Plants, gardens, culinary herbs and organic food are high on my list of joys and priorities. Imagine my horror as I looked out my kitchen window on Wednesday afternoon to see a man in uniform spraying pesticide directly on the leaves of all of the plants in my organic herb and vegetable garden. I bolted for the door yelling “STOP”, but it was too late. The damage had been done.
Having started my career as a pesticide research chemist over 30 years ago, I take pesticides very seriously and attempt to avoid them whenever possible. Anyone reading this might wonder why the Terminix guy was even on our property. My husband meant well when he called this company to come out and rid our home of tiny ants. He knew I was busy and thought he was doing me a favor. In the past I have worked with a very earth-friendly pest expert to control such insects and would have called him first if I had known.
George intercepted the Terminix man upon arrival and clearly pointed out and verbally emphasized that the herb garden was off limits for spraying. Nevertheless, the guy began spraying directly on a beautiful vine sporting over 21 green tomatoes and then moved to saturate the 3 foot basil plants and a lush mound of parsley that were prime for pesto-making before I came out screaming. It’s tough to remember ever being this mad. Couldn’t he see that this garden was filled with lush plants and potted herbs meant to be eaten? My entire body trembled with rage.
The man quickly took responsibility and accepted his error without argument. A manager was called, however no remedy was offered at that time. The guy left and I remained steamed. As the shock of the incident began to wear off, it was replaced by deep sadness. All of my hopes and dreams for that beautiful harvest were gone. I vented my feelings on Facebook and was met with a crowd of friendly support. I also sent a plea for assistance to Terminix via their website and within the next hour received a call from the local area manager to set up a time for them to come out and develop a plan to make things right.
When two managers from Terminix visited to develop a resolution plan on Monday afternoon, I was ready with a list of all of the plants, my request for what needed to be done and sources for obtaining the replacement materials. I was glad that my emotions had settled after using Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) and journaling about my feelings. Forgiveness doesn’t mean letting the offending party off the hook, but rather allowing them to assist in restoring peace. I was verbally assured that they would purchase new plants from Mulberry Creek in Huron, OH (my favorite organic plant source) as well as replacement soil and cocoa shell mulch. They also offered to replace the terra cotta pots which might have absorbed some of the chemicals and provide me with a settlement to cover the value of the lost produce.
While I wait to receive confirmation of the availability of the plants, I’ll continue to enjoy the visual beauty of my little garden and grieve the fact that starting over means the plants probably won’t mature to produce much during the remaining 2013 season. I will remain hopeful that a miracle might unfold nevertheless. If you read my previous blog, you’ll understand that I will be sending energy to the garden as it renews and offering forgiveness for the situation that happened. It’s over, I can’t change it and it’s time to trust that there is a happy ending on the horizon. Assuming Terminix handles the resolution to my satisfaction; I will praise them on social media and follow up with a celebratory blog.
What is the lesson to this story for you? If I might offer one it would be this – If a pest control company comes to your house, follow and watch the service guy throughout the entire visit so you can prevent sensitive areas from being treated. Better yet, work with a company that values natural remedies to minimize toxicity. This will never happen on my watch again.
