Don’t you just love spring?  Trees and bushes showing off their leaves and colors!  It’s the time of year to peel off one or two of those winter layers and spend time outside.  But, watch those toddlers! “What are you eating?” “What’s that in your mouth?”  Questions most toddlers hear at least once a day and the answer is either “nothing…” or an open mouth with un-identifiable contents! When this happens and you suspect your child, grandchild, or the toddler you’re with has eaten a berry or part of a plant, call the Washington Poison Center at 800.222.1222. Here are some hints from the call center: Never leave small children in a garden by themselves; children are curious and if it smells nice, or looks pretty, they will try to eat it. Most plants must be eaten to cause harm, but beware!  There are a few plants that only need to

What, you’ve think you’ve never had a reason to call the Poison Center? I don’t think so!  Exposures to poisons happen all the time; they are a part of everyday living. You just didn’t know to call the Poison Center. If you are lucky, you can get away with this, but there are times when you really need to call. Can you spot the exposures to poisons my friends at the Poison Center worry about? 6 am- Alarm goes off, you roll out of bed, stagger to the shower, wash your hair and get medicated shampoo in your eyes. 7 am- Breakfast on the run. You grab a cup of coffee, a blueberry muffin and a little mold. 8 am- Arrive at day care with an open diaper bag, an empty bottle of liquid pain reliever, and a toddler with a sticky face. 9 am- Safe at work! Then the toner cartridge for the copy machine leaks. 10 am- <sigh> Coffee break

My friends at Public Health – Seattle & King County wanted me know about a gypsy moth eradication project planned by the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) for Tukwila and Renton this year.  They figured our hot line staff could help if you called, so we had a crash course in these hungry pests. I learned that the European gypsy moth is the most damaging forest insect pest ever introduced into North America.  Yes, introduced—it is not native to Washington State.  You know what a mess tent caterpillars make of our landscape?  Well, the gypsy moth is much more destructive and can defoliate hundreds of thousands of acres of forest in a single year.  Forest defoliation destroys wildlife habitat, increases the risk of wildfire, affects water quality, and can disrupt stream habitat for migrating salmon.  There is no