--- title: Is Lawn Fertilizer Bad for You? The Chemicals to Avoid description: Here’s what experts say people should do to keep their grass, and themselves, healthy—including which chemicals to avoid, like glyphosate. canonical: https://time.com/6184986/are-lawn-fertilizer-chemicals-bad-for-you/ author: Tik Root article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-06-09T13:21:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-14T09:36:16.816Z article:section: Health og:title: The Unsettled—and Unsettling—Science of Lawn Chemicals og:description: Here’s what experts say people should do to keep their grass, and themselves, healthy og:url: https://time.com/6184986/are-lawn-fertilizer-chemicals-bad-for-you/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb432d35beea9d47/698a329bb3fce30cab0c954e/green-lawn.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2136 og:image:height: 1202 og:image:alt: green-lawn-fertilizer og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Unsettled—and Unsettling—Science of Lawn Chemicals twitter:description: Here’s what experts say people should do to keep their grass, and themselves, healthy twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb432d35beea9d47/698a329bb3fce30cab0c954e/green-lawn.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Unsettled—and Unsettling—Science of Lawn Chemicals > Sponsored content. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=fad53721-15af-4b8a-8045-3afcaac3280c&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Cleaning House: Life in a Fossil Fuel-Free Community [Watch (HLS stream): Cleaning House: Life in a Fossil Fuel-Free Community](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/9PYkjXKy.m3u8) (8:11)  _Published 2022-05-10. After working at Exxon Mobil for over a decade, Dar-Lon Chang quit his job and moved his family to Geos, a "geosolar" fossil fuel-free community in Arvada Colorado._ by [Tik Root](https://time.com/author/tik-root/) ## Tik Root Jun 9, 2022 1:21 PM UTC by [Tik Root](https://time.com/author/tik-root/) ## Tik Root Jun 9, 2022 1:21 PM UTC For people with yards, keeping grass lush can often feel like a full-time job: planting, treating, mowing, bug-killing, watering—and repeating. Because of the many products and services this entails, the lawn and garden care industry [raked in $16.8 billion globally](https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/lawn-and-garden-consumables-market-A11866) in 2020, according to analytics firm Allied Market Research. But the roots of lawn care are more sinister than a bright lawn might suggest. Fertilizer grew in popularity after World War II, when the factories that made vast quantities of nitrogen for bombs diverted that production capacity toward agriculture. Around the same time, the insecticide DDT—which writer and conservationist Rachel Carson famously called out for its detrimental environmental and health impacts in her book _Silent Spring_—also made its way into everyday use. Since then, pesticides and other lawn treatments have evolved, with newer, safer products. Yet much of what people apply in backyards today still contains potentially harmful chemicals. These toxicants have been linked to cancer and other maladies in people and pets. Nutrient runoff from yards can also have adverse impacts on the environment. Here’s what experts say people should do to keep their grass, and themselves, healthy—including some chemicals to consider using with caution, or avoiding altogether. ## What are the different types of lawn treatments? People can apply a number of different products to their lawns, such as fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and insecticides. Each has a specific function. Fertilizers are meant to add nutrients to the soil, while herbicides, pesticides, and insecticides contain substances that target weeds, plant and animal pests, and bugs, respectively. To figure out what—if anything—you want to do to your lawn, people should start by asking themselves, “What is the problem and how can I treat that problem?” says Jennifer Sass, senior scientist at the environmental organization National Resources Defense Council (NRDC). That way they can address the specific issue at hand. A soil test, which measures pH, nutrient levels, and more, can be a good place to start, suggests Chrissie Segars, a turfgrass specialist at Texas A&M University. She says that most states have universities or extension programs that offer affordable testing for the public. At Texas A&M, a [soil test starts at just $12,](https://soiltesting.tamu.edu/) and while Segars says getting one every year is ideal, she acknowledges that every few years is probably more realistic for most people. ## Can lawn fertilizer and other treatments make you or your pets sick? A number of chemicals in lawn-care products have come under scrutiny in recent years over their potential health impacts—particularly the herbicides glyphosate