backyard)
• Organic compost (worm castings are a great choice)
• Flower seeds (a wildflower mix with native flowers from the Southeast will work well)
• Medium-sized waterproof container (for mixing)
• Big wooden or plastic spoon
• Water (in a watering can or water bottle)
• Flat tray or cookie sheet
• Sandwich bags
• Paper towels
• Hand wipes
• Tablecloth that can get dirty or some newspaper

Once you have all your supplies, head out into the beautiful spring weather to make your seed bombs.  Set up the supplies on a table covered by the tablecloth or newspaper:

• Mix together the clay, organic compost, and flower seeds in the medium-sized waterproof container:
• 5 parts clay
• 1 part organic compost
• 1 part flower seeds

• Add enough water to the mix so that is gets muddy, but not soupy
• Make seed bomb mud balls (about 2 inches in diameter)
• Put the seed bombs on the tray to dry for a few minutes
• Put the seed bombs in the sandwich bags and place them in a cool, dry place for 24 - 48 hours
• Once you're ready to use your seed bombs, simply take them out of the bag and throw them where you want to plant them.
• You can also crush them up by hand and plant them this way, too.
• Give them a little water and watch them grow!

Volunteer Shannon making seed bombs at a Toxic Free NC event

Have other questions about organic gardening?  Check out Toxic Free NC for more information, helpful hints, and workshops.

Organic & Sustainable Christmas Trees and Wreaths: North Carolina 2013 Buying Guide

by Toxic Free NC staff and Margaret Vaughn, volunteer

This holiday season, we hope you'll consider an organic or low-spray Christmas tree or wreath! Check out our updated buying guide to find a pesticide-tree near you.

Buying an sustainably-grown Christmas tree means that you will:

• Protect your family from pesticide residues being brought into your home.
• Keep Christmas tree workers and their families from being exposed to pesticides on the job.
• Support local growers who respect their workers and our environment.

Find out more about the pesticides commonly used on Christmas trees and why you should avoid them.

Toxic Free NC's 2013 Organic & Sustainable Christmas Trees and Wreaths: North Carolina Buying Guide was also recently featured in the news, along with one of the growers on our list, Doug Murphy (of Murphy's Tree Farm and Nursery).

You can also learn about other growers who use sustainable and/or organic practices, such as What Fir Tree Farm in Boone and a host of others!

Nathaniel Maram of What Fir! Tree Farm

Margaret Vaughn has a strong interest in environmental health issues and, in particular, their relationship to the food that we grow, buy, and eat.  She is excited to be back in her home state of North Carolina after completing a graduate degree in public health at New York University.

Expectations Exceeded! Volunteering with Toxic Free NC

by Paul Chang, Outreach Intern with Toxic Free NC

Being surrounded by the fresh atmosphere of the Raleigh Midtown Farmers Market gave me a well-needed rejuvenating burst of energy.  The people, the products, and everything that goes into an active healthy community was present.  I honestly loved every part of it!

Participating as an outreach volunteer at Toxic Free NC gives me a chance to enjoy what I love doing most: building relationships and educating people.  Going in to my first outreach event at the Raleigh Midtown Farmers Market, I didn’t really know what to expect.  I was very curious to see what this outreach would actually look like in action.  But, when we arrived, I was immediately comforted by the calm, yet busy atmosphere of everyone trying to find their fresh veggies early in the morning.  Everyone who was interested in Toxic Free NC who came to our table was super friendly and easy-going.  I came up with the hypothesis that since these people are filled with fresh and/or organic foods in their bodies, their personalities are fresh and organic.  You know what they say, “you are what you eat.”

Laura and Paul volunteering for Toxic Free NC

Educating and interacting with the individuals was my favorite part of the whole day.  We joked, we laughed, and we educated with passion!  I really feel that this outreach program is a truly effective way to get the word out to the community about reducing their exposure to toxic chemicals.  The simplicity of this outreach was the best part! Giving out information, starting conversations about toxic chemical exposure, and just sharing personal experiences about environmental health was amazing.  Also, letting people make their own least-toxic household cleaner through our practical demonstration was some good educational entertainment for me.  To add to this amazing experience, it was “Pie Day” at the Market.  When I heard the news that 11 other tables in the farmers market made pies for people to sample, my day couldn’t have gotten better.  I sampled, I voted, and I was satisfied by the unique flavors of each pie in my stomach.


