Davis Land Company – Weed & Invasive Plant Removal
If you choose to rid your pond of weeds by spraying herbicide, we will gladly help you out. But if you’re looking for an alternative and SAFER way of getting rid of invasive plant species, look no further than Davis Land Company. We have the right equipment for non-herbicide (weed harvesting) jobs! Our machines will keep your pond and property looking its healthiest while we carefully protect your environment. We want our customers to have the all the information they need in order to make health-conscience decisions. So please read on about the dangers of Herbicides.
The Dangers of Herbicide Spraying
Glyphosate is the world’s #1 selling chemical herbicide. Glyphosate-containing herbicides, such as Roundup, are the most commonly used herbicides in the world. They are applied in farming, forestry, parks, public spaces, ponds and gardens. Glyphosate herbicides are also known to produce genetically altered herbicide-resistant crops. In recent years a number of studies have raised issues about glyphosate’s safety and there have been calls for glyphosate herbicides to be banned. New research has identified glyphosate residues in the urine of 44% of the people tested!
If you spray herbicide, Glyphosate will move through the vegetation and kill any plant not genetically modified to resist it. Glyphosate’s main effect is to block an enzyme that plants need in order to make amino acids and proteins. When the enzyme is blocked, sprayed plants will die within 3 days. The Glyphosate chemical is never used on its own as a herbicide. And it is always combined with other chemicals for effectiveness. For example, a class of chemicals called ‘surfactants’ are added to boost infiltration of glyphosate into the plant’s cells.
Dangerous Impacts on Biodiversity
Glyphosate herbicides are used to manage plants considered to be weeds or to clear vegetation. However other plants, animals, insects, and micro-organisms will also be exposed:
- Insects flying through at the time of spraying;
- Animals consume treated plants or; prey that have been feeding on the treated plants;
- Spray gets blown by the wind into other habitats near a treated area;
- Glyphosate gets sprayed in rural or urban areas and then will get moved by the rain into water systems.
- Spray that lands onto the soil will move through the plants to their roots or will be introduced into the soil when a treated plant dies.
These ‘non-target’ organisms may experience toxic effects from the herbicide. Or otherwise be indirectly affected by changes to ecosystems and food resources. Direct and indirect impacts to our environment can be caused by spraying these chemicals. Glyphosate‘s mode of action means that ANY vegetation sprayed will be injured or killed. Which is why it is considered to be a high risk herbicide for other plant life. On farms, continued use of glyphosate will greatly disturb the life and diversity of plants around the field edges. Studies investigating the dangers of spray-drift found modifications on the growth and composition of plants exposed with herbicides at levels between 1% and 25% of normal agricultural rates.
If the environment is a concern to you, let us help you enjoy #LakeLife without the dangers of spraying herbicides.
Visit our Youtube channel for videos of harvesting weeds without worrying about the dangers of herbicides. Fill out our Contact form for a FREE quote!