Texas Pesticide Applicator Study.docx

Chapter 1 --------- Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA): primary agency for the regulation of pesticides in Texas - Tests and licenses ppl who want to use pesticides and herbicides to produce a food/feed commodity - Texas Structural Pest Control Services (SPCS): entity within TDA th...

Chapter 1 --------- Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA): primary agency for the regulation of pesticides in Texas - Tests and licenses ppl who want to use pesticides and herbicides to produce a food/feed commodity - Texas Structural Pest Control Services (SPCS): entity within TDA that tests and licenses ppl who want to perform structural pest control as contractors/employees - Structural: space in or next to a house, business, plant, institution, park, or street SPCS - Licensing required of all structural service providers for restricted-use, state-limited use, or general use - Services: inspections, recommendations, application of pesticides - Types of Licenses - Business: commercial pest control - Commercial: for ppl who provide spcs for hire - Noncommercial: for ppl who give pest control services to a gvnt enity, apts, daycares, hospitals, homes, warehouses, food processing, schools, or educational institutions - Technician: for ppl who finish an apprenticeship and want to work in pest control (must be supervised by commercial/noncommercial applicator) - Apprentice: assist certified applicators (must be supervised under certified applicator) Responsible Commercial Certified Applicator: responsible for training and supervision of all pest control operations of a business of one location Responsible Certified Noncommercial Applicator: responsible for training, supervision, and records of all noncommercial apprentices and techs of the noncommercial entity Agricultural Licenses - Commerical: restricted-use/state-limited-use pesticides and regulated herbicides on the land of another person for hire/\$ - Noncommercial: employed by gvnt agencies who use/supervises the use of restricted-use/state-limited-use pesticides and herbicides and is not a private applicator - Private: uses or supervises the use of restricted-use/state-limited-use pesticides and herbicides to produce agricultural commodities\] Health Related Licenses - Noncommercial - Supervised Certification Categories 12 Categories of Commercial and Private Applicators - Agricultural Pest Control -- for plants and animals - Forest Pest Control - Ornamental & Turf Pest Control - Seed Treatment -- commercial - Aquatic Pest Control -- on standing or running water - Aquatic vegetation, insect, and undesirable fish - Right-of-way pest control -- on roads, highway, railway, utility and power lines, pipelines - Industrial, Institutions, Structural and Health-Related Pest Control -- food handling places, homes, schools, hospitals, warehouses, grain elevators - Structural and rodent, termite, lumber and wood, construction, food processing, cooling towers, other - Public Health Pest Control - Regulatory Pest Control - Demonstration and Research Pest Control - Soil Fumigation - Aerial TDA Categories - Agricultural Pest Control - Field Crop Pest - Fruit, Nut, and Vegetable - Pasture and Rangeland - Vertebrate Pest - Farm Commodity Pest - Animal Health - Citrus Pest - Livestock Protection - M-44 - Forest Pest - Lawn and Ornamental Pest Control - Landscape Maintenance - Nursery Plant Production - Seed Treatments - Vegetation Management - Aquatic Pest - Demonstration and Research - Regulatory Pest - Aerial Application - Soil Fumigation - Public Health Pest - Border Mosquito SPCS Categories - Pest - Termite - Lawn and Ornamental - Weed - Structural Fumigation - Commodity Fumigation - Wood Preservation Study Question Answers Attempt 1: b, a, c, c, c, a, b, c Answers: b, a, c, b, b, a, c, b Review Notes: review differences between business, noncommercial, private licenses and TDA vs. SPCS categories Chapter 2 --------- TDA is the lead agency for the regulation of pesticides Texas Pesticide Law: gives the TDA power to oversee registration, distribution and use of pesticides in TX Sections of TPL - Registration: every pesticide must be registered w/ the TDA before it can be used - Labeling: certain label info must be on pesticides - Use and Application: authorizes TDA to regulate pesticide use and application and coordinate activities of other state agencies and licensing requirements - Licensing of dealers - Storage and disposal - Enforcement: TDA can enter public or private property to inspect, examine, or sample pesticides - Penalties - Remedies: tells how to appeal rulings Texas Pesticide Regulations: rules set by TDA to enforce TPL Regulations Classification of pesticides: restrictions based on package size, dilution requirements, and county provisions Exemptions for Classifications - Specialty fertilizer mixtures in containers w/ a capacity of 50 lbs\> that are labeled for ornamental use and registered as required by Texas government body - Ready to use products in containers of 1 gallon\> for liquids and 4 lb\> for dry formulations Prior notification: responsibility of farm personnel to notify adjacent landowners within ¼ of a mile of the site upon which an aerial, mist-blown, or airblast application of a pesticide 24 hrs before applying pesticides Reentry requirements and intervals: responsibility of farm operator to ensure workers don't enter a field treated w/ a pesticide until reentry interval has expired or proper PPE is work - Workers should wear long sleeves, long pants, non-canvas shoes, and