What are the most common backyard danger zones?
Believe it or not, your backyard oasis can be an accident waiting to happen. Keep your family healthier at home: Don’t overlook these surprising hazard zones in your yard. Here are four hot zones–and how to protect your family.
Trampolines
Bouncing up and down on a home trampoline may look like fun, but the popular piece of backyard equipment is “intrinsically dangerous”
The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System estimates that 98,000 trampoline-related injuries occurred in 2009, the most recent year for which statistics are available, resulting in 3,100 hospitalizations. That’s down from 3,300 hospitalizations and 112,000 injuries in 2004.
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About 75% of trampoline injuries occur when multiple people are jumping, and kids 5 and under are usually at greater risk for significant injury. Fractures and dislocations make up 48% of injuries. Common injuries in all age groups include sprains, strains and contusions.
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Green Weed-Free Lawn
Ingredients in popular pesticides have been linked to cancer, hormonal changes, and liver or kidney toxicity. Now research points to another surprising peril: mental health hazards. Numerous studies have found that farmers who work with pesticides have as much as six times the risk of depression; even farmers’ wives who use sprays in their homes and backyard gardens have nearly double the risk.
What you can do
Use an all-natural herbicide like corn gluten meal to keep weeds at bay. Apply it in early spring (when forsythia or dogwood first blooms) to prevent annual weeds from reseeding; it also fertilizes your existing grass with nitrogen, so it is healthier (and can crowd out weeds). To help your lawn grow a stronger root system and better withstand weeds, skip daily watering.
Tiny Pools of Water
Even the smallest amount of standing water can give
