The Board of Pesticides Control wants to keep you informed on issues that may affect you. We welcome your input and feedback. Please send your comments to pesticides@maine.gov.
The next Board meeting is October 25, 2024 it will be hybrid in Rm 101 Deering Building, 90 Blossom Lane, Augusta and on Microsoft Teams. For more information, visit the Board Meetings Page.
Upcoming Credit Meetings
The following programs have been approved for pesticide recertification credits. More recertification opportunities may be found on the BPC Credit Calendar.
September 24, 2024 – Understanding and Applying Integrated Pest Management Methods
Pesticide registrants, please be advised that your registration renewal period will start soon. Within the next few weeks, you will receive an email with detailed information about the renewal process. Please ensure that your contact information is up-to-date in your portal account.
Please note that we do not issue physical or virtual certificates of registration. To verify your registration status, log into your portal account and navigate to the “Manage Product Registration” tab.
Here’s how to verify your registration:
Log in to your portal: Enter your username and password to access your account.
Go to “Product Management”: Locate and click on the “Manage Product Registration” tab.
View your registration status: Your current registration status will be displayed on this page.
Take a screenshot: For verification purposes, it is recommended to take a screenshot of the page showing your registration status. This screenshot can serve as proof of your registration.
If you have any questions or require further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact our registrar at pesticides.registrar@maine.gov
BPC Reminder – Obsolete Pesticides
Last chance to submit old and unusable pesticides for FREE!
Homeowners and small family-owned farms are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity by bringing their unwanted pesticides, including herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, disinfectants, and similar products used in agricultural production or around the home, to collection sites in Presque Isle, Bangor, Augusta, and Portland. Commercial businesses cannot participate, however businesses with pesticide waste are encouraged to contact a hazardous waste contractor.
Key Information
The next obsolete pesticide collection days will be held during October 2024, with one-day events in Presque Isle, Bangor, Augusta, and Portland.
Pre-registration is required by September 25 to participate; drop-ins are not permitted.
Each registration must be from the person currently possessing the pesticides, and materials collected on behalf of others will not be accepted.
More details, including drop-off locations and the obsolete pesticides inventory form, are on the BPC website.
Disposing of Pesticides Safely
The label is the law. Always follow the label instructions for the proper use, storage, and disposal of any pesticides you use. For more information about safe pesticide disposal, visit the EPA website.
Anyone with questions or concerns can contact the Board of Pesticides Control at pesticides@maine.gov or 207-287-2731.
Enforcement Reminder – Adjuvants
In 2022, the 130th legislature enacted LD 2019 (PL 2022 c. 673), An Act To Require the Registration of Adjuvants in the State and To Regulate the Distribution of Pesticides with Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances. One of the provisions of this bill changed the definition of “Spray Adjuvants” to be included in the definition of a pesticide under 7 M.R.S. §604. It further defined “Spray Adjuvants” as:
Spray adjuvant. “Spray adjuvant” means any wetting agent, spreading agent, sticker, deposit builder, adhesive, emulsifying agent, deflocculating agent, water modifier or similar agent that is intended to be used with any other pesticide as an aid to the application or the effect of it and that is in a package or container separate from that of the other pesticide.
Under this law, spray adjuvants must be registered with the Maine Board of Pesticides Control before they can be used. The BPC maintains a list of all registered pesticides on its website in the red box at the top of the page. Applicators are encouraged to periodically check this list with any pesticides they use to ensure that products are properly registered.
Since this law was passed, the BPC has sent out information related to registering adjuvants to several companies. More information for registrant companies can be found on the BPC’s website. Anyone concerned about products that are not registered can reach out to the manufacturers or companies directly using their contact information on the label.
UMCE Updates – Maine Horticulture Apprentice Training
DACF Updates – Eastern Equine Encephalitis Identified in a Maine Horse
Maine people and visitors urged to take precautions during an active mosquito season
AUGUSTA – The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) and the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (Maine DACF) announced today that a horse from Somerset County tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEE). This is the third domestic animal this year to test positive for the virus, which is spread through the bite of infected mosquitoes.
Maine is experiencing an active mosquito-borne disease season. Already this year, the Maine CDC has reported:
EEE in two emus and one wild bird
Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV) in 4 mosquito pools (groups of up to 50 mosquitoes regularly tested as part of routine surveillance)
West Nile virus (WNV) in 15 wild birds.
At this time, no human cases of EEE, WNV, or JCV have been contracted in Maine this year.
“Unfortunately, we have confirmed a case of EEE in a horse here in Maine, the third animal this season,” said Dr. Stefanie Bolas, State Veterinarian, DACF. “This confirmation serves as a reminder of the importance of vaccinating horses against this deadly virus. While horses cannot transmit EEE to humans or other animals, the high mortality rate makes prevention critical. We urge horse owners to take immediate precautions, including ensuring that their horses are up to date on vaccines, using approved insect repellents, and minimizing exposure during peak mosquito activity hours, from dusk to dawn.”
EEE, WNV, and JCV spread through the bite of an infected mosquito and can infect humans and some animals. The virus cannot spread from human to human, or between horse and human. However, ratites (mostly flightless birds including emus and ostriches) may spread the virus to other animals and people. Many infected people have no symptoms. However, mosquito-borne illnesses can be serious and sometimes fatal. About one in three people who get EEE die and most who recover have long-term physical or cognitive health effects.
“These positive cases of EEE and West Nile virus should prompt Maine people and visitors to take action to protect themselves whenever they go outside,” said Maine CDC Director Dr. Puthiery Va. “The best way to keep yourself, your loved ones, and domestic animals safe from these serious viruses is to avoid mosquito bites as much as possible.”