socks Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ): regulates hazardous materials and hazardous waste and can initiate regulatory actions against ppl who violate their regulations Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act (Texas Hazard Waste Law) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Texas Structural Pest Control Act: authorizes the SPCS to certify and license ppl engaged in structural pest control and directs the SPCS to set rules on structural pest control methods that affect public health and welfare - 2 year record of application record keeping and public notices must be kept - 48 hours before indoor treatments in a public building a notice must be posted - Penalties include loss/suspension of license, Class B or Class C misdemeanor, and civil penalty of \$50-\$5,000 ### Chapter 3 (come back to) General use pesticides: can be used by anyone Restricted use pesticides: require a license to purchase or sell - Restricted Entry Interval (REI): the minimum amount of time which must pass after the application of a pesticide before unprotected persons may enter the treated area - No unprotected person in the treated area during pesticide application - No application permitted that will expose a person to pesticide through contact or drift - With no reentry time, reentry may happen after pesticide has dried/dust settled - Warnings must be given to workers verbally, in writing, or both (warnings must be in a language understood by the workers) Worker & Consumer Protection Pesticide Registration Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA): law that allows EPA to set residue tolerances Food Quality and Protection Act (FQPA): law affecting children and infants diets OSHA: worker right-to-know law Hazard Communication Standard (HCS): boss's part of OSHA compliance Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA): federal hazardous waste law Transportation Safey Act: federal hazardous material transport law Hazardous Materials Classes SARA Title III: federal community right-to-know law - Section 302: Emergency Planning and Notification - Section 304: Emergency release reporting - Section 311: Reporting of Safety Data Sheets - Section 312: Reporting of annual chemical inventory - ESA: federal ecological protection law NOTE: double check if question is asking the agency or law Chapter 4 --------- Toxicity: capacity to injure a living system Measuring toxicity - NOEL; no observable effect level - LD50: lethal dose fifty is the pesticide's ability to cause death by ingestion or skin contact in 50% of the animals in a lab test - Units: mg/kg and ppm - LC50: lethal concentration fifty is the same as LD%) but inhalation Pesticide categorized by highest level of toxicity (1-highly toxic, 2-moderatley toxic,3-slightly toxic, and 4-relatively nontoxic) Dose: the amount of a substance to which something or someone is exposed Time: the rate of exposure Exposure: any kind of contact with a pesticide (dermal, oral, or inhalation) Dose-time relationship: amount and rate of exposure to a substance Types of toxicity - Acute: refers to how poisonous a pesticide is after 1-short term exposure (typically within 24 hours of exposure) - Chronic: delayed poisonous effect from exposure to a substance (concerns the public and handlers) Types of exposure - Acute: 1-time or short term contact with pesticides - Chronic exposure: long-term repeated contact with a pesticide Routes of Entry - Dermal - Inhalation - Oral Characteristics of exposure - Health conditions: heredity, pregnancy and disease may cause different responses - Age - Sex - Environment - Body size Effects of toxicity - Local or systemic - Local: occurs at the site of contact w/ a pesticide - Systemic: occur away from the point of contact (carried through body) - Immediate or delayed - Reversible or irreversible - Additive, antagonist or synergistic - Additive: the combined effect of two pesticides equals the sum of effects from each other (2+2=4) - Antagonist: the toxic effect of a combination of pesticides is less than the toxicity of each pesticide alone and contrasts each other to some degree (2+2=3) - Synergistic: the combined effect of two pesticides is much more than the sum of their individual effects (2+2=5) - Others: reproductive, teratogenic, carcinogenic, oncogenic, mutagenic, neurotoxicity and immunosuppression Hazard: a measure of risk Hard of a toxic chemical is based on chemical's ability to harm and how likely people may come in contact with it Target site: location of a pesticide application Formulation toxicity ranking - emulsified concentrate, wettable powder/flowable, and granular Chapter 5 --------- Deposit: pesticide found on soil, leaves, skin and other surfaces right after application Residue: pesticide deposit that remains after application - Amount of time a pesticide remains depends on the pesticide - Long-lasting residue can mean less often application but it can make food unsafe to eat or negatively affect the toil/other plants Preharvest interval (PHI): the number of days that must pass before the crop can be harvested Residue tolerance: the max amount of residue allowed on a harvested crop or in a processed food Tolerances - EPA requires a set finite residue tolerance for every pesticide used on food or feed How tolerances are set - Lab animals are tested to find the acute and chronic toxicity of a chemical - Determine toxicity to fish, birds, and mammals - Measure the length of time the pesticide remains in the environment - Study possible long-term effects like buildup of the chemical in animals or in the environment EPA