Pesticides can be can be a huge help in your garden and around the home if you choose to use them. They can help you manage pests in your garden, but what do you do with them when you’re not using them? When used and stored properly pesticides can be a benefit around the home but if not used properly or stored well they can become a threat to you and the environment. Let’s talk about how to properly store and use pesticides so that you can use them in a way that is beneficial.
The EPA describes a pesticide as, “Any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest.” And so this is the definition that I am using for this article because the EPA regulates pesticides in the US.
The first thing to know about pesticide usage is that the label is the law. When you purchase a pesticide it will have a label on it that has been approved by the EPA. Companies spend a lot of money creating these labels because what is in there sets the legal limits on what you’re allowed to do with a pesticide. If the label says that you can apply 2 oz per 1000 square feet, going over that is breaking the law. If the label says that the pesticide can be applied on only a certain species of plant you can’t spray a species that is not on the label.
The label will also include safety information. This information will include on the required PPE (personal protective equipment). For most pesticides that you use around your house the label will probably require long sleeves and long pants to apply. Gloves, shoes, and socks will also be a good idea. This information is included for your own safety to reduce the chance of short term or long term effects of the pesticide on you.
If you use a sprayer for an application, triple rinse the sprayer out to clean the spray tank. This way if you use the sprayer again with a different pesticide the tank will be clean.
When storing pesticides keep them in a cool, dry place. The space should be ventilated and out of direct sunlight. Keep them out of reach of children and pets. Store the pesticides in their original containers. Never use food or drink containers for storing pesticides as this can lead to bad accidents. If you have used up all the pesticide in a bottle, triple rinse that bottle out and puncture it so that it won’t be reused for a different purpose. Then throw the bottle in the trash.
The way that you clean up pesticide spills depends on if the pesticide is liquid or solid. For solids scoop the pesticide into heavy duty trash bag and triple bag it before putting it in the garbage. With liquids place and absorbent material like kitty litter on the wet spot and then scoop up the kitty litter and triple bag it and place it in the trash. The label will also have information on how to dispose of excess pesticide or a used bottle.
Whenever you’re working with pesticides always take the time to read what’s written on the label first. Remember that the label is the law. If you have questions about pesticides please contact your County Extension Office or send me an email at Jacob.Williams@uga.edu.