My experience with this volunteer outreach event exceeded all my expectations in every way!  The atmosphere, the people, the music, the kids, and our educational purpose all intertwined into a day of fresh fun.  Also, having random, yet interesting, conversations with two awesome people from Toxic Free NC throughout the day was a big cherry on top!

More Fresh, Local, and Organic Food on Your Child Care's Menu: Here's How

by Toxic Free NC Staff and Jennifer Li, Children’s Environmental Health Writing Intern

Many families are making local and organic produce a priority these days, and almost everyone needs to increase the fresh foods in their diet. Locally grown produce is the freshest, so it contains more nutrients and it supports local farmers. Why organic? Organic foods are grown without synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified ingredients, synthetic food additives or processing agents, and are environmentally friendly. Research shows that kids who eat a mostly organic diet have much lower levels of potentially harmful pesticides in their bodies.

We interviewed Jan of Country Sunshine Children’s Center, and Shawna of Bright Horizons at Raleigh Corporate Center, both in Raleigh. Their commitment to children’s health is truly inspiring, and the methods they share are feasible and effective. From co-op programs with parents to growing fruits and vegetables in gardens, we hope other childcare centers can use these creative and helpful tips from the pros!

So, how can you get more fresh, local, and organic food onto your child care menu?

Here are 5 tips to get you started:

1. Purchase fresh, local, and organic foods from the Farmers' Market, grocery stores, and food distributors, especially when the vegetables and fruits are in season.

“Anytime we can, we get away from frozen or canned foods and incorporate fresh fruits and vegetables into our menu.” —Jan, Country Sunshine Children’s Center

2. Child care centers can obtain reimbursements for nutritious meals from the Federal Food program.

3. Start a Co-op Program. Country Sunshine uses a “Partnership with Parents” to bring in more fresh foods without driving up costs.

How does it work? 

• 3 times a week, children at the Country Sunshine Children’s Center are provided with fresh, healthy fruit and vegetable snacks from parents. 
• Parents are asked to provide fresh produce for one classroom (about 10-20 kids/class) only once per month.
• Each classroom’s parents are designated a specified amount of a particular fruit or veggie snack for every month. For example, parents may be asked to bring watermelon, apples, lettuce or carrots for the class.

4. Plant a garden at your childcare center.  Children enjoy growing their own fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers to have fun and learn, grow their own snacks, and provide treats for their families to taste.

How does it work?

Seeds are both provided by parents and bought from stores. Children can determine the types of seeds they want to plant.

How can we start doing this?

• Children can start growing seeds from containers to study them and observe how they grow. Some centers choose to hire a landscaper to build the garden space. This can also be done by parent volunteers if there is a plan for the garden. 
• Use plants that are easy to grow from seeds: Sunflowers, basil, cherry tomatoes, pumpkins, carrots, and lettuce.
• More examples of what they have grown: Lemon Cucumbers, Green Beans, Peas, Bell Peppers, Jalapeños, Tomatoes, Watermelons, Basil, Marigolds. 

The garden is a “learning experience, where children learn to take care of living things and have buy-in to the food they eat.” —Shawna, Bright Horizons at the Raleigh Corporate Center.

5. Educate staff, teachers, and parents about your work to provide healthy, organic food to their kids! Both Bright Horizons and Country Sunshine use a regular email newsletter to keep parents updated about menus, volunteer opportunities, and gardening (along with all the other important news from their centers).

You can publish announcements and seek parent support through your child care center newsletter, at parent meetings, etc.

Share information about organic food with parents so they get involved with what you are doing. Eat Local, Eat Pesticide Free! and Organic on a Budget are two great starter fact sheets from Toxic Free NC that can help.

Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Shawna of Bright Horizons at the Raleigh Corporate Center and Jan of Country Sunshine Children’s Center for allowing us to share the great information they provided for this article!

Jennifer Li is passionate about advocating for improved health in communities. After interning at the Museum of Life and Science last summer to promote healthy living, she was excited to build on her experience to make a difference in improving environmental health with Toxic Free NC.

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Did you find this article helpful? Approximately once a month, Toxic Free NC volunteers or staff write a newsletter-ready article, focusing on children's environmental health, that we send to child care centers across North Carolina.



These articles contain helpful tips on ways child care centers, staff, and the children's parents can reduce kids' exposures to toxic chemicals and pesticides...we also think they're great for using in your home, too!  We hope you find the article useful and feel free to share.



