Okay, maybe the title might be a little bit of overkill. That being said, your lawn can be a bit dangerous at times. Here are eight ways your lawn might be out to kill you.
- Slip and Slide – Not only is mowing wet grass bad for your lawn, it can be bad for the mower. Or even the person pushing the mower – wet grass reduce traction, causing the possibility that you could sli and twist and ankle, or even worse – more than one death in the lawn has come from a person sipping and falling, or from a riding mower slipping and rolling over on a hill. Yet another reason to let the lawn dry out before you cut it.
- Tick-ed Off – Ticks can hide easily in a lush lawn and garden, and will move around by hitching rides on your pets. Worst of all, they can spread diseases to humans, and at the least, can cause a person to be sick for a long period of time. At worst, they can spread a life-threatening disease such as Lyme’s disease. Luckily, they tend only to hide amongst taller, wild grasses in the shade, so an uncovered, relatively short lawn should stay free from them.
- Ants in Your Pants – Most ants are relatively harmless… but then there are fire ants. These swarming, biting fiends re terrible in small amounts, but fatal in large numbers. Either from the sheer number of bites or from allergic reactions, fire ants kill a handful of unsuspecting humans every year.
- Oh, Crap – Aside from being incredibly disgusting, animal feces is also dangerous. It is a hotbed for bacteria and diseases that can jump to humans, such as toxoplasmosis from cat feces. Dog poop, on the other hand can be a vehicle for roundworm. Neither will cause immediate death, but can lead to problems down the line. Another issue that comes from animal feces is that it’s slippery, and can pose the same slipping danger as wet grass if you don’t pick it up before mowing.
- High Velocity – This has been pointed out in the past in some of our safety articles, but it bears repeating. With blades spinning at hundreds of revolutions per minute, they can grab and shoot out projectiles at a deadly velocity. A rock thrown by a lawn mower blade can penetrate skin, break bones or even kill a person. Make sure to clear the lawn of potential projectiles before mowing.
- Chemical Warfare – Lawn chemicals can be very harmful to the health of humans and animals alike. Lawn owners tend to over-apply pesticides, herbicides, and the like – and high doses of these chemicals can lead to breathing issues, allergies, and sometimes even cancer. Go the natural route to eliminate this danger – pull weeds, don’t spray them.
- Feel the Burn – A dry lawn is the perfect spot for a nasty fire to start from a wayward spark, a carelessly-tossed cigarette, or any other source of fire. Dry plant matter burns hot and fast, and moves rapidly.
- Stinging and Biting – Snakes, wasps, bees, and other attacking animals love to live in bushes and high grass. Even a simple bee sting or snake bite will cause some pain. If a person is allergic, bitten by a highly venomous snake, or attacked by swarms of stinging insects, a fatality is certainly possible. Clear out these problems safely before working in the garden, and if you;re allergic, always have an epi pen on hand.
The first step towards avoiding deadly conditions in the lawn is knowing about them to begin with. Now that you know some of the ways your lawn can kill you, you know how to prevent them.