sets the tolerance at least 100 times smaller than the highest dose that is safe for test animals (safety factor) - If dealing with children, that safety factor of 10 can be added Negligible Residue Tolerances: small residue that is 0.1 of a part per million that may have come from indirect contact with a chemical Preslaughter interval (PSI): same as PHI but for livestock Chapter 6 --------- Pesticides in the air Drift: the movement of spray particles or droplets away from the spray site before they reach the target or ground Vapor Drift: pesticide that vaporizes that can be carried from the area treated by air currents and is not visible - Drift reduces control of target weeds, increases the chance of injury to non-target plants, and can cause injury to people - Volatile: pesticide that vaporizes easily - To prevent, keep containers closed and sealed and avoid using in low humidity and high temperature vapor formation Particle Drift Factors that influence particle drift - Particle size: smaller the particle size, the greater the potential for drift - Nozzle design and orientation: avoid nozzles that produce fine droplets and point across the air flow - Pressure: higher the pressure, the smaller the droplet - Smaller droplets give better coverage but are more prone to drift - Height of release: nozzles positioned too high increases the likelihood of drift - Air movement and other weather conditions Pesticides and Water Sources of pollution - Nonpoint - Point Processes that affect Pollutants - Adsorption: binding of chemicals to other particles and is affected by the pesticide properties, moisture content, soil pH, and soil type - Less likely to vaporize, leach, or degrade and to be taken in by plants and microorganisms - Can be lost by erosion - Volatilization - Runoff - Leaching: leach through the soil into groundwater - Solubility: chemical leaching capacity Accumulative pesticides: build up in the bodies of animals and humans through bioaccumulation Non accumulative pesticides: pesticides that break down rapidly into relatively harmless materials Pesticide Persistence - Microbial degradation: pesticides destroyed in soils by fungi and bacteria (microbes) - Can be fast and thorough under certain soil conditions like enough soil moisture, aeration and fertility, warm temperatures, and good pH levels - Chemical degradation: involves pesticide adsorption to soil and the pH, temperature, and moisture of soil - Photodegradation/photodecomposition: breakdown of pesticides by sunlight Chapter 7 --------- Before Application - Plan Ahead: read pesticide labeling, be prepared for emergencies (first aid and emergency numbers), and prepare for accidents (have absorbent material, hydrated lime, or water and soap) - Move Pesticides Safely - If a spill is more than 5 gallons, notify regulatory authorities - Never carry pesticides inside a cab - Some pesticides are hazardous substances and require certain guidelines - Select PPE - Select application equipment and ensure it works - Give prior notification While Mixing and Filling - Wear PPE - Work in safe area - Measure pesticides correctly - Pour pesticides carefully During Application - Avoid exposure - Avoid sensitive areas - Avoid drift, runoff, and spills - Avoid equipment accidents Storage and Disposal Cleanup Chapter 8 --------- PPE specifics Note: study cartridge respirators Chapter 9 --------- Pesticide poisoning symptoms are like other diseases and conditions like heat exhausting, food poisoning, hangovers, asthma, etc. Symptoms can occur is people who have been exposed continuously to small amounts overtime = to people who have been exposed to a lot suddenly Symptoms - Mild poisoning or early symptoms of acute poisoning: headache, fatigue, weakness, dizziness, restlessness, nervousness, perspiration, nausea, diarrhea, loss of appetite, loss of weight, thirst, moodiness, soreness in joints, skin irritation, eye, nose, and throat irritation - Moderate poisoning or early symptoms of acute poisoning: nausea, diarrhea, salivation, stomach cramps, sweating, trembling, no muscle coordination, twitches, weakness, confusion, blurred vision, difficulty in breathing, cough, rapid pulse, flushed skin, weeping - Severe or acute poisoning: fever, intense thirst, increased rate of breathing, vomiting, muscle twitches, pinpoint pupils, convulsions, inability to breathe and unconsciousness what to do for poisoning - DON'T GIVE ATROPINE - Poison on skin - Wash the poison off by drenching skin with water, removing contaminated clothing, cleansing with soap and water, and dry and wrap in a blanket - Poison in the eye - Rinse eye gently with clean running water for 15 minutes or more, and cover the eye with a clean piece of cloth - Inhaled poison - Don't go in unless you wear an air-supplied respirator, carry patient to fresh air, loosen tight clothing, give artificial respiration if breathing stops, keep victim quit, wat breathing, help regulate temperature - Swallowed poisons - DON'T INDUCE VOMITTING IF POISON IS CORROSIVE OR PETROLEUM PRODUCTS - Dilute the poison with a quart of water, milk, or activated charcoal Chapter 10 ---------- Agricultural Integrated Pest Management: a strategy to anticipate and prevent pests from reaching damaging numbers by using all suitable tactics, such as natural enemies, pest-resistant plants, cultural and mechanical controls, and the wise use of pesticides Economic thresholds (ET): pest population that is large enough to cause significant damage to justify the cost of control or the most damage a pest population can do without causing economic loss - Depend