If you would like any of the past articles, please email Lynne Walter for copies or to be added to our Child Care News list.  Examples of past articles include:
    •    Having Fun in the Sun: Avoiding Sunburn, Skin Cancer, and Toxic Chemicals, too
    •    Toxic-Free Gardening with Kids: 5 Tips for Gardeners at Home, School, & Child Care on Getting Rid of Bugs Safely
    •    Round Up Your Weeds Without Toxic Chemicals!
    •    Get Pesticides Out of Your Kids' Classrooms: It's Easier than You Think!
    •    Mosquito Management in Child Care

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Text and Photo, Copyright 2013 by Toxic Free NC.  NC Child Care centers have permission to use text and photo for educational purposes with their parents and staff, provided full credit is given to Toxic Free NC.

Congratulations to NC FIELD!

by Lynne Walter, Associate Director

A HUGE congratulations to NC FIELD and the youth members of NC FIELD for receiving the 2013 Florenza Moore Grant Community Environmental Justice Award!  This award, presented by the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network at their annual summit, highlights community groups and individuals who have made a difference in environmental struggles in North Carolina.

Neftali, José, members of the Grant family, and State Senator Angela Bryant

NC FIELD is an amazing grassroots nonprofit in eastern North Carolina that works on the many environmental injustices, especially pesticide exposure, faced by one of the most vulnerable populations in the U.S.: farmworker youth.  The youth involved with NC FIELD are trained through a multi-generational approach to teach them to advocate for themselves, as well as for other farmworkers.  NC FIELD also works with farmworker youth to promote leadership development, provide opportunities for hands-on learning, and reinforce the importance of education.

José, Neftali, and NCEJN Executive Director Gary Grant

Toxic Free NC is fortunate enough to have worked with NC FIELD and their emerging youth leaders, like Neftali and José, on a variety of projects and campaigns.  One of these projects was collaborating on a short documentary about youth in the fields, entitled "Overworked and Under Spray."


¡Felicidades, NC FIELD, for this well-deserved award!
 

(photos by Peter Eversoll)

Buzz Off! Protecting Kids from Pesticides

By Kate Watkins, former volunteer

Nobody likes pests, and nobody likes being exposed to toxic pesticides.  So how do we prevent pests and keep ourselves safe?  Integrated Pest Management (IPM)!

If you haven’t heard much about Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, don’t worry! IPM is an easy and toxic-free approach to pest control that dramatically reduces chemical pollution by emphasizing prevention through sanitation, maintenance, and monitoring of pest prone areas in schools, child care centers, and even in the home.
IPM costs less than many conventional pest control programs, and is often more effective than

Safer, least-toxic ingredients you can use to prevent pests!

spraying toxic pesticides. To utilize IPM, child care center staff, directors, and parents need to be educated on how they can participate. Monitoring of the grounds must be done frequently to catch potential pest problems before they begin, and preventative actions must be taken, including proper sanitation, proper waste disposal, structural maintenance, and good soil health. These steps can be as simple as installing weather stripping and door sweeps to prevent pests from entering your child care center and home; putting cereal and sugar in airtight, glass or plastic containers; repairing leaky pipes; and making sure all garbage cans lock securely.

If pest problems do break out despite these measures, the least-toxic and lowest-risk pesticides should be used to eliminate the problem, such as baits and traps. In these cases, parents must be notified about the pesticides being used and records of pest activity and management must be kept to comply with regulations and to integrate IPM into the responsibilities of current and future staff. Using these steps can help spread awareness about toxic pesticides and may greatly reduce their usage.

Integrated Pest Management is also something we can each practice in our homes, as well—feel free to use these steps and information in your house and share with friends and family!

To help people implement IPM, Toxic Free North Carolina offers free training to child care centers, for which attendees receive four contact hours from the NC Division of Child Development and Early Education...also for free!  If you are interested in hosting an IPM training for your staff, please contact Lynne Walter at Toxic Free NC at (919) 833-1123 or lynne@toxicfreenc.org.

Kate Watkins is a student, nanny, dancer, and she was a volunteer for Toxic Free NC.

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Did you find this article helpful? Approximately once a month, Toxic Free NC volunteers or staff write a newsletter-ready article, focusing on children's environmental health, that we send to child care centers across North Carolina. 

These articles contain helpful tips on ways child care centers, staff, and the children's parents can reduce kids' exposures to toxic chemicals and pesticides...we also think they're great for using in your home, too!  We hope you find the article useful and feel free to share. 

