57 Ways - 36. Test Your Water For Pesticides—If Necessary

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57 Ways To Protect Your Home Environment (and Yourself)

Caring for the Home Landscape

1. Aim for a healthy lawn rather than a perfect lawn
2. Cut the grass without gas
3. Prevent insect, disease, and weed problems in the garden
4. Identify fruits and vegetables that need fewer pesticides
5. Select native trees and shrubs that will thrive in your yard
6. Keep your tress healthy and safe
7. Plant “wild” in your backyard
8. Attract birds and butterflies to your backyard

Using Alternatives to Traditional Pesticides & Fertilizers - Where Practical

9. Scout for pests on the landscape
10. Consider microbial insecticides
11. Consider botanical insecticides & insecticidal soaps
12. Conserve beneficial insects
13. Monitor & control insects with traps
14. Use pest barriers in your garden
15. Solarize soil
16. Consider the potential of natural fertilizers

Using Chemicals on the Landscape - If Necessary

17. Know what to ask a lawn-care company and arborist
18. Understand pesticide toxicity
19. Read the pesticide label
20. Apply pesticides accurately and safely
21. Apply fertilizers accurately and safely

Storing & Disposing of Hazardous Chemicals

22. Store hazardous chemicals safely
23. Dispose of pesticides safely
24. Dispose of auto products safely
25. Dispose of paints and solvents safely
26. Dispose of adhesives, areosols, household cleaners & other hazardous waste safely

Managing Yard, Food & Other Household Waste

27. Reduce household waste
28. Recycle paper, glass, & aluminum
29. Reuse and respond
30. Recycle grass clippings
31. Create a compost pile
32. Use yard waste as mulch
33. Dispose of tree residues

Protecting Your Drinking Water

34. Know when & how to test your water
35. Test your water for coliform bacteria & nitrate 36. Test your water for pesticides - if necessary
37. Know the signs of contaminants in drinking water
38. Select effective water-treatment methods
39. Prevent contamination from septic systems
40. Know the pros & cons of bottled water

Protecting the Indoor Environment

41. Prevent contamination by lead
42. Test your home for radon
43. Reduce radon levels
44. Control dust, dust mites & other allergens
45. Reduce pollution from combustion equipment
46. Prevent contamination by formaldehyde and asbestos
47. Recognize tht it's not always necessary to control indoor insects
48. Select the right household pesticide
49. Control household pests with less toxic alternatives
50. Select household cleaners wisely

Conserving Energy & Water

51. Design new homes for energy effciency
52. Save energy in heating & cooling
53. Insulate & seal your home
54. Choose energy-efficient appliances
55. Save money & energy with compact fluorescent light bulbs
56. Use plants & other landscape tools to conserve energy
57. Conserve water in & around the home

36. Test Your Water For Pesticides—If Necessary
	Community water supplies are required to test for 83 contaminants on a regular basis and must inform customers when a detection exceeds health standards. They also must issue annual reports on test results. However, if your water comes from a private well, you may have good reason to do your own testing for pesticides, especially in these cases: someone in the immediate area confirms pesticide contamination in a private well; a commercial pesticide distributor is located nearby; you have a shallow, large-diameter well; or you are aware of pesticide mixing, spills, or tanks being emptied within a few hundred feet of your well.
	Testing for pesticides is more expensive than testing for nitrate and bacteria, so you want to have a good idea of what you are looking for. If your well is particularly vulnerable to contamination, you may need to test periodically throughout the year to get an accurate picture of the problem.
	Sometimes it is cheapest to have the lab “screen” one water sample for all of the chemicals you are looking for. Screening is an economical way to look for many chemicals, but it cannot accurately determine their concentration.
	State environmental agencies or the local and regional offices of the department of public health will have information on where to have water tested for pesticides and may even be equipped to do the testing. Once you have found a certified testing laboratory that will run the tests you need, find out what the charge is.
	If the test is positive for pesticides, you may want to immediately retest your well. Changes in rainfall, pesticide use, or water withdrawal can cause wide variations in the levels of pesticides found in your well. A second test may give you a better overall idea of what is in your water.
	If any amount of pesticide is found in your water, seek advice from your local or state health department on actions to take and whether you need to do follow-up testing.
	Once you know what chemical is in your water, and how much was detected, obtain a health advisory summary from the public health department or the U.S. EPA. Health advisory summaries will tell you both the noncancer health risks and the cancer risk from pesticides and other chemicals in water.