Hamilton adopts pesticide-free zones

Although bug sprays and weed killers may seem like the go-to products for pest control, Hamilton has recently declared several township properties and facilities to be pesticide-free zones.

In a resolution passed at last weeks council meeting, the township adopted a new strategy called "integrated pest management" to combat common pests like insects and weeds at township properties.

Areas that include all township parks and playgrounds and buildings such as the municipal building and library will all fall under the designation of pesticide-free zones under the terms of the resolution, officials said.

Already adopted by 31 towns throughout the state, including East Windsor, West Windsor and Hightstown, the integrated pest management policy calls on officials and residents to use the least-toxic methods possible to control any pests, whether they be mosquitoes or dandelions, according to Jane Nogaki, the pesticide program coordinator for the NJ Environmental Federation.

Recommended to the township by the environmental commission, the strategy stresses using common-sense, nonhazardous strategies such as sealing cracks in houses, pruning shrubs routinely or planting native plants that do not attract insects.

"It is easy to manage a lawn (or) landscape without harmful chemical pesticides used to kill weeds and insects," Nogaki said in a press release.

For particularly stubborn pests, integrated pest management does allow for the use of least-toxic chemicals, like vinegar for weeds or the bacillus thuringiensis bacteria for bugs, but asks that township residents be informed should a more heavy-duty chemical be employed in public places.

Pesticides, the township noted in the resolution, can prove hazardous to children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems, and studies have demonstrated that prolonged exposure to pesticides can result in the development of conditions like asthma, birth defects and even certain forms of cancer.and pollute water sources.

Though the county is responsible for spraying for mosquitoes, township business administrator John Ricci said county officials would have to contact Hamilton for permission to spray within township limits.

The new policy was embracednumber of residents at the council meeting, including Fred Everett, who made headlines in 2003 when he, his wife and his then-10-month-old daughter were sprayed with pesticide by a Mercer County mosquito truck while out in Veterans Park.