If you would like any of the past articles, please email Lynne Walter for copies or to be added to our Child Care News list.  Examples of past articles include:

• Having Fun in the Sun: Avoiding Sunburn, Skin Cancer, and Toxic Chemicals, too 
• Toxic-Free Gardening with Kids: 5 Tips for Gardeners at Home, School, & Child Care on Getting Rid of Bugs Safely
• Insect Repellent and Kid Safety
• Get Pesticides Out of Your Kids' Classrooms: It's Easier than You Think!
• Mosquito Management in Child Care

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Text and photo, Copyright 2013 by Toxic Free NC.  NC Child Care centers have permission to use text and photo for educational purposes with their parents and staff, provided full credit is given to Toxic Free NC.

Round Up Your Weeds Without Toxic Chemicals!

By Joey Shea, Public Health Writing Intern

Everyone likes the look of a tidy flowerbed, surrounded by golf-green grass and pristine sidewalks.  When crabgrass and dandelions sneak in, it’s tempting to nuke them with herbicides like Roundup.  But every time you spray weeds, the chemicals you leave behind wind up on the bottoms of our shoes as we walk by, and come right inside with us.  Indoors, there is no rain and wind to break down herbicides.  They stick to the carpet and to house dust, where we are exposed to them over and over again—especially little ones who spend lots of time on the floor and putting things in their mouths!

Weeds are a pain because they compete with the plants you’re trying to grow.  They can also make your garden look untidy!  Getting rid of weeds makes the garden look better, but it should be done without the use of harmful pesticides.

Step 1: Prevention—keep weeds away before they grow!

Photo by Amit Patel via Flickr

• Keep your “good” plants healthy…
  • Healthy soil comes from composting or using organic fertilizer;
  • Make sure that water can drain away easily;
  • Garden with native plants that do well in local conditions.  You can learn more about native plants here.
• To keep weeds down, use barriers like…
  • Newspaper.  A layer 3-6 pages thick breaks down in the soil in a few weeks;
  • Mulch.  About 2-4 inches thick helps soil retain water moisture and decreases flooding;
  • Corn gluten meal (sold under brand names like BioWeed).  This adds nitrogen to the soil but prevents new growth.  So, make sure you add it after your good plants are growing, and before the weeds come in!

Step 2: When weeds attack…

• Pull!
  • Pulling up weeds is a time-honored tradition, and a great job for kids.  Pull out the whole weed - if the root systems are left intact, the weeds will come back.
• Heat/Boil
  • When pulling isn’t enough, pour boiling water onto weeds.
    • Excess heat causes plant cells to rupture.  But this can hurt your good plants, too, so be careful where you pour!
• Vinegar
  • Vinegar also kills both good and bad plants, so be careful.
  • Toxic Free NC has a recipe for vinegar-based weed-killer that you can find here.

Keep these tips in mind as you plant, and keep your gardens free of weeds and nasty chemicals!


Joey Shea is a volunteer intern at Toxic Free NC, and is very excited to be working with a group so dedicated to the health of the planet and its communities.

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Did you find this article helpful? Approximately once a month, Toxic Free NC volunteers or staff write a newsletter-ready article, focusing on children's environmental health, that we send to child care centers across North Carolina.

These articles contain helpful tips on ways child care centers, staff, and the children's parents can reduce kids' exposures to toxic chemicals and pesticides...we also think they're great for using in your home, too!  We hope you find the article useful and feel free to share.

If you would like any of the past articles, please email Lynne Walter for copies or to be added to our Child Care News list.  Examples of past articles include:

• Having Fun in the Sun: Avoiding Sunburn, Skin Cancer, and Toxic Chemicals, too
• Toxic-Free Gardening with Kids: 5 Tips for Gardeners at Home, School, & Child Care on Getting Rid of Bugs Safely
• Insect Repellent and Kid Safety
• Get Pesticides Out of Your Kids' Classrooms: It's Easier than You Think!
• Mosquito Management in Child Care

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Resources:
1. http://toxicfreenc.org/informed/pdfs/Weeds.pdf   Toxic Free NC fact sheet for weeding.
2. http://www.ncsu.edu/goingnative/ag636_03.pdf    Info on native plants, how to grow them, and where to get them!

Text, Copyright 2013 by Toxic Free NC.  NC Child Care centers have permission to use text and photo for educational purposes with their parents and staff, provided full credit is given to Toxic Free NC.

The Ants Go Marching: Avoid and Control Ants!

