Musings: Stop using 'grubicides' and things will change
An up-close look at a Photinus pyralis, also known as the "big dipper" or, in these parts, the common eastern firefly. Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster
Our front “lawn” is green most of the summer, and I mow it when the weeds get too high. When it hasn’t rained for a while, it turns brown because we don’t water it. Then in the fall, it turns green again. But it looks OK most of the time, and the cottontails seem to like it.
Our backyard is a combination of some lawn, lots of flowers, a messy perimeter, and a compost pile that serves as a soup kitchen for creatures of many species.
The other night, I looked out the back door and noticed dozens of fireflies, maybe not as many as years ago, but still flashes of bioluminescence across the whole yard. We don’t use chemicals on our “lawns” — no pesticides, fertilizers, “grubicides,” or anything else.
Across most of Lawn Island, lawns seem to be some kind of status symbol, proving that you can afford a weekly landscaper who happily dumps whatever chemicals will make your lawn “perfect.”
I have instructed classes on organic gardening and told people that they don’t usually have to worry about insects in their backyard vegetable gardens because 50 years of killing them on Long Island has almost eliminated most bugs from most suburban neighborhoods.
Sometimes, people tell me about their mosquito problem; sure, if your irrigation system sprays water on your lawn every day, the mosquitoes will be happy to make it their home. Of course, to get rid of them, you can always spray more insecticide on the lawn.
This is not rocket science. If Long Islanders want to see fireflies and their brethren, stop poisoning the environment. You’d get insects of every kind, but you’ll also get birds that will eat them. And then you won’t have to worry about your kids or pets absorbing poisons into their systems.
You also can put out a birdbath — birds love taking an afternoon dip. Stop worrying about how your lawn looks and instead think about how the environment looks.
— Bill Olson, Westhampton
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