I don’t know if all states have a Landscape Pesticide Registry, but fortunately we do here in Wisconsin — and it’s free. Current registry participants receive a renewal notice by email and must renew their listing by February 1st each year to be included in the year’s notification process. New and returning registrants can register each year between November 1st and February 1st. Once on the registry, professional lawn and landscape companies are required to notify registrants at least 12 hours in advance when an address they’ve listed is to be treated with pesticides. Notification can start as early as mid-March, depending on the weather.
Once a landscape is sprayed, small, red and white warning signs appear on the application area. The registry does not cover agricultural applications or homeowners or landlords who do their own applications. Nor can it notify registrants about applications around their workplace or their children’s school or day care center.
So if you live in Wisconsin and haven’t registered your landscape, do so now. If you live in another state, check your Department of Agriculture website to see if there might be such a registry available for you as well. Not all spraying will affect native plants or wildlife, of course, but it sure helps to know when the lawn and landscape companies are planning to spray to avoid getting your body and lungs full of chemicals.
More details about the Wisconsin Landscape Pesticide Registry.
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