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Weed and Feed (How dangerous is this to pets?)

164,006 Views | 18 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by NorCali Tom
aggierogue
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AG
Vigaro, Scotts, etc---basically all of the weed and feeds you get at Home Depot or Lowes.

I have a lab, and I don't want it harming her. I've heard stories that this stuff can do serious damage to your pets, but when I called the TruGreen guy out for a free consultation, he really didn't know much about the effects it could have on pets.

Anyone have an real knowledge on the issue?

CanyonAg77
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Where's B-1 83, otherwise known as "ask the agronomist" ?

A general answer is that herbicides, used in the correct amounts, are not harmful. Don't keep the full bags where they can be chewed, don't leave a full hopper of chemical where it can be eaten, don't apply in rates higher than recommended on the bag.

If you want to be extra safe, keep the pup in the house or in a side yard until you've had a chance to water the chemical in.

Generally speaking, weed killers work on the plants in ways that are not harmful to animals. For instance, 2,4-D is a plant hormone that basically causes a plant to grow itself to death. Your dog is not a plant (though some labs have the same IQ as plants) so your dog won't be harmed by normal amounts of 2,4-D.
B-1 83
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Just apply according to the label and things will be fine. That being said ..... be smart and keep him off the areas until after you have watered it in and the grass has dried.
RM1993
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Don't worry about the weed killer as much as the fertilizer itself....

About 12 yrs ago I was putting some weed and feed out using a hand-held spreader, which resulted in a normal amount of the stuff landing on a picnic table bench...I found our young lab licking the stuff off before I could sweep it off.

To make a long story short some days/weeks later she would appear fine, but completely lose the use of her back legs after walking or running a few feet, it started as just a hitch then progressed until she could only take a couple of steps, her hind end would begin to tremble and she would have to squat down.

Luckily, this gradually wore off a few weeks after symptoms were first noticed and she went on to live a long, healthy life. But this was the result of maybe around 1 tsp. of the stuff being ingested.

Keep pets (particularly young labs that like to sample anything and everything for taste) inside while applying. Once you are sure you've cleared the sidewalks (need to do this anyway or it will stain) and anything else it may have gotten on it should be safe to let the dog out, regardless of whether you've completely watered it in.
aggierogue
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Thanks guys. I'm going to hit my front yard this weekend. The weeds are taking over.

AG1996
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Used it last week and the cat died. Of course it could have to do with her being 16 frikin years old, but you never know.
BoozerRed78
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Anyone got a good recommendation for a water based/spray on weed and feed?
akaggie05
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Not sure about pets, but the stuff will kill your trees.
easttexasaggie04
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I put out some weed/feed on my yard a few weeks ago. My yard must have been 70% weeds because it killed pretty much everything.
TheGroupGuy
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2-4-d is toxic to dogs
rhomulus bonham
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2-4-d with green dye is also toxic to carpets. If you accidentally walk in it while wet do not, i repeat DO NOT walk in the house with your shoes on.
aggie4christ22
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Ha - just finished this in toxicology class.

The LD50 (lethal dose in 50% of dogs) is 100 mg/kg. I'm not sure what the concentration of the stuff you're using is, but if you can find mg of active ingredient and then 1 kg = 2.2 lb and can figure it out that way. So an average 70 pound lab would have to ingest 3,181 mg to kill her.

The symptoms of toxicity are:
Reluctance to rise/move, muscle rigidity, ataxia (incoordination), depression, rear limb weakness, periodic clonic spasms (whole body spasms), and can lead to coma and death due to ventricular fibrillation (when they yell "clear" in tv shows and shock them).

2,4-D is a component of Agent Orange, if that tells you anything.

The other herbicides I have that are toxic are Propanil, substituted urea compounds, bipyridal compounds (Paraquat, Diquat, Morfamquat), and sodium chlorate.

The safe herbicides I have are Roundup - safest to use around animals because it blocks synthesis of amino acids in plants using a pathway that animals do not have. The other one that is safe used in the proper concentration is Tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate (thiocarbamate compounds).