primarily on the crop value, estimated by future markets Economic injury level (EIL): the pest population size that causes economic damage equal to the cost of control IPM Control Methods - Natural controls - Climate: temp, rainfall, radiation, sunlight - Physical factors: mountain ranges, seas and other water barriers, and dominant plant and animal competitors - Predators and parasites: insects, mites, spiders, nematodes, mammals, reptiles, and fish - Insect diseases: bacteria, viruses, and fungi - Cultural methods: plowing, crop rotation, removal of infected plant material, sanitation of greenhouse equipment, and proper manure processing - Biological control - Classical: preventative control that involves finding, releasing, and establishing a specific natural enemy to control a specific pest (good for invasives) - Conservation: preventative practice that involves protecting natural enemies of pests - Augmentive: may be either preventive or remedial and introduces natural enemies to raise beneficial numbers to a point of controlling pest populations - Inoculative: usually preventive and happens before pests reach ET - Inundative: remedial and attempt to reduce pest populations with sheer numbers of natural enemies - Mechanical and physical Methods - Genetic Control (pest-resistant varieties\_ - Chemical control - Preventive applications like pheromones (confuse sexually) or growth regulators (interfere with normal development) - Used when thresholds don't apply or are too low to be useful - Remedial Pesticide selectivity - Selective chemical: kills the target pest with negligible effects in nontarget organisms - Selective timing - Selective placement Basic steps of Agricultural IPM - Use preventive tactics: keep pest populations from building to economically damaging levels by depriving pests of food, shelter, or a habitat in which to grow - Monitor pest populations (scouting) - Assess the pest situation - Use remedial tactics as needed - Triggered by ET Structural Integrated Pest Management (IPM): strategy to anticipate and prevent pests from reaching damaging numbers by using all suitable tactics, such as natural enemies, pest-resistant plants, cultural and mechanical controls, and wise use of pesticides Basic 4 steps of IPM - Inspection: determine pest presence by identifying pest problem and any damage - Assessment: applicator determines what the pests are, the level of infestation, and what action is necessary to fix situation - Also includes what level of infestation is ok before IPM is used - When health hazards are concerned, the tolerable level of pests may be 0 - Action: taken once the pest has been identified and the tolerance threshold has been reached - Should start with preventative measures unless chemical control is needed or property threatening situations - Actions that can be taken - Cultural controls: practices that disrupt the environment of the pest like sanitation of outdoor equipment, vegetation management, and drainage control - Structural modifications like keeping timber off soil and caulking cracks - Sanitation - Biological Controls - Physical barriers - Pheromones use - Pest-resistant varieties - Chemical controls - Reinspection (monitoring) - Devices like light traps, flypaper, tracking powder, etc. can be used to monitor pest populations Chapter 11 ---------- Pest: anything that injures humans, animals, crops, structures, or possessions or competes for natural resources, or spreads diseases Categories of Pests - Insects and closely related animals - 3% of all animals are pests - Arthropods is the largest group with their skeletons outside, segmented bodies, and jointed appendages - Include majority of pests to crops and livestock - 3 Subphyla - Chelicerata: includes scorpions, spiders, mites, and ticks - Crustacea: includes crabs, barnacles, shrimps, lobsters and sowbugs - Uniramia: myriapods (centipedes, millipedes, symphylan, etc.) and hexapods - Insects - Harmless Insects: consists of pollinators and insects that are food for other organisms - Beneficial Insects: includes predators and parasites that feeds on pest insects, mites, and weeds - Pest insects - Commonly have 3 pairs of jointed legs and 3 body regions including head, thorax, and abdomen - Plant diseases: any harmful conditions that alters a plant's growth, appearance, or function - Pathogens: diseases are caused by biological agents - Examples: bacteria, fungi, viruses, and nematodes - Can be carried by weather, insects, animals, soil, cuttings, equipment, seed, pollen, irrigation water, and people - Plants 3 main responses to disease - Overdevelopment of tissue: galls, swellings, and leaf curls - Underdevelopment: stunting, mottling, lack of chlorophyll, and incomplete development - Death: blights, leaf spots, wilting, and cankers - Weeds: any plant that grows where it's not wanted - Types - Annuals: plants that sprout, mature, and produce seed in 1 year or less - Biennials: plants that have a 2 year life cycle - Perennials: plants that live more than 2 years - Weed Identification - Leaf arrangement - Leaf Structure - Leaf Shape - Flower Arrangement - Flower parts - Grasses - Sedges - Broadleaves - Vertebrates: have a jointed backbone Chapter 12 ---------- Pesticide: any substance/mixture intended to prevent, destroy, repel, or mitigate any pests or any substance/mixture intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccants Insecticides: chemicals that kill insects - Systemic: absorbed by and transported through plants - Broad spectrum (nonselective) - Narrow spectrum (selective) Pheromones: natural chemicals