What Are the Dangers of Roundup in Gardens?

Plant Hazards

• Roundup’s main active ingredient is a substance called glyphosate, which is also present in some other herbicide brands by different manufacturers. It’s the other ingredients in the solution that make it a unique product, but Monsanto states that it can’t reveal them because they are trade secrets. Glyphosate indiscriminately kills whatever plants it touches, not just weeds. Since you apply it as a spray, that means a windy day could wipe out a lot more than just your overgrown weeds. Spray drift can travel to your neighbor’s plants as well, leaving unintentional plant death in its wake. Roundup labels themselves acknowledge the drift problem.

Mammal Hazards

• In the “Journal of Pesticide Reform” Winter 2004 issue, writer Caroline Cox summarized a variety of scientific studies conducted on glyphosate-based herbicides -- including Roundup. Research from various scientific institutions during the 1990s and 2000s has shown DNA damage, links to cancers such as non-Hodgkins lymphoma and multiple myeloma, hormone disruption and an increase in spontaneous miscarriages among humans who were exposed. Laboratory research on cows, mice and rats showed detrimental effects including kidney and liver damage. As of October 2011, it’s unclear how this affects family pets, but you can reasonably infer that if other mammals can be negatively affected, your pets can be as well. Professor Andres Carrasco’s 2010 research found such strong links between exposure and serious birth defects that the government of Argentina considered banning all glyphosate herbicides throughout the country. In March 2010, a Santa Fe court officially banned the spraying of several agricultural chemicals near populated areas within its jurisdiction -- including Roundup.

Other Environmental Hazards

• According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Roundup and other commonly used herbicides routinely find their way into bodies of water -- even if their application originated in your garden. In some cases, Roundup is sprayed directly into water to eliminate unwanted aquatic plant life. Severe alteration of the habitats of frogs, fish, spiders, birds and other creatures lowers their population in any given area. While it’s not only Roundup that contributes to this habitat destruction, writer Cheryl Long of Mother Earth News and others refer to Roundup as the world’s most widely used pesticide.

Considerations

• Most people don’t enjoy weeding, which is partially why herbicides like Roundup are so popular. If you’re concerned about using these products in your garden, consider other methods of weed control. Planting your gardens in raised beds can make them easier to tend, particularly if you’re disabled or pressed for time. Companion planting, sometimes called intercropping, is the process of mixing a bunch of complementary plants together in a garden. For example, planting flowering herbs mixed in with your vegetable garden can attract bees. You may know from using mulch that the more soil you cover, the more weeds you prevent. That holds true for plants, as well -- the more surface area is planted, the less room weeds have to grow.