Sorry that is really long. I'm kinda glad this class is coming in useful. Hope it helps
aggierogue
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http://www.beyondpesticides.org/pesticidefreelawns/resources/weed%20and%20feed%20factsheet.pdf

Would love to hear thoughts on this. Is this stuff, being used by households all over my community, really safe for our water sources?

[This message has been edited by aggierogue (edited 4/2/2010 8:24a).]
CanyonAg77
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quote:
2,4-D is a component of Agent Orange, if that tells you anything.

No, it doesn't. The problem with Agent Orange was not the weed killers themselves, but the contaminant Dioxin that made it into Agent Orange through the manufacturing process.
quote:
Would love to hear thoughts on this.
Hyperbola and scare tactics. Just the name of the organization that put it out should clue you in.
CanyonAg77
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Canadian Health Agency
quote:
Is 2,4-D Agent Orange?

No, 2,4-D is not Agent Orange. Agent Orange was a product made for the United States military and was never registered in Canada. Although its exact chemical composition is not known, 2,4-D was a component of Agent Orange, along with TCDD-contaminated 2,4,5-T. TCDD is a dioxin that has been shown to cause cancer, and 2,4,5-T is no longer on the market. With the refined manufacturing processes that have been required by federal regulatory bodies over the years, dioxin contamination of 2,4-D is not considered to be a concern to health or the environment.


Does 2,4-D cause cancer in dogs if they walk on treated lawns?

Based on re-examination of the data, various scientists and workgroups have concluded that there is no relationship between 2,4-D use and canine malignant lymphoma (CML).

Although a 1991 article by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) indicated a link between dogs with CML and dog-owners that applied 2,4-D to their lawn, a 1991-1992 independent panel concluded that the NCI study design was severely flawed and, in fact, did not show an association between CML and 2,4-D use. In 1999, scientists at Michigan State University re-examined the NCI data and also concluded that there was no relationship between 2,4-D use and CML.

Another study
quote:
It is sometimes reported in the news media that lawn and turf herbicides
containing 2,4-D are a cause of cancer in dogs. This is not supported by the simple
fact that all regulatory agencies in the world that have examined the scientific data
have arrived at the same conclusion: 2,4-D is not an animal carcinogen.

Cornell University
quote:
In a highly debated study, a small increase in the incidence of a type of blood cancer called canine lymphoma was observed in pet dogs of owners whose lawns were frequently treated with 2,4-D. This increase was seen only in the dogs that were allowed access to areas that had been treated with 2,4-D. However, this study relied on homeowners to remember the pesticides that they had used years ago, and was criticized for the lack of information on the actual exposure of the dogs to 2,4-D and other lawn chemicals.


[This message has been edited by CanyonAg77 (edited 4/2/2010 11:43a).]
annie88
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I realize this thread is almost 9 years old but I just put some of this on my yard watered in for a good 6 to 8 minutes with sprinklers then use the hose on a big part of it too. I'm gonna let it dry at least three hours before I let my dogs back out on it.

I used on the settings and in the manor it said on the instructions.

Will that be enough?

Also, CS expecting more rain on Wednesday, maybe a bit tomorrow, will that cause more issues?
Funky Winkerbean
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What active ingredient was on the fertilizer?
It is so easy to be wrong—and to persist in being wrong—when the costs of being wrong are paid by others.
Thomas Sowell
annie88
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Troutslime said:

What active ingredient was on the fertilizer?
It was the scotts bonus S. The bag just mentions mostly 29% nitrogen in different quantities, sulfur and solvable potash. That's in the guaranteed analysis section but it only adds up to about 46%.

I think everything is OK I didn't actually let them out till almost midnight briefly and it seems to be dry today so far. Rain expected later.
Funky Winkerbean
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You did everything right...no problems
It is so easy to be wrong—and to persist in being wrong—when the costs of being wrong are paid by others.
Thomas Sowell
NorCali Tom
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Hi ,liked your answer. Just wondering if my mom's cat could get sick by eatting a hand full of grass 10 days post application? Grass has been watered and mowed two times. He ate some yesterday and now is somewhat sick, loss of appetite with vomit after eatting.
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