produced by animals to signal each other - 4 common pheromones - Aggregation: attract many individuals together - Sex - Trail - Alarm Miticides/ Acaricides: chemicals that control mites and ticks - Common terms include broad spectrum, contact, and residual Fungicides: control the fungi that causes molds, rots, and plant diseases - All work on contact - 2 types - Protectants: applied before disease starts - Eradicants: kills disease after the plant is infected Herbicides: chemicals that kill unwanted plants - Preplanting - Preemergence - Postemergence Rodenticides Avicides Nematicides Molluscicides Plant Growth Regulator (PGR): changes the normal growth or reproduction of a plant and are used to move up or back the normal harvest date of a plant or improve quality/yield Harvest aids - Defoliants: causes the leaves of a plant to drop off early but doesn't kill plants - Desiccant: kills the plant by drawing moisture from it Chapter 13 ---------- Labeling: all info that the manufacturer provides about a product including the label on the container and package, specimen, labels, brochures, leaflets, and any information available from the pesticide dealer Label: info printed on/provided with a pesticide container - Purposes of label - To the state and federal government, the label is a way to control distribution, storage, sale, use, and disposal of pesticides - To the buyer or user, the label is a source of facts on how to use pesticides correctly, safely, and legally - To physicians, the label is a source of info on proper treatment for poisoning cases \*It is a violation of federal law to use this product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling and illegal to recommend anyone to use a pesticide improperly\* Facts to Learn from the Label - Chemical hazard -- lists what chemicals, signal words, and PPE/equipment needed - Registered uses - Recommended rates -- states the maximum rate allowed by law - Compatibility - Phytotoxicity Parts of the Label: Product Identity - Brand - Classification - Restricted use: only a certified applicator may use or supervise the use of product - General use - Net contents and Ingredient Statement - Amount must be in the product label - Ingredient Statement: the list of what is in the product with chemical and common names - Active ingredients: the chemicals that control the target pest - Inert (inactive) ingredients: chemicals that act as carriers or surfactants for the pesticide to make it more effective (don't need to be named) - Type of Pesticide and Formulation - Registration and Establishment Numbers - EPA registration number: contains the company number (first 3) and the product number (second 3) Parts of the Lable: Product Use - Signal words and symbols - Precautionary statements - Route of entry: tells what route of entry needs special protection - Specific actions needed to prevent poisoning accidents - Protective clothing and equipment - Other precautions - First aid or statement of practical treatment - Hazards to wildlife and the environment - General environmental statements ("common sense" steps to avoid contaminating the environment) - Physical/Chemical hazards - Restricted Entry Intervals (REI): how much time must pass before people can reenter a treated area without protective clothing - Set by EPA and some states - Storage and disposal instructions - Can contact the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for information - Directions for use - Includes - Pest that the product controls - The formulation - Proper equipment to use - How much to use - Mixing directions - Compatibility - Phytotoxicity and other possible problems - Where and when to apply the material Chapter 14 ---------- Factors to consider formulations - Effectiveness against the pest - Habits of the pest - the plant/animal - surface to be protected - application equipment - danger of drift and runoff Types of formulations - Aerosols (A): pesticide formulation that can be dispensed as a fog or spray of very fine/airborne droplets - Advantages - Work against flying insects inside and populated areas - Penetrate tiny cracks, crevices and heavy vegetation - Canned is a convenient way to buy small amounts of pesticides - Disadvantages - Little residual pest control - High drift risk - Treated enclosed areas must be ventilated - Hazardous to small children - Cans may explode - Dusts (D): finely ground, dry mixture that has a low-medium concentration of pesticide with an inert carrier like talc, clay, or volcanic ash with varying size - Not recommended for large-scale outside areas - Use mainly for spot treatments and home gardens and works best in dewy surfaces in the early mornings - Used in cracks of home and external parasites on pets and livestock - Advantages - Ready to use as purchased - Can be applied with simple, lightweight equipment - Disadvantages - May drift long distances - Drift is highly visible and can cause public concern - Dislodged easily from outdoor surfaces by wind and rain, becomes inactive - Poisonous baits: pesticide mixed with food/other substances that will attract and be eaten by pests that are granules, pellets, paste or liquid, and can be in ready-to-use dispensers - Advantages - Help control pests that range over a large area since the whole area doesn't need to be covered - Can be removed after use - Only small amounts of pesticides are used - Disadvantages - May be harmful to children and animals - Pests may eat food/crop and not bait - Bodies must be disposed of - Other animals may be killed if they eat poisoned pets - May contaminate food or feed - Ready-to-use (RTU): usually solutions of highly refined oils with low concentrations of pesticide that are used as purchased that can be used in households - Advantages - Can be sprayed as purchase - Usually have no bad odors - Usually evaporates quickly - Disadvantage - Can be fairly expensive for the amount of actual pesticide bought - Materials are few and specialized - Granules (G): dry, RTU, low concentrate mixtures of pesticide and inert carriers that are uniform in size that are used on soil or plants, mixed with fertilizers, or aerial application - Advantages - RTU - Drift is less common because they are large and relatively heavy - Less risk to the operator - Can be applied with simple, multipurpose equipment - Can drop through dense foliage - Disadvantages - Don't stick to leaves - May be harmful to wildlife - Emulsifiable Concentrates (EC): solutions containing a high concentration of pesticides with wetting agents, stickers, and other additives that are mixed with water or oil - Advantages - The price per pound of active ingredient is lower - Moderate agitation is needed so they are suitable for low-pressure, low-volume weed sprayers, mist blowers, and small ground sprayers - Not abrasive and don't settle out when the sprayer is off - Little visible residue, which makes them usable in populate areas - High pesticide content saves storage, transportation, or handling of chemicals for a job - Disadvantages - Easy to over or underdose because of high pesticide content - Mixture may be phytotoxic - May be a hazard to humans through dermal contact - Hazard of improperly stored concentrate can be high - Solvents in concentrates may cause hoses, gaskets, and pump parts to deteriorate quickly or pitting in car finishes - Wettable or Soluble Powders (WP/SP) - Most widely used by commercial applicators through spray machinery - Advantages - Relatively low in costs - Easy to store, transport, and handle - Safer to use on tender foliage and usually don't soak through skin as rapidly - Powders are easily measured/mixed when preparing suspensions - Disadvantages - Powders can be hazardous if inhaled while mixing - Requires good agitation and can settle quickly - Can cause pumps to wear out quickly - Water-Disperable granules (WDG) or Dry Flowables (DF): like WP's but active ingredient is prepared as granule-sized particles that must be mixed with water to be applied - Just like WP's but are more easily measured and mixed - Cause less inhalation hazard to the applicator during pouring and mixing - Flowables (F): finely ground and then suspended in a liquid like water - Advantages - Usually don't clog nozzles - Require only moderate agitation - Microencapsulated Pesticides (M) or Solid Matrix formulation: pesticides are enclosed in a plastic coated capsule and is mixed with water to be applied as a spray that are often used in homes - Advantages - Easier and safer to mix, handle, and apply - Effective life of pesticide is extended - Capsules have less odor - Pose less hazard to animals - Disadvantages - Requires constant agitation - Bees sometimes carry capsule back to hives and poison whole colony - Fumigants: pesticides in the form of poisonous gas that kills when absorbed or inhaled - Advantages - Nonselective pesticide that can be multipurpose - Can penetrate in areas that pests hide in - Disadvantage - Area must be enclosed, even outside with a tarp - Highly toxic and can burn skin Chapter 15 ---------- Safe Mixing Practices - Wear adequate protective clothing and equipment before handling or opening a pesticide container - Keep soap, water, and washing facilities at the mixing site - Never eat, drink, smoke, or use the restroom when handling pesticide - Check and calibrate equipment before using it, ensuring cleanliness so that residues don't cause incompatibility problems - Turn on the agitation system and fill the tank halfway with water before adding pesticide - If there is no agitation, use a paddle or shake small tank - Keep head higher than the level of the fill hole and don't allow pesticide to spill splash when putting it in the tank - Always read the label for mixing and usage directions - Mixing and loading site should be away from other people and domestic animals and do anything to avoid contamination away from targe tarea - If possible, don't work alone - Use tools to process pesticides/containers - Measure acurately, label measuring devices and keep in a pesticide storage area - Wash the device after each use Protecting the Environment - Keep water pipe/hose above level of mixture - Never leave a piece of equipment unattended Spills and Safe Clean Up - Guidelines - Contain the spill - Control the spill: keep people and animals at least 30 ft away from the spill - Soak up the spill: spread an absorbent material like vermiculite, fine sand, or sawdust over spill - Clean up - Decontaminate the area - For floors: use hydrated lime or a high pH detergent, coarse broom, add absorbent material, sweep material into a plastic bag, and repeat at least 3 times - For soils: shovel top 2-3 inches of soil into a plastic bag, cover area with 2 inches of line, and cover with clean topsoil - Sometimes activated charcoal can be used - Clean contaminated vehicles and equipment: use liquid bleach and alkaline detergent to clean metal surface and porous materials must be discarded - Dispose of contaminated materials - For major spills - Contain. Control, and soak up spill - Call CHEMTREC: (800)-424-9300 or any other necessary authorities Empty and Rinse Procedures - Triple rinse pesticide container, spray tank, and