By Jennifer Li, Children's Environmental Health Writing Intern for Toxic Free NC

Ants are an important part of the natural environment.  They feed on pests like fleas, flies, and termites, and their tunneling helps aerate the soil and recycle organic matter.  However, ants can also be common household pests, and dealing with them can be a headache.  The key to avoiding these pests is to understand your options.  Fortunately, there are many toxic-free and environmentally friendly methods that can be used to stop an ant problem!  These non-toxic methods are safer and are effective for longer periods of time.

Ants want to get in our homes and child care centers in order to find food.  Follow these three important steps to keep ants out:
1. Remove food.
* Use ant-proof glass or plastic containers with tight-fitting lids to store food (including pet food).  Glass jars should have a rubber gasket or seal. Ants can climb up the threads of screw-top jars!  Dry goods like flour, rice, and sugar can also be stored in containers in the refrigerator or freezer.
* Clean up daily, especially kitchen floors, cabinets, and underneath appliances.
* Ant-proof your trash.  Make sure the food waste in your garbage can doesn’t stick around—Clean it out! Rinse out empty food containers before you throw them away or recycle them.  Don’t leave food scraps in the garbage overnight.  Take out the trash often.

2. Remove entryways.  Seal up cracks and crevices that give ants a way in to your child care centers and homes.  Use caulk to seal the cracks between walls and floors, around windows and doorframes, and around cupboards and bathroom fixtures.  You might also install door sweeps and weather stripping to prevent ants from slipping in under the doors.

3. Remove outdoor ant hiding places.  Avoid attracting carpenter ants by removing any piles of wood from under or around your home. Diseased plants, tree prunings, fallen fruit, and fallen leaves can also make great hiding places for ants!

Photo by D. Sharon Pruitt via Flickr

So, you’ve done all you can to keep the ants out.  But, what do you do when you’ve got ants in your home and need to control them?  The first step is to locate their nest and their path from their nest to their food source, since ants follow a regular trail.  The last step to deal with these ants involves either killing or repelling them, and several non-toxic methods to do so are included below.  Make sure you keep up the ant prevention steps described above!  Even if ants are repelled, they may find another path to their food source.  Even if ants are exterminated, another ant colony may show up and discover the food source later.

Getting Rid of Ants
1. Soapy water.  Drown ants marching through your home by wiping them up with a sponge and dunking them in soapy water.  Also, wipe up the trail they leave behind—that way, their buddies won’t be able to find their way inside again.
2. Pet food barrier.  Ants cannot cross soapy water.  You can create a barrier by putting your pet’s food dish in the middle of a pan of soapy water.
3. Borax ant-bait.  Borax is a low-toxicity laundry powder that kills ants.  Borax does not vaporize into gas, so it is safer to handle than many household pesticide products.
       Recipe for Ant Bait 
       * 3 cups of water
       * 1 cup of sugar
       * 4 teaspoons of Borax

Mix ingredients and divide the mixture between 3–6 screw-top glass jars.  Loosely pack the jars halfway with cotton balls or other cotton stuffing.  Screw the lids on tightly and seal with tape.  Then, poke a few holes in the top of the jars, and place them near points of ant entry and along their trails. Mark the jars clearly as ANT BAIT and be sure to put them where pets and children cannot reach them.

If you work with large amounts of Borax, inhaling the powder can be irritating—wearing a mask is helpful!  As with all potentially hazardous materials, store Borax and boric acid out of the reach of children and pets.

4. Conserve outdoor ant nests. While ants are a pest when they come inside, they are important allies in your garden.  Native ant colonies eat lots of pest species like fleas and termites and aerate the soil.  Did you know that they also fight off fire ants?  Keep the outdoor ants happy by leaving their nests undisturbed.

If you have fire ant mounds, be very careful!  Fire ants are notorious for their bites and stings.  Keep a lookout for their mounds, which look like hills of loosened soil.  Marking them with flags or sticks will help others from accidentally disturbing them.  When dealing with fire ants, BE CAREFUL and wear shoes and socks rolled over long pants.

You can learn more about how to deal with fire ants at http://www.toxicfreenc.org/informed/fall08/fireants.html

Inside your house, ants are annoying little pests.  If you follow the steps above, you’ll be able to keep them where they belong—doing their important work in the great outdoors!
 

Jennifer Li is passionate about advocating for improved health in communities. After interning at the Museum of Life and Science last summer to promote healthy living, she is excited to build on her experience to make a difference in improving environmental health with Toxic Free NC.

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Did you find this article helpful? Approximately once a month, Toxic Free NC volunteers or staff write a newsletter-ready article, focusing on children's environmental health, that we send to child care centers across North Carolina.

