As you look for solutions to problems in your yard, here are some tips for keeping your lawn and garden safer for birds.
- Don’t Fumigate: If nothing else, avoid large-scale spraying of any chemicals in your yard, even those considered organic or nontoxic. Birds’ respiratory systems are far more sensitive than ours, and they can easily be harmed by fumes.
- Target Source: Instead of dispersing chemicals over the entire yard, target problems more directly with a lower-impact solution. For example, carefully spraying or painting herbicide directly onto the leaves of a problem weed will be less toxic than applying a weed control product to the whole yard.
- Use Fewer Products: Focus on keeping your grass and garden healthy using compost, rich soil, proper mowing practices, and smarter plant choices, rather than fighting off problems with chemicals.
- Remember the Ecosystem: Even nontoxic products, such as vinegar to kill weeds, can harm worms and insects in the soil, which then affects the birds that eat them. Whenever you approach a problem in your yard, consider the entire system, from insects to water runoff to native habitats. As much as possible, make sure your solutions touch only the problem, and not the world around it.
