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CHEMICAL FREE We are no longer using chemical herbicides or pesticides for lawn maintenance or landscape projects. We are using organic fertilizers that will give you the same results and are environmentally friendly. The organic fertilizers we will be using are Milorganite and Gro-Well. Some of the organic fertilizers have a pre-emergent weed control in them. CURRENT CHEMICAL FERTILIZER LICENSING REQUIREMENTS (or lack of) Businesses are regulated by the state of Wisconsin to have a license in order to apply chemical herbicides. Each year every business must pay to have their location licensed and every applicator must pay to be licensed. Every five years an applicator must be retested so that they may continue to be licensed to apply chemical herbicides. Homeowners on the other hand are not regulated by the state. Homeowners can purchase chemical fertilizers from any local lawn and garden store and apply as many bags to their yard as they want. Their thinking is the more bags the better to keep the lawn nice and green. Without the proper training chemicals are being applied too often and in too large of quantities. These chemicals are washed away with rain and affect all of us (see diagram below). Homeowner purchased chemical herbicides far exceed business use purchases. In the summer of 2007 local news reports stated; Lake Winnebago had a tremendous amount of algae on it, strongly believed to have been a result of too much fertilizer entering the lake. This algae was toxic and poisonous. A dog died because of it. We need to start taking this serious. Hopefully other industry professionals and homeowners will follow our example, begin using organic fertilizers and let the state know we do not agree with the current licensing requirements or lack of.
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