measuring equipment - Close empty containers using original caps and lids and put in safe storage - Keep track of all containers and dispose of them properly Closed Pesticide Handling System - Closed Handling System: pesticides poured from its original container, rinse container, transfer the pesticide, and rinse solution to a spray tank without contacting the pesticide - Greatly reduces exposure to pesticide - Gravity system ("punch and drain"): allows the user to open a container and drain the contents into an equipment tank with a clean water line that sprays inside the container, and drains the rinse to a mixing tank - Only for full, unopened containers - Suction system: allows the user to pump pesticide out through a probe and inserted into the container, rinses the container, and washes the rinsewater Mixing Solids and Liquids (WALE) - W: add wettable powders and water dispersables granules - A: agitate and add water until tank is 90% full - L: add liquids - E: pour emulsifiable concentrates in last, top off tank, and agitate until properly mixed Water pH range should be between 4-6 (fungicides not affected by water pH) Adjuvants: chemical additive used in pesticide mixture to help the AI do a better job Chapter 16 ---------- Mixing math -- just remember dimensional analysis Chapter 17 ---------- Dry Formulation Equipment - Dusters - Bulb dusters: used to force pesticides into cracks and crevices - Hand-held dusters (mechanical dusters): has a squeeze bulb, bellows, tube, shaker, sliding tube, or a fan powered by a hand crank and used mainly for landscape and garden pests - Compressed air dusters: used to apply pesticides in confined spaces like wall voids - Power dusters: a fan/blower used to propel the dust to the target in backpacks, units mounted on/pulled by tractors, or specialized equipment and mainly for landscape pests and in buildings - Can treat about the same area per hour as some sprayers - Advantages - Usually lightweight - Relatively cheap - Simple to operate - Don't require water - Disadvantages - Dusts drift easily and are highly visible - Difficult to control - Need frequent maintenance to prevent clogging - Granule Applicators - Advantages - Lightweight, simple to use, and easy to calibrate - No need for water - Minimal drift hazard - Low exposure to applicators - Disadvantages - Have limited uses - Will not adhere to foliage - Some give poor lateral distribution on slopes, certain weather, and ground conditions Liquid Formulation Equipment - Hand-operated sprayers: usually used by private individuals for small pest problems/small jobs - Advantages - Economical - Simple to operate - Maneuverable - Easy to clean and store - Lightweight - Disadvantages - Practical for small jobs only - Output rate fluctuates - Poor agitation - Compressed Air Sprayer: most widely used sprayer with the 3 basic parts of the tank, pump assembly and discharge line - Advantages - Easy to ensure accuracy with mixing - Adjustable flow and pressure - Easy to operate and be precise - Save money and help protect the environment - Disadvantages - Loss of pressure affects application rates - Uniform applications for broadcast treatments can be affected - Useful for small jobs only - Backpack (knapsack) sprayer - Advantages - Small and lightweight - Useful for small jobs - Disadvantages - Coverage of large areas requires frequent refilling - Motorized sprayers - Power Backpack Sprayer Using Hand Application Equipment - Best spray is one that gives uniform coverage but a small amount of overlap to ensure coverage is ok Low-pressure boom sprayers: usually mounted on a utility vehicle, small truck, or trailer - Advantages - Relatively inexpensive - Lightweight - Multipurpose - Fast - Usually low volume - Disadvantages - Don't adequately penetrate and cover dense foliage - WP's settle out (flow agitators can solve the problem) High-pressure sprayers (hydraulic sprayers): - Advantages - Useful for many different jobs - Long-lasting and dependable - Agitators keep pesticide well-mixed - Can reach hard to reach places - Disadvantages - Heavy - Costly - Use large amounts of water - Require frequent misfiling - High risk of drift and off-target contamination Air-Blast Sprayers Low-volume and ultra-low-volume sprayers (ULVs and mist blowers): low volume by using pesticide concentrations - Advantages - Economical - Easy to use - Save time and labor by limiting the amount of liquid carried - Don't cause problems with dripping or running liquid - Disadvantages - Good weather is needed - Drift is dangerous - Coverage on vegetation may be poor with less control - Few pesticides are labeled for ULV application Aerosol Generators (Foggers): usually used to fill areas like greenhouse, warehouse, or park with a pesticidal fog that controls pest on contact - Advantages - RTU - Easily stored and convenient - Large equipment can generate enough aerosol to cover a large area - Work well inside to penetrate tiny cracks and crevices - Work well to penetrate heavy vegetation - Disadvantages - Expensive and requires frequent maintenance - Require special formulations - Over-application can leave oil-slick surfaces and creates an explosion hazard - Drift Pumps - Roller Pump - Centrifugal Pump - Piston Pump - Diaphragm Pump Sprayer Nozzles: equipment that regulates the flow of liquid, atomize the stream into droplets, and spread droplets in a set pattern - Nozzle maintenance - Use screens/filters to protect the nozzle from debris - Clean clogged tips with a soft bristled brush only (never a metal object) - Never blow on a dirty, clogged nozzle with your