I’ve seen quite a few posts recently in community groups on this topic and thought I’d bring the debate here.

More and more people are becoming more mindful about the type of chemicals they, their families and the environment are exposed to. There are laws in most places banning things like smoking in public areas to protect the public from the harmful effects. But what about pesticide and insecticide exposure?

It seems this year (at least in my area) there has been an influx of home gardeners that have gone organic - most cited reasons being their health & the health of the pollinators.

This has put groups of otherwise friendly neighbours at odds with each other when the spraying starts - each usually ending the discussions with telling the other to move.

Since pesticides & insecticides in many instances cannot be contained to just one property (wind, rainwater, it’s a spray) do you think it’s ok for homeowners to spray without the consent of their neighbours? Or does it cross a boundary? I’ve heard a bunch of accounts on how organic and edible gardens have been ruined this year due to sprays, how children have had to be kept inside and animals made unsafe due to these sprays.

Do you spray yourself and if so do you care what your neighbours’ thoughts and feelings are about it?

Do you have a neighbour who sprays and do you care or not?

What are your thoughts?