Pesticides can make people and animals ill. No pesticide should be thrown in the garbage regardless of what pest the product is designed to kill—insects (insecticides), weeds (herbicides) or fungus (fungicide). Doing so can lead to contamination of the environment.

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Reduction Tips

You can reduce or eliminate pesticide use by following these tips:

Control Weeds

Control weeds in your yard by maintaining a thick, healthy lawn and by mulching your garden.

Remove Weeds

Use hand tools to remove weeds, or decide to live with a few weeds.

Use Corn Gluten Meal

Use corn gluten meal for crabgrass control.

Choose the Right Plants

Choose plants that are resistant to insect and disease pests, remove diseased plant debris and weeds that often harbor insect pests, and plant a wide variety of plants in your landscape.

• Danger or Poison: Highly toxic
• Warning: Moderately toxic
• Caution: Slightly toxic

Follow application instructions.

Store Garbage

Store food, bird seed, grass seed, and garbage in tightly sealed containers. Hungry pests will eat bird and grass seed, as well as human and pet food and garbage.

Take Garbage Out Often

Take garbage out of the house often and always keep the lid closed on garbage carts.

Less-Toxic Pesticides

Buy less-toxic pesticides.  On pesticide labels, signal words refer to the acute toxicity of the product.  Look for these signal words:

• Thoroughly rinse food and beverage containers before placing them in your recycling bin.
• Seal wall cracks and spaces under doors to prevent pests from entering your home. Fill in space around pipes.

For more information on weed control, visit the University of Minnesota Extension Service web site regarding "Weed Control in Lawns and Other Turf" and "Easy Weed Control" using properly applied surface mulch.

For more information on pest management, visit the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's web site and the University of Minnesota Extension web site for the "Your Sustainable Yard" fact sheet on managing pests.

You can also find helpful information in "Environmentally Conscious Methods of Pest Control In and Around Homes," a publication of the University of Minnesota Extension Service.