Eco-friendly Pest Management and Landscaping

The Marin stores listed below partner with MCSTOPPP in a program called Our Water Our World. This program makes it easier for store customers to make more informed decisions when selecting products to manage pests. Partners include:

• Ace Building Supply Center - Pt. Reyes Station
• Chase Ace Hardware - San Rafael
• Bayside Garden Center - Belvedere/Tiburon
• Fairfax Ace Lumber and Hardware - Fairfax
• Goodman Building Supply - Mill Valley
• Jackson's Hardware - San Rafael
• Marin Ace Hardware - San Rafael
• Orchard Supply Hardware - San Rafael
• Pini Ace Hardware - Novato
• All five Sloat Garden Centers (Kentfield, Mill Valley, Novato, San Rafael)
• The Home Depot - San Rafael
• Toby's Feed Barn - Pt. Reyes Station
• United Market and Garden Center - San Rafael

Participating stores also make available an assortment of fact sheets, provided by MCSTOPPP, to assist customers in managing various pests in the least toxic way possible.

We do have a list of less-toxic products according to targeted pest available but please note that not all products listed are available in all stores.

Next time you shop for a pesticide product in one of the stores mentioned above, look for one of the following tags placed beneath less toxic products found on store shelves – or ask store staff to assist you in making choices that are better for you, your families, pets, and the environment.

Learn more at the Our Water Our World website.

Find a Landscape Professional: Since 2008, MCSTOPPP has trained landscape professionals to take a sustainable approach to landscaping – one that works in harmony with the San Francisco Bay Watershed, of which Marin is a part! You can Hire a Bay Friendly Landscaper from a list of certified design and maintenance landscapers.

To find a stormwater friendly Pest Control Operator, hire an Eco-Wise Certified Professional to manage pests in and around your home.  EcoWise Certified is a project of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), which also sponsors the California Green Business Network.

Find practical and eco-friendly ways to protect your property and the environment from the effects of stormwater runoff. Learn about gutters and downspouts, cisterns or rain barrels, drip line protection, ground covers, rain gardens, swales, dry creek beds, retaining walls, creating pervious surfaces and more! For more information, click on one of the publications below.

• Slow it. Spread it. Sink it! Eco-Friendly Solutions for Managing Rainwater on Your Property - Draft version for Marin County residents
• Rainwater Harvesting and Mosquito Control
• Slow the Flow - Make Your Landscape Act More Like a Sponge

California Native plants are naturally adapted to local soils and climate. Many do not require irrigation once established. These natives thrive without amendments, fertilizers or pesticides and offer incomparable habitat value to butterflies, birds and other wildlife. Habitat gardeners use natives to provide food, cover, and nesting opportunities for wildlife.

Discover more about the possibilities of native plants via the following resources.

• Go Native! Using Native Plants for your Yard, Patio and Creek - pamphlet includes tips on when and what to plant, information on drought tolerant plants, deer resistant plants, fire resistant plants, planting a container garden, planting along creeks and other resources.
• Creek Care - includes trees and shrubs which thrive near creeks, planting willow techniques, tips for planting natives and invasive plants to avoid.
• Choosing a landscaper familiar with native plants - guide to choosing a landscaper familiar with using natives in landscape design.
• Creekside Native plant list - list of plants for creekside developed for eastern Marin.
• Native Plant Nurseries and Websites - includes local, nurseries in Northern California, and links to websites on native plants.

Give food scraps a new life through backyard composting and enjoy the many benefits compost provides. It is possible 41% of the materials found in your garbage are organic and compostable. By composting residents keep organic materials out of landfills and return them to their natural environment. Composted materials added to improve the soil, help it retain moisture and provide nourishment for plants. Compost keeps plants healthy and resistant to pests and eliminates the need for fertilizers. Using compost from food scraps and yard waste reduces or eliminates the use of pesticides and fertilizers, therefore saves money. Discover how you Grow Gardens from Garbage through composting and worm bins. Zero Waste Marin provides free food-scrap shuttles to Marin residents. Check out Zero Waste Marin website to find out about shuttles and free composting classes.

Tips for a backyard compost pile:

• To speed up the composting cycle, place your compost bin in an area that will receive full sun.
• Transfer organic wastes ( apple cores, egg shells, coffee grounds, banana peels, etc.) to your backyard compost pile as often as possible.
• Add grass clippings, raked leaves and wood chips from landscaping
• Don't add materials treated with pesticides or herbicides. Manage landscaping with integrated pest management and less toxic chemicals.
• Don't add meat scraps, fish bones, bacon fat, pet waste or diseased plants as these attract pests and spread disease. Place meat, fish and fat in green yard waste bin. Commercial composting uses higher heats to break down animal products. Place pet waste or diseased plants in brown sanitary landfill bins.

• Don't Plant a Pest - Aquatic Plants 
• Don't Plant a Pest - Garden Plants and Shrubs
• Don't Plant a Pest - Trees
• Go Native! Using Native Plants for Your Yard, Patio and Creek
• Growing Gardens from Garbage
• Choosing a Landscape Professional 
• Choosing a Pest Control Operator 
• Hire a Bay Friendly Landscaper 
• Less Toxic Pest Management (Our Water Our World) 
• Native Plants for Your Project 
• Native Plant Nurseries
• Pests Bugging You (a pocket guide)
• The Healthy Home and Garden for You, Your Family, and Pets 
• The 10 Most Wanted Bugs in Your Garden - beneficial insects
• Yard Clippings and Your Creek Bank 
• Control It! - Less toxic methods to control pests found in and around the home (hard copy only - contact MCSTOPPP)