Microsoft word - ipm working group - hedlund comments and text.doc

IPM WORKING GROUP – WEBSITE INFORMATION

PESTICIDE APPLICATION REGULATIONS
Countries will differ in the specific requirements relating to pesticide
application.
The United States has a basic Federal laws which are the minimum
requirement for States to enforce. States are allowed to make stricter
requirements as they see appropriate. Pesticides must be registered at
the Federal level first with the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).
The EPA’s pesticide webpage at
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/index.htm give perspective at their
responsibilities relating to pesticides. After federal registrations,
pesticide must be registered at the state level before it can be applied
in the respective state. Some web resources to check state pesticide
registrations are http://www.kellysolutions.com/;
http://state.ceris.purdue.edu/
http://npic.orst.edu/state_agencies.html#PA has links to with contact
information for the state and US territory agencies enforcing pesticide
regulations.
In general states are concerned with anyone who applies pesticide.
Some examples are home owners, municipal mosquito control
workers, agricultural product production, and pest control companies.
Applying pesticide (except on property one owns) usually requires
being documented by the state as doing so. There are different terms
for pesticide applicators such as registered, licensed, or certified.
Generally, registration does not require any testing, licensing requires
basic pesticide safety testing, and certification is a more in depth
testing of pesticide safety, pest biology/control, and regulations.
Certification will be in a specific category such as structural pest
control, or fumigation. Each state varies in their differences. Contact
your state agency to find out more.
EVALUATING PEST CONTROL COMPANIES
Selecting pest control companies is not unlike selecting other vendors
in some ways. Reliable, knowledable, and efficiency are valued in any
company. So what should one ask specifically to a pest control
company?
• Who is the service person? Will it always be the same person or limited to a select individuals. It is better to have the same individual for longer periods of time. Stability is important, as that person knows your internal requirements or policies and the building as well. • What is the service person’s background and the companies background? More experience is better, especially for sensitive areas such as museums. There should be manager’s with experience overseeing museum pest control. Some companies even have Entomologists on staff to be address odd pest situations. • What level of licensing or certification do you have? • Does the company appear professional? • Do you have any sensitive account service policy such as museums, hospitals, or schools. There may not be a specific policy but general approaches to pest control. More experienced companies will have more developed policies to discuss. • What is your approach to IPM (integrated pest management)? There may be some specific situations that have occurred it the past at your facility they could comment on. Their answer should demonstrate their knowledge. • Can they use bar codes or some other method to record the service information for later analyzation? Keep in mind how much information you really need. Sophistiaction varies from manual spead sheets to web based data bases for selective report generation.

Source: http://www.museumpests.net/WG/projects/treatments/Hedlund_pestcontrol.pdf