Think of it as a Do-Not-Call registry in reverse.
Each year, Wisconsin residents have the opportunity to add their names to the Wisconsin Pesticide Registry, which will ensure that they are notified before their neighbors’ properties receive pesticide applications. As part of the registration, participants may list up to five properties adjoining or adjacent to their own that may receive commercial pesticide applications during the year.
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By law, lawn care and landscape companies must compare their client lists to the registry. If any properties listed appear on companies’ client lists, those business owners must contact the registry participants at least 12 hours prior to making a pesticide application.
Though labor intensive on its face, few Wisconsin contractors report having too many problems with the state registry. “Frankly, it doesn’t impact us a lot,” says Jeremy Crayford, owner, The Greenskeepers, River Falls, Wis. “Obviously, it all depends on who registers and which properties they list, but to date, we’ve never had a case where we’ve had to apply pesticides near one of the registrants. We still make sure to check the list, but so far we haven’t had any problems.”
Other