and 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (more commonly known as 2,4-D). Exposure can occur via ingestion, inhalation, or skin contact. And according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), [exposure](https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/ToxFAQs/ToxFAQsDetails.aspx?faqid=1489&toxid=293) to large amounts of one or both of the [chemicals](https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/ToxFAQs/ToxFAQsDetails.aspx?faqid=1501&toxid=288#bookmark04) can result in adverse effects ranging from nausea and vomiting to respiratory issues. Glyphosate is the main active ingredient in Roundup, which is one of the [most widely used](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/glyphosate) weed killers in the world. While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [found](https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/glyphosate) “no evidence that glyphosate causes cancer in humans” when it reviewed the available data in a 2020 [report](https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/interim-registration-review-decision-and-responses-public), the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) [classifies](https://www.iarc.who.int/featured-news/media-centre-iarc-news-glyphosate/) the compound as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” One [2019 meta-analysis of studies on the topic found](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1383574218300887) that exposure to glyphosate was associated with an increased risk of ​​Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, in humans. **Read More**: [_The Modern World Can’t Exist Without These Four Ingredients. They All Require Fossil Fuels_](https://time.com/6175734/reliance-on-fossil-fuels/) Communities in several states have started [restricting or banning](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-10/why-u-s-cities-are-banning-glyphosate-pesticides) the use of glyphosate. So have some countries, including several in Europe such as [Austria](https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/austria-austrian-parliament-adopts-partial-ban-glyphosate), [France](https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/france-french-scientific-report-finds-banning-glyphosate-use-harms-no-till-sustainable), and [Portugal](https://www.dw.com/en/whats-driving-europes-stance-on-glyphosate/a-53924882). The emerging concern has been accompanied by mounting lawsuits—including a class-action consumer suit against Bayer, the manufacturer of Roundup, alleging that Roundup did not have adequate cancer warnings. Bayer recently [settled](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/product-liability-and-toxics-law/bayer-agrees-to-pay-consumers-up-to-45-million-in-roundup-deal) the lawsuit for at least $23 million. Last year, Bayer announced that it will [stop selling](https://cen.acs.org/environment/pesticides/Bayer-end-glyphosate-sales-US/99/web/2021/07) glyphosate-based products for residential use in the U.S. in 2023. Some experts are also concerned about 2,4-D, another common chemical found in many weed killers. The EPA says that 2,4-D “generally has low toxicity for humans,” while WHO [lists it as a](https://www.iarc.who.int/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/pr236%5FE.pdf) “possible” carcinogen, though the evidence in humans remains “inadequate.” Some [research](https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/ToxFAQs/ToxFAQsDetails.aspx?faqid=1501&toxid=288#bookmark04) has linked occupational exposure to 2,4-D—in farmers and professionals who apply herbicides—to a higher risk of lymphatic cancers, particularly Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. A [number of studies](https://www.vet.purdue.edu/pcop/files/docs/herbicide-research-article.pdf) have [explored the link between](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1870148/) 2,4-D exposure in pets and increased cancer risks; one published in [1991 found that the risk](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1870148/) of malignant lymphoma in dogs doubled with four or more yearly applications of 2,4-D. While research is ongoing, Sass recommends erring on the side of caution and avoiding it. Sass adds that there is also [concern over organophosphate insecticides](https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/clusters/fallon/organophosfaq.htm#:~:text=Organophosphate%20insecticides%20%28such%20as%20diazinon,side%20effects%20in%20exposed%20humans.), such as chlorpyrifos and malathion, which can damage nerves and cause headaches, sweating, nausea, and muscle tremors. “Kind of like having a panic attack,” she says. “For a pet, they can be lethal.” “Many of the health impacts are under the intended conditions of use, and according to the label,” says Sass. The IARC, however, says that the evidence of cancer in humans from real-world exposure to glyphosate is “limited” and the [CDC says](https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/ToxFAQs/ToxFAQsDetails.aspx?faqid=1501&toxid=288#bookmark04) “the levels of 2,4-D found in the environment are lower than levels known to cause health problems.” Segars argues that fully reading and following lawn-care product instructions should help keep users safe. “Doing your best to follow the label will reduce your risk of being sick,” she says. She urges people to pay attention to the recommended quantity of each application, as well as some of the more overlooked parts of the label, such as the environmental conditions under which a product should be used and how long to wait until using your lawn again. Windspeed, rain, and other factors can all be part of the calculus. As for when to return, she says most products are safe once they’ve dried, and that waiting 24-48 hours after an application is a good rule of thumb if a time isn’t given. “Wear the long sleeves, wear the long pants, wear the gloves \[during application\]”, Segars advises. “Always read the bags.” ## Are lawn fertilizers and other treatments bad for the environment? Fertilizer is a major environmental concern for scientists because rain can wash it from farmers’ fields or neighborhood lawns into waterways, which can eventually carry the pollution into oceans. Although the agricultural sector is the main culprit on this front due the sheer volume of fertilizer used, the mechanics are more or less the same for treatments applied at home. Two primary components of fertilizer are nitrogen and phosphate, which are designed to promote plant growth. But when they get into waterways they can cause algae—including toxic algae—to proliferate and oxygen levels in the water to plummet, making it difficult for much aquatic life to survive. Pollution from crop fertilizers, for example, has contributed to a massive [“dead zone”](https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/08/03/541222717/the-gulf-of-mexicos-dead-zone-is-the-biggest-ever-seen) in the Gulf of Mexico. “You want to minimize the amount of nitrogen,” says Jim Galloway, a biogeochemist at the University of Virginia, though he notes that agricultural rather than residential use is the primary area of concern. “Lawns are a really, really tiny part of the question.” Nitrogen is also a primary component of ammonia, which is a key ingredient in many fertilizers and is produced using fossil fuels that contribute to climate change. (It is sometimes explosive as well.) Additionally, unabsorbed nitrogen can lead to the release of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas roughly 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Other lawn-care treatments can have an impact on wildlife as well. Insecticides containing neonicotinoids (often referred to just as “neonics”) are [popular](https://citybugs.tamu.edu/factsheets/ipm/what-is-a-neonicotinoid/) because they’re water soluble—meaning they soak into the soil and get into the moisture absorbed by plants, thereby increasing plants’ resistance to pests. In recent years, however, research has shown neonics to be harmful to bees, which provide [valuable](https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc%5Fsumm.jsp?cntn%5Fid=302140&org=NSF&from=news) pollination services. The chemical has been shown to impact bees’ [ability to forage](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-39701-5) and contributes to [colony collapse](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/neonicotinoid-pesticides-slowly-killing-bees). Even chemical-free lawn care can be bad for the environment, thanks to the emissions from gas-powered lawn mowers. ## What can I do to make my lawn care healthier? One guaranteed way to reduce the risk and impact of lawn care is to have less lawn in the first place. That may mean replacing swaths of grass with native plants, or designing landscapes that limit the need for irrigation (also known as “xeriscaping”). Even leaving your grass a bit longer can help, Sass says, “If you do less work, the longer lawn will choke out the weeds.” But if you are set on buying lawn-care products to maintain your yard, Ryan Anderson, the community integrated pest management manager with the non-profit Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Institute of North America, recommends avoiding products with glyphosate, 2,4-D, organophosphates, and neonics. He also says that people buying fertilizer sometimes don’t realize that there may be herbicides already mixed in, such as with so-called “weed and feed” blends—so double check before leaving the store. There are also some lower risk products, [such as Fiesta,](https://lawnandland.org/sports-and-recreational-fields/5-pest-weed-control#Post%20emergent) that he points people to if they insist on applying weed or pest control—though he warns that they can be expensive. Sass also suggests that unless someone is a particularly experienced