You can take these simple steps to protect yourself from EEE, JCV, and WNV:
Wear long sleeves and long pants.
Use an EPA-approved repellent on skin and clothes. Reapply as indicated.
Take extra precautions at dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active.
Use screens on windows and doors.
Drain artificial sources of standing water around the home, such as bird baths, pet water dishes, wheelbarrows, etc. This is ideal habitat for mosquitoes to lay eggs.
Take steps to prevent mosquito bites when traveling.
These illnesses usually start with flu-like symptoms in humans. Severe symptoms can include brain swelling (encephalitis) and spinal cord inflammation (meningitis). If you experience flu-like symptoms, severe headache, behavior changes, or serious drowsiness, call a health care provider, especially if a COVID-19 test is negative.
To help prevent mosquito-borne diseases in pets, talk to your veterinarian. Horse owners can protect horses with vaccines against EEE and WNV. Symptoms of mosquito-borne illness in horses include muscle tremors, incoordination, weakness, decreased awareness, and seizures. If you notice any of these symptoms in your horse, call your veterinarian.
EEE is a virus transmitted through an infected mosquito’s bite.
The virus cannot be transmitted from animals to humans.
The virus can affect specialty livestock, such as llamas, alpacas, emus, ostriches, and other farm-raised birds, such as pheasants, quail and ducks.
Horses are most sensitive to mosquito-borne diseases and should be vaccinated for EEE and West Nile virus (WNV). Symptoms of these diseases in horses include fever, weakness, and lack of coordination. If you notice any of these symptoms in your horse, talk to your veterinarian right away.
Owners should contact their veterinarian to discuss available vaccines and take precautions to help reduce exposure to mosquitoes for both themselves and their animals.
Any suspicion or confirmation of reportable diseases should be reported promptly to the DACF Division of Animal Health.
For more information about the identification of EEE in mosquitoes in Maine and steps on how to protect yourself, your loved ones, and your companion animals, see the recent Maine CDC website.
Any additional animals or mosquitoes that test positive for EEE will be announced weekly through the Maine CDC arboviral surveillance report.
EPA Update – EPA Releases Draft Strategy to Better Protect Endangered Species from Insecticides
WASHINGTON – the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its draft Insecticide Strategy for public comment, another milestone in the agency’s work to adopt early, practical protections for federally endangered and threatened (listed) species. The draft strategy identifies protections that EPA will consider when it registers a new insecticide or reevaluates an existing one. In developing this draft strategy, EPA identified protections to address potential impacts for more than 850 species listed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS).
“Ensuring the safe use of insecticides is a critical part of EPA’s mission to protect endangered species and the environment,” said Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pesticide Programs for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Jake Li. “This draft strategy is another major step in the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to protect endangered species, support farmers and other insecticide users, and provide critical environmental protections for communities across the country.”
Today’s draft is part of EPA’s ongoing efforts to develop a more efficient, effective, and protective multichemical, multispecies approach to meeting its obligations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). EPA focused the draft strategy on conventional insecticides used in agriculture in the lower 48 states, where approximately 34 million pounds of insecticides are applied each year. The draft identifies protections earlier in the pesticide review process, thus creating a far more efficient approach to evaluate and protect the FWS-listed species that live near these agricultural areas.
This draft strategy also incorporates lessons learned from EPA’s draft herbicide strategy that the agency released last year to minimize the impacts of agricultural herbicides on listed species. For example, based on feedback on the draft herbicide strategy, EPA designed the mitigations in the draft insecticide strategy to maximize the number of options for farmers and other pesticide users. These mitigation options also consider farmers who are already implementing measures to reduce pesticide runoff and those who are located in areas less prone to pesticide runoff, such as flat lands and regions with less rain to carry pesticides off fields. These measures also include the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service 1 practices and state or private stewardship measures that are effective at reducing pesticide runoff.
Similar to the herbicide strategy, the draft insecticide strategy uses the most updated information and processes to determine whether an insecticide will impact a listed species and identify protections to address any impacts. To determine impacts, the draft strategy considers where a species lives, what it needs to reproduce (e.g., food or pollinators), where the pesticide will end up in the environment, and what kind of impacts the pesticide might have if it reaches the species. These refinements greatly reduce the need for pesticide restrictions in situations that do not benefit species.
Once final, the insecticide strategy will expedite future ESA consultations with FWS. In the draft strategy, EPA identified mitigations to address the potential impacts of insecticides on listed species even before EPA completes the ESA consultation process—which in many cases, can take five years or more. Further, once EPA finalizes the Insecticide Strategy, the agency and FWS expect to formalize their understanding of how this strategy can inform and streamline future ESA consultations for insecticides. Through a separate initiative, EPA is addressing potential impacts of insecticides to listed species and critical habitats protected by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
EPA’s decades-long approach of trying to meet these obligations chemical-by-chemical and species-by-species is slow and costly, resulting in litigation against the agency and uncertainty for farmers and other pesticide users about the continued availability of many pesticides. At the beginning of 2021, EPA faced nearly 20 lawsuits covering thousands of pesticide products due to its longstanding failure to meet ESA obligations for pesticides. Now, all of those lawsuits have been resolved as a result of the Biden-Harris Administration’s new approaches for protecting endangered species, which include this draft strategy.
The draft Insecticide Strategy Framework and accompanying support documents are available in docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2024-0299 for public comment for 60 days.
