Re: Noble idea of pesticide ban means lots of labour ahead, by Harvey Dorval, The News, June 24, page A10.
I am an old-fashioned kind of gal that likes to be breathing clean air and it doesn’t take much for me to smell a rat. Somehow the scenario of a nice Quebec town overtaken by weeds doesn’t ring true.
It is not an exaggeration that here in Nepean, Ontario, a suburb of Ottawa, dandelions keep a low profile. I seldom have a single dandelion or two on my lawn.
True, I am now retired and have more time to devote to lawn care. But even prior to my retirement the time I devoted to keeping my lawn attractive without the use of pesticides was negligible.
By the way, why strive to eliminate pretty flowers such as buttercups?
Somehow I am dubious as to whether those “who have laboured all day in offices and showrooms will not be motivated to get on their knees with a weeder after a hard day.”
Has it ever occurred to Mr. Dorval that the reason so many upscale homes are now empty during weekdays was that their female occupants have interesting careers and like to work outside their homes?
Finally, there are more acceptable remedies than DDT for use against ants and earwigs. DDT was never banned in the Third World, but as I already indicated this chemical gradually lost its effectiveness.
K. Jean Cottam, Nepean, ON