gardener, they can avoid unnecessary complications or accidents by staying away from products that they have to mix themselves from a concentrate. “I hope they are buying those products that are ready-mixed,” she says. She also adds that, instead of putting mosquito treatments on lawns, people could consider using bug repellent. (“Try not to apply directly on the skin,” she says, and aim for clothing instead.) On the fertilizer front, Anderson recommends natural compost as an alternative, which can be sprinkled onto areas in need of nutrients. Aeration is another way to promote a healthy lawn, he says. Local hardware stores rent aeration machines, which put small cores in the lawn; you can also do it manually using specialized tools or even just a pitchfork to poke holes in the soil. The process helps revive compacted soil, he says, and doing it once a year should be sufficient. “All those steps are best in the fall,” says Anderson, though he adds that the process may take time to show results, especially if a lawn has become accustomed to chemical treatments. “​​If you used it a lot in the past, there’s a risk of your grass feeling stressed out,” by a sudden lack of treatments, he says. “It’s not going to happen overnight”—but a healthier approach to lawn care is worth it. ## Transcript So I can't ever keep their names straight  I don't know which goats are which. The second-biggest one with the goatee;  that's Aaron Rodgers. Aaron Rodgers. I   did not name that one. How come your friends  wanted to name him aaron rodgers so badly? A football player I think he's  known as the GOAT? Ah yes, the GOAT. They're our most famous residents. There are five  of them, and we use them as our mascot because   people who come to visit and tour, they always are  amazed to see that we have goats doing something   that's uh usually you need lawn mowers for. So  they're our natural lawn mowers, they're there to   help us keep the weeds from getting out of control  in the areas that haven't been developed yet. When I started with Exxon-Mobil back in 2003, I  knew that fossil fuels had to be on their way out. And I expected that over the course of my  career, I would be part of transitioning   away from fossil fuels. They talked about natural  gas as a bridge fuel; a bridge fuel to renewable   energy future. And I believed that. But over  the course of my career I saw that bridge fuel   become a bridge to nowhere. It ended up that  natural gas was something the fossil fuel industry   wanted to keep doing. I just couldn't be a part  of it, I felt I was doing more harm than good. And I didn't want my daughter to grow  up without hope, that there was a way   to live differently and to transition away  from fossil fuels. And so we went online,   we looked for a sustainable community, and this  one seemed to be the most promising. 'Hey Melissa   thanks for coming to movie night  last week.' 'Yeah it was fun!' The GEOS neighborhood is a decarbonized, fully  electric neighborhood that has no fossil fuel. We have no natural gas lines, so you don't have  to exhaust any carbon dioxide; any pollution from   fossil fuels from these houses because they're  built so that they don't need as much energy. The reason why natural gas furnaces are so needed  is because American houses are built to be leaky. And because they're so leaky, you have to  have these natural gas furnaces in order to   meet the energy needs of heating the homes  during the coldest days of the winter. But   if you have very tightly insulated homes, then  you don't need natural gas furnaces. Instead you   can use very efficient heat pumps which are like  refrigerators except they can also heat the home. The main electricity usages is  actually for the heat pumps. While the remainder of the electricity  usage is for charging our electric vehicles. I'm a long time New York-trained investment  banker. Moved to Colorado years ago. I   raised money for oil and gas which is a very  prominent industry here. About 10 years ago,   I began to realize that that there was an  issue with climate and with global warming   and the development of solar interested me. So I began to get interested in seeing what it   would take to raise capital to begin to fund that  part of the industry at a more aggressive level. I find that people here are much more thoughtful  about their impact on the environment,   whereas in Houston, it seemed like almost  everybody's livelihoods was tied in some way   to oil prices. I tried to put solar panels on my  rooftop and my homeowner's association blocked me. I felt isolated in the sense that my concern for  the climate crisis was either dismissed or seen as   a threat. I feel that the people here feel like  they're at the forefront of a major change that   they believe in. About 65-70 percent of the homes  in the US are still heated by fossil fuel. The new   ones - amazingly - are continuing to be heated by  fossil fuel. But