The spring equinox is upon us, daylight saving time has already begun, and our thoughts are turning toward the growing light and warmth. We're opening the windows, clearing out clutter and preparing the ground - and ourselves - for this year's lawn and garden work. This would also be a good time to take a hard look at the hazards that may be lurking in your basement, closet, shed or under the sink: chemical pesticides.

Unlike other household chemicals that may be toxic as an unintended side effect, pesticides are, by definition, designed to cause harm to some living thing. As such, these products all pose some degree of risk. Many contain compounds that can affect the health of people and their pets in ways that weren't understood when they were first marketed. The array of chemicals is dizzying: according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, more than 20,000 house and garden pesticide products on the market contain some 300 active ingredients (the compounds that cause the desired effect of killing or disrupting pests) and as many as 1,700 "inert" ingredients (not truly inert, these are solvents and other compounds mixed with the active ingredients).

These pesticides come in the form of pest strips, bait boxes (traps), bug bombs, flea collars, shampoos, sprays, granules, liquids and dusts. We buy them to fight insects, spiders, mites and ticks; lawn and garden weeds; fungi and bacteria; and rodents in and outside the house. We use them on our rugs and floors, garden vegetables and fruit trees, lawns and ornamental plants, and even ourselves and our pets.

EPA data show more than 70,000 calls are made to poison control centers every year concerning household pesticides - and more than half of them involve children. Conventional wisdom, very reasonably, advises people to keep pesticides out of the reach of children: in locked cabinets, preferably high enough to be out of reach as well.

But this only protects against the poisoning cases that show up in those reports. It doesn't address the risks associated not with accidents but with using the pesticides. Both acute (high-dose, short-term) and chronic (low-dose, longer-term) exposure can cause harm. For instance, recent studies suggest a link between household pesticide use and childhood leukemia cases. This concern leads to a fundamental question we should all consider before we reach for a pesticide: Do we need this product at all?

Too often, chemicals are used as a short-cut alternative to good sanitary practices or effective lawn and garden pest controls. That cockroach spray will knock the bugs down for a while, but sealing cracks and crevices, fixing leaking or sweating pipes and removing food sources like pet food bowls or unwashed dishes will keep them away for good. A powerful chemical spray may temporarily kill off the insects chewing your garden vegetables, but building healthy soil, mulching around your plants and planting resistant varieties will result in minimal pest damage and healthier, more nutritious crops, without any pesticide on the food you eat. What's more, you won't poison birds and other species that can help you control pests.

A half-century ago, chemical pesticides were hailed as the miracle that would usher in unlimited prosperity and freedom from the plagues of humanity. It hasn't worked out that way, and we now know better. Even after more than 40 years of reviewing and banning the most troublesome pesticides - including some common household pesticides - we're still finding chemicals that may cause cancer, birth defects and other ills.

Fortunately, there are alternatives if we only take the time to learn about them. There's a wealth of reliable information available from federal and state agencies. A couple of good places to begin are UMass Extension (www.umassextension.org) and EPA (http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/about/index.htm).

So before you reach for that spray can, go to your library or on-line and find out what else you can do. You'll be doing yourself and the planet a favor.

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More about pesticides

Pesticide pointers

No pesticide is completely safe. There are only degrees of risk.

From the standpoint of health, the worst place to use pesticides is inside the home, since chemicals don't break down as quickly as they do outside. They stay in the air, on floors and countertops, and on objects like toys that can get into children's mouths.

Pesticides are hazardous substances and therefore must not go into ordinary trash or down the drain. Contact your local public works department for information on hazardous waste collection days and guidelines.

Pest management principles

Pests are wildlife in a place where we humans don't want them. Remember, though, that they're not out to get us; they're trying to make a living by using the food, water and shelter that our spaces provide.

Your home, garden and yard are complex ecosystems. They offer opportunities for numerous species to live around and among us. If there are some species we don't want, we can modify the ecosystem to make it less attractive to them without harming others.

Find out exactly what pest you have. Make sure, too, that it's not a one-time stray that happened to get into your space. Then find out how it lives. Where did it come from? What does it need to survive?

Long-term solutions are best. Look for ways to keep pests out of your home in the first place, or to deny them the food and water they need. Instead of killing a few bugs, do things that will keep them away for good.

Michael Dover is a retired environmental scientist and member of the Hitchcock Center board. He spent much of his career, at EPA and elsewhere, working on pest and pesticide issues.

Earth Matters, written by staff and associates of The Hitchcock Center for the Environment, appears every other week. The center's mission is to foster a greater awareness of the environment. This column marks one year that Earth Matters has been appearing in the Gazette. We are interested to hear readers' thoughts about the column: what you like, what you would like us to write about, or any other suggestions you might have. Send your comments to column@hitchcockcenter.org or to 525 South Pleasant St., Amherst, MA 01002. For information, call 256-6006.