June 25, 2009 – The sale and use of more than 200 retail lawn care pesticides,
including 2,4-D, will be banned on residential lawns in New Brunswick
this fall, Environment Minister Roland Hache said last Thursday.
The sale and use of more than 200 retail lawn care pesticides,
including 2,4-D, will be banned on residential lawns in New Brunswick
this fall, Environment Minister Roland Hache said last Thursday.
But the ban won’t cover golf courses, parks, sports fields, school yards and hospital grounds.
Hache said pesticides, including in some cases 2,4-D, will be allowed
in those places but only by persons trained in integrated pest
management.
“New Brunswick is the first province in Atlantic Canada and the third
in Canada to adopt a comprehensive product ban on lawn care
pesticides,” he said.
“The ban targets lawn care pesticide products on the retail market which are most susceptible to being overused and misused.”
In addition, beginning in February, integrated pest management
accreditation will be mandatory for all lawn care services involving
commercial grade pesticides, he said.
“The new integrated pest management provisions will include
requirements for businesses and lawn care professionals to
significantly reduce their reliance on blanket treatment and will
instead promote spot treatment of problem areas,” said Hache.
The government is also going to review the 1974 Pesticides Control Act
with a goal of further reducing the unnecessary use of pesticides in
the province within two years, said the environment minister.
Delaying the change until next year’s lawn and gardening season will give lawn care companies time to adjust, he said.
In 2008, the government carried out a 90-day public consultation on the
use of pesticides and more than 1,400 New Brunswickers made
presentations.
“As a government, we listened,” said Hache.
Golf courses are exempted and will be allowed to use 2,4-D because they require specialty turf maintenance, he said.
The pesticide 2,4-D is widely used to kill dandelions.
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