Sadly, common household pesticides often show up in treated wastewater and in local waterways, sometimes at levels that can harm sensitive aquatic life. So, water pollution prevention agencies have teamed up with participating retail stores, pesticide distributors, and manufacturers to reduce the risks associated with pesticide use. Marin Ace joins the Marin County Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (MCSTOPPP) in encouraging all Marin residents to keep chemicals out of our stormwater, bay and ocean by choosing water-friendly, earth-friendly fertilizers and pesticides. To make it easy for you to find healthier alternatives, MCSTOPPP has labeled hundreds of items throughout Marin Ace’s shelves with the “Our Water, Our World” label, showing pesticide and fertilizer options that are better for the environment. You may ask why should you choose an alternative to your tried and true methods. Consider this: • You buy rat poison. Dying rats stagger around your garden at night as the poison in their system slowly kills them. An owl overhead sees the prey and catches it, or a vulture eats the dead carcass the next day. What’s next? The poison you set out now kills the owl or vulture too. o Alternative: buy a trap • You want the greenest lawn possible. You over-fertilize your lawn with the strongest fertilizer you can find, resulting in all the unsaturated lawn chemicals going down the storm drain, in turn killing marine life. o Alternative: Irrigate, leave clipping on the lawn when you mow, dethatch, and/or use natural or slow-release fertilizers. Marin Ace and the website http://www.ourwaterourworld.org have free fact sheets to address every pest problem common in Marin County. Before choosing your usual chemical cocktail to eradicate a pest problem, we encourage you to check out these earth-friendly, water-friendly options. Even better, stop pests before they arrive in your yard or home. Please visit our recent blog for easy gardening tips for pest-free gardening. Additionally, Marin Ace will have an Integrated Pest Management expert on hand this Sunday May 19th from 11am-2pm to answer your toughest questions about pests – at no charge. Did you know Marin Ace is one of only 14 stores in the state participating in an EPA grant called “Greener Pesticides for Cleaner Waterways”? Please join us on Sunday and meet our resident expert IPM Advocate Anne Rogers who works on behalf of the grant and helps you troubleshoot your pest problems the least toxic way. Sunday’s event is cosponsored locally by Marin County Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (MCSTOPPP) – the people who bring you the “Our Water Our World” labels throughout Marin Ace, highlighting the least toxic choices in pest management. For more earth-friendly options and assistance with everything that’s bugging you, please visit Marin Ace Hardware. Marin Ace is located at 180 Merrydale Road in San Rafael, the former Sizzler location, and is open daily, M-F 7-7, S-S 8-6; visit www.MarinAce.com or call 415/479-9393.
