04/14/08 Pesticides in the Home

Pesticides in the Home. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. It's the time of the year when homeowners are ready for some serious yard work. That often means applying pesticides. There are some helpful hints to ensure pesticide use this spring is proper and safe. The Oregon Department of Agriculture has some standard advice to users of pesticide products at home. The message is simple. MITCHELL: The one take home message is read the label. The label contains very important information and precautions on how to prevent adverse health effects or environmental harm or damage. Dale Mitchell of ODA's Pesticides Division says the whole process of proper pesticide use starts even before you visit the garden center. People should do some homework before purchasing a product. MITCHELL: First off, they need to identify what type of pest problem do they have. A lot of this information can be received at your local garden center, information from extension service, Department of Agriculture many resources out there to identify the problem and what tools or what products are going to be most effective for that problem. Again, reading the label will give you advice on what to apply, where to apply, how to apply, and how to store or dispose of the pesticide product when you are done. ODA believes pesticides are beneficial tools for homeowners, but need to be used properly. Mitchell says a lot of homeowners mistakenly believe that the bigger the pest problem, the more pesticide you need to use. Not true: MITCHELL: The labels are very specific. They are designed to give you information on exactly how much to use. Certainly, using more is not a better situation. So please follow the labels. Mitchell says the pesticide label has advice on what to do with the pesticide product once you have completed your application: MITCHELL: Very important information on storage of pesticide products for example, how to keep them out of reach of children as well as disposal of unused pesticide products so that it does not create environmental harm or damage. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.