Luther College announces lawn-spraying day

Luther College will spray the lawns with herbicides to provide well-maintained, visually attractive grounds for Luther students, employees and visitors, and to control undesirable weeds on athletic fields. Weather permitting, the date for spraying is the evening of Friday, Oct. 12, with Saturday, Oct. 13, and Sunday, Oct. 14, set as back up days as needed.

In response to community requests, Ivan Hackman, assistant director of Luther’s Facilities Services, has established a no-spray “buffer zone” that will be observed around the pool lawn so that the play area for children is protected. Other no-spray “buffer zones” include the dike areas, edible landscape areas and the Sustainability House. Spraying will take place after normal work hours and on weekends.

Application of herbicides is done according to the product guidelines and in compliance with the Material Safety Data Sheet, which is maintained for all products used. The Material Safety Data Sheet contains information on the potential health effects of exposure to chemicals, or other potentially dangerous substances, and on safe working procedures users should adhere to when handling chemical products.

Wind speeds will be checked before the herbicide is sprayed. In no case will product be applied when the wind speed exceeds 10 miles per hour.

A representative of Luther’s Facilities Services will be present during the herbicide application process.