by taking it home and heating it   and cooking with gas, what you do is you create  about 2,000 pounds of carbon a year into the   atmosphere, which we cannot stand. It's now more  economic to use natural power that's renewable   with this system that these homes  use. It's really not that difficult. Thanks you all for helping me with writing the  public comments for the metro meeting last Tuesday   and how we wanted to talk with Chad about why he  didn't respond to us with regards to the natural   gas line that he wants to bring over from the  Westwood-Mesa neighborhood over there down here. Across the street from our development, they're  planning to install natural gas lines by using a   community that already has natural gas lines and  extending their pipelines into the next section   of our development. And the new developer who took  over initially put out a press release saying that   he would build upon our core principles  of sustainability and net-zero living. But it turned out that those are just  words, and this outraged us. Yeah so   Chad responded to the public comment that we made  that he didn't want to have a response because he   felt that this should just be water on the bridge,  that there's no reason for us to argue, and that   he just doesn't want to respond because he  doesn't want to argue about it anymore. We   came together in our Metro District board meetings  in order to make our outrage heard. We started   to be active with the City Council and the city  Sustainability Committee and now we're active in   getting media involved and getting people to  know about what's going on. And getting as much   attention as possible to make the builder aware  that there are consequences if they put in natural   gas lines. If everyone could live in a net zero  home, and it would be cost-effective to do so,   we would obviously all do that. That is uh that  would be awesome and I think we'll get there   someday. It's just not there yet, and so the  obstacles are upfront cost. Because of market   demands, we could not do net-zero geothermal on  a production scale. These homes will still be   50 times more sustainable than something that was  built in the 60's and 70's and 80's right and so   our view is that building great homes is better  than building no homes that would be perfect. I feel very much rewarded in seeing my  daughter grow up here and seeing her   internalize these values. And she's  seeing how important it is to have a voice   about these matters. That was a  mistake that I made when I was   in the university, I thought that if I just  focused on technical research, that other   people could take care of policy. But really,  scientists and engineers, they need to be part of   making their voices heard and influencing  policy to be able to be a part of the solution. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6184986/are-lawn-fertilizer-chemicals-bad-for-you/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6184986/are-lawn-fertilizer-chemicals-bad-for-you/"},"headline":"The Unsettled—and Unsettling—Science of Lawn Chemicals","datePublished":"2022-06-09T13:21:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-14T09:36:16.816Z","description":"Here’s what experts say people should do to keep their grass, and themselves, healthy","url":"https://time.com/6184986/are-lawn-fertilizer-chemicals-bad-for-you/","keywords":["Public Health","freelance","Evergreen","healthscienceclimate"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb432d35beea9d47/698a329bb3fce30cab0c954e/green-lawn.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tik Root","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tik-root/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb432d35beea9d47/698a329bb3fce30cab0c954e/green-lawn.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"green-lawn-fertilizer","caption":"green-lawn-fertilizer","creditText":"Anand Purohit—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/public-health/","name":"Public Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6184986/are-lawn-fertilizer-chemicals-bad-for-you/","name":"The Unsettled—and Unsettling—Science of Lawn Chemicals"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Cleaning House: Life in a Fossil Fuel-Free Community","description":"After working at Exxon Mobil for over a decade, Dar-Lon Chang quit his job and moved his family to Geos, a \"geosolar\" fossil fuel-free community in Arvada Colorado.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/9PYkjXKy/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2022-05-10T21:02:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/9PYkjXKy.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6184986/are-lawn-fertilizer-chemicals-bad-for-you/","duration":"PT8M11S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6184986/are-lawn-fertilizer-chemicals-bad-for-you/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```