How to stop neighbor's pesticides from spreading to my yard? (lawn, grown)
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We might ask why the OP is worried about pesticides. That might help give appropriate answers. Is it a general fear? Is it he wants to be certified organic? Is it because he is afraid a specific herbicide will injure his crop? Is he a worry-wort?
We might ask why the OP is worried about pesticides. That might help give appropriate answers. Is it a general fear? Is it he wants to be certified organic? Is it because he is afraid a specific herbicide will injure his crop? Is he a worry-wort?
All good questions.
Are you planning to be certified organic? I think that might be problematic.
As landowners your neighbors are responsible for their spraying. If pesticides or herbicides "drift" onto your crop, their farm policy should cover damages.
I'm about to buy a house with some land and I hope to grow some fruit trees there. The house is right next to a hay farm that the owner & operator sprays with pesticides. Can I do something so that it doesn't spread to my part of the land, such as building a wall (and making Mexico pay for it - just kiddin') or fence from a particular material that might keep stuff from spreading?
Rule of thumb:
You don't buy property in an area that you know is going to problematic for you...
I'm trying to figure out why someone needs pesticides to grow hay?
Good question. It may be that he has a mildew problem and sprays a fungicide. If he's growing grass hay he may use a broadleaf herbicide like Banvel (Dicamba) or 2,4-D. These are not particularly toxic or persistent, and will disappear quickly.
If he's growing alfalfa hay, managing weeds can be very difficult. Most applications are when weeds are 1-3 inches tall, generally before orchard trees are even leafed out. Some applications are after the last cutting at the end of summer and drift could leave deposits on late fruit. If he is spraying an insecticide to control alfalfa weevil, it can be dangerous to bees if trees are in blossom.
Talking to the farmer is a good idea. Aerial applications have a tendency to drift more than tractor spray applications.
We might ask why the OP is worried about pesticides. That might help give appropriate answers. Is it a general fear? Is it he wants to be certified organic? Is it because he is afraid a specific herbicide will injure his crop? Is he a worry-wort?
This is a technical question, not a political one. Herbicides often don't stay where they are put. A sunny day will evaporate them off of plant surfaces and they will drift for a couple of days after they are applied. Vineyards sometimes suffer severe damage from the phenomenon.
It's 100% appropriate to coordinate herbicide and insecticide use between adjacent properties.
Good question. It may be that he has a mildew problem and sprays a fungicide. If he's growing grass hay he may use a broadleaf herbicide like Banvel (Dicamba) or 2,4-D. These are not particularly toxic or persistent, and will disappear quickly.
If he's growing alfalfa hay, managing weeds can be very difficult. Most applications are when weeds are 1-3 inches tall, generally before orchard trees are even leafed out. Some applications are after the last cutting at the end of summer and drift could leave deposits on late fruit. If he is spraying an insecticide to control alfalfa weevil, it can be dangerous to bees if trees are in blossom.
Talking to the farmer is a good idea. Aerial applications have a tendency to drift more than tractor spray applications.
Dicamba and 2,4-D can be susceptible to drift and the effects will be very noticeable if they contact vineyards and certain other crops. I would think that if spray drift injures or kills your crops the applicator could be held responsible. There is considerable concern about this lately because seed companies will have ready for release corn varieties that are resistant to 2.4-D and it's use is expected to increase exponentially.
On the other hand I wouldn't be too worried about a properly operated boom sprayer that stays on the neighbors land and is only applying insecticide and fungicide.
The ideal conditions for spraying are with just a very slight wind, preferably away from the neighbor. Under windless, dry conditions spray particles can move along the ground under influence of a thermal inversion. Some pesticide odors will just move due to diffusion. If you pour some ammonia in a dish and set it in the back of a room soon the entire room will smell of ammonia, just due to diffusion even if there are no air currents.
Yes, Larry Caldwell, I am aware of these issues. I asked the questions because there is a difference between a person who is emotionally opposed to pesticides, as in "there are no good pesticides" and someone who is worried about dicamba drift.
In my neck of the woods, hay is usually from Bahia grass, which is nothing but a weed to me anyways. I can't imagine it needing pesticides.
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