These articles contain helpful tips on ways child care centers, staff, and the children's parents can reduce kids' exposures to toxic chemicals and pesticides...we also think they're great for using in your home, too!  We hope you find the article useful and feel free to share.

If you would like any of the past articles, please email Lynne Walter for copies or to be added to our Child Care News list.  Examples of past articles include:

• Having Fun in the Sun: Avoiding Sunburn, Skin Cancer, and Toxic Chemicals, too
• Toxic-Free Gardening with Kids: 5 Tips for Gardeners at Home, School, & Child Care on Getting Rid of Bugs Safely
• Insect Repellent and Kid Safety
• Get Pesticides Out of Your Kids' Classrooms: It's Easier than You Think!
• Mosquito Management in Child Care

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Resources
* Get Rid of Ants Toxic NC Factsheet: http://toxicfreenc.org/informed/pdfs/ants.pdf
* The ABCs of Coping with Fire Ants Toxic NC Factsheet: http://toxicfreenc.org/informed/pdfs/fireantssheet.pdf
* EPA Pest Control and Pesticide Safety Guide: http://www.epa.gov/oppfead1/Publications/Cit_Guide/citguide.pdf

Text Copyright 2013 by Toxic Free NC.  NC Child Care centers have permission to use text for educational purposes with their parents and staff, provided full credit is given to Toxic Free NC www.toxicfreenc.org

Sleep Well, Sleep Safe

By Joey Shea, Public Health Writing Intern for Toxic Free NC

Did you know that some children’s nap mats contain harmful chemicals?  New studies show that chemicals meant to keep foam mats from catching fire may be harmful to children’s health.  These chemicals have been linked to obesity, hormone disruption, infertility, and even cancer (1).

Photo by Michael LoRusso via Flickr

Flame retardant chemicals get into the air and can be inhaled by young children sleeping on the mats. And, even though these chemicals are used to lower the risk of fires, a recent study found that treating foam mats with these chemicals does not increase fire safety(2).  So, not only are these chemicals harmful for kids, they don’t even do their job!

The studies that found flame retardant chemicals in nap mats have been done on products from major retailers like Target, Wal-Mart, and Babies ‘R Us.  Safer options for mats include cotton or wool mats instead of foam.  Also, be sure to wash your hands and your child’s hands often. Hand-washing is of course the best way to get rid of germs, and will also help lower your child’s contact with harmful chemicals.

This story from The San Francisco Chronicle has a list of mats with the harmful chemicals mentioned, so you can check if the nap mat you own or the ones at your day care center are on that list.

Are you concerned about how often we hear about toxic chemicals in kids’ products? There are several legislative initiatives in North Carolina and the US Congress aimed at getting the worst toxic hazards out of kids’ products. Check out ToxicFreeNC.org to learn more!

Joey Shea is a volunteer intern at Toxic Free NC, and is very excited to be working with a group so dedicated to the health of the planet and its communities.

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Did you find this article helpful? Approximately once a month, Toxic Free NC volunteers or staff write a newsletter-ready article, focusing on children's environmental health, that we send to child care centers across North Carolina.
These articles contain helpful tips on ways child care centers, staff, and the children's parents can reduce kids' exposures to toxic chemicals and pesticides...we also think they're helpful for use in your own home, too!  We hope you find the following article regarding concerns about chemicals in popular nap mats useful, and feel free to share.

If you would like any of the past articles, please email Lynne Walter for copies or to be added to our Child Care News list.  Examples include:

• Having Fun in the Sun: Avoiding Sunburn, Skin Cancer, and Toxic Chemicals, too
• Insect Repellent and Kid Safety
• Get Pesticides Out of Your Kids' Classrooms: It's Easier than You Think!
• Mosquito Management in Child Care

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Resources:
(1) "Toxic Nap Mats Draw Suit in Oakland." San Francisco Chronicle http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Toxic-nap-mats-draw-suit-in-Oakland-4292200.php#photo-4220718
(2) "Naptime Nightmares? Toxic Flame Retardants Found in Day Care Nap Mats." Center for Environmental Health  ceh.org/making-news/press-releases/29-eliminating-toxics/630-naptime-nightmares-toxic-flame-retardants-found-in-day-care-nap-mats

Text Copyright 2013 by Toxic Free NC.  NC Child Care centers have permission to use text for educational purposes with their parents and staff, provided full credit is given to Toxic Free NC www.toxicfreenc.org