mouth - To check flow rate: use a graduated container, collect liquid for a measured time from each tip, and if flow rate of the used tip is 5%\< than a new one, replace it - Nozzle materials Other Equipment Components - Tanks and agitators - Pressure regulators and gauges - Control valves - Filters Equipment Care - Sprayers - Granular and dust equipment Chapter 18 ---------- Calibration: purpose to ensure that your equipment operates properly and uniformly applies the correct amount of chemical over a given area Pesticide delivery can change with: - Equipment wear - Gauge error - Nozzle error - Wheel slippage - Speedometer error - Friction loss Tools needed for calibration - PPE - Stopwatch - Calculator - Measuring tape - Pressure gauge - Calibrated liquid container - Flow meter - Scale - Flagging tape Calibration for Liquid application - Known area method: spray area with water, check how many gallons dispensed after the acre, and check throughout the season - Boom sprayer method - Prepare sprayer by clean, ensuring uniformity, inspect for cracks, leaks, and gauge errors, and set appropriate settings - Calibrate sprayer - Hand sprayer method - Measure area - Measure liquid - Rate change methods: change the speed of sprayer, change the discs or jets in the nozzle to adjust the amount each nozzle delivers, and change the pump pressure Granular Application: fill box to measured amount, drive over the measured area course, determine how much applied (weigh the granules), adjust to desired amount Check for mistakes often! Chapter 19 ---------- Avoid these Conditions - High temperature with low humidity - High winds - Air turbulence and inversions: when the air near the ground is cooler than the air above it - Rain Chapter 20 ---------- Preventing Pesticide Surplus - Make sure the pesticide is registered by the EPA and the state - Ensure pesticides are appropriate for the problem - Check records to estimate need and only buy what you need - Don't store pesticides longer than its effective shelf life - Don't stockpile (increases risk of spills, container damage, and breakdown) - Check job area before mixing pesticides What to do with Surplus - Ask the manufacturer if they'll take them back - See if you can apply to another site with a similar pest problem - Never dump into a waterway - Farmers may dump on their own property, if the site complies will label - Contact TCEQ - Place extra pesticides in a locked storage area with label Empty Pesticide Containers - Triple rinse container in liquid formulation - Destroy the container in a way to prevent reuse - Deposit in a licensed sanitary land fill - Check for special disposal rules for certain pesticides with mercury, lead, cadmium, and arsenic Disposal Methods - EPA-approved sanitary landfills - Incineration - illegal in Texas but allowed in other EPA-approved landfills - Burial - No longer recommended pesticide labels and only allowed by state or local laws - Risk of leaching into groundwater Chapter 21 ---------- The Storage Building - Choose the best site - If possible, keep pesticides in their own building or first floor wing or corner of the building - Should be unlikely to flood - Downwind and downhill from sensitive areas like houses and ponds - No change that runoff or drainage from the site could contaminate ground or surface water - Pick sites with soil, geologic, and hydrologic characteristics that help protect water from contamination - Equip the building properly - Store pesticides in a cool, dry, airy, fireproof room or building - Ventilation system should have a switch outside, so you can turn fans on before entering - Should be fenced or locked - Plan to control pesticides that might escape in tank rinsing, spills, seepage from storage, and heavy runoff from firefighting or floods - Proper drainage system - Treated collected runoff water as a surplus pesticide - Have a supply of detergent or sop - Have first aid in a poisoning emergency - Keep absorbent materials on hand and hydrated lime/high pH detergent - Never store consumables or PPE in the storage area Storing Pesticides - Position containers properly - Keep off the flowers in an upright position - Avoid temperature extremes - Separate herbicides - Separate highly toxic pesticides - Separate waste materials Safety Measures - Basic safety - Emergency safety - Monitoring systems: test that no pesticides are getting into the environment Chapter 22 ---------- Recordkeeping - Forms should include - Name and address of the customer - Name of the pesticides or devices used - Amount of pesticides or devices used - Percent in solution of pesticides used - Purpose for which the pesticides or devices were used - Date the pesticides or devices were used - Service address where the pesticides or devices were used Possible issues of incorrect application paperwork - Liability: obligation according to law to compensate for damages - Drift - Target Site - Personal Injury - Wrong site - Bees - Attractive nuisance - Noise - Cross Contamination How to respond to a claim - Be friendly and helpful but never admit liability - Be careful who you give information to - Examine your records - Make sure all records are up-to-date - Go to scene and take notes - Photograph any adverse conditions - Save the container used for the job - Notify insurance company or request permission to have an expert examine the property - Notify company officials - Obtain names and addresses of all witnesses Public Relations - Always be courteous - Listen to questions - Be prepared - Have an answer - Take information - Be prompt - Keep good records