If you pay attention to the news, you will notice a lot of attention being given to cosmetic pesticides; for better and worse. Recently, Manitoba has introduced legislation to ban the use of cosmetic pesticides in public areas, but also on privately owned lawns such as your own. This means homeowners will not be able to use synthetic pesticides, and lawn care providers will not be able to either.
You can see where the controversy enters the equation.
Without engaging either side of the debate too much, the fact is that the ban is being written up and will likely be in place for the 2015 lawn care season. This pesticide ban is not new to Canada as all of Ontario and Quebec have banned the use of synthetic pesticides since 2010 and many other municipalities around the country have followed suit. The ban is here to stay so in the mean time we are going to have to deal with it.
This does mean that Winnipeg’s lawns will not look as stunning going forward, and it does mean that many lawn care companies—especially those specializing in weed control—will suffer or go bankrupt. Even though “organic” chemicals will be allowed, the effectiveness of these options combined with the astronomical price will prove to be unfeasible for customers, putting major pressure on the lawn care providers.
While we believe this ban is a major infringement on homeowner’s rights, we are happy with the outcomes it will provide our business. Since we have never promoted or used synthetic pesticides, the ban doesn’t affect us one bit. If anything, it makes us look more “in with the times” than our competitors and makes us stand out as a safe alternative when a majority of Manitoban’s think that refraining from pesticides is a safer choice.
There’s no hiding the fact that failing to spray pesticides—organic or synthetic—will result in a lawn with more weeds. However, with the consistent cutting program we offer, the weeds can be managed to become less of an eyesore. Combine this with the fact that we bag and remove the clippings on most lawns, the seeds from the weeds don’t have the chance to fall back onto the lawn and spread. Even better, refraining from spraying pesticides on your lawn eliminates the multiple hundred dollar dent to your cheque book that would otherwise occur with a pesticide company.
This just shows that there are options out there. Are they regressive options? Possibly. Are they the only options we are going to have in the immediate future? It is very likely. All we are here to do is provide a reliable lawn care service in the political, economic, and legal environment we are provided.
If you are someone who could benefit from our services in the new lawn care climate, don’t hesitate to give us a call prior to the summer season to sign up. If you aren’t, but know someone who is, feel free to pass our website on to them for them to research our services and see if our company is a fit for them. We are more than happy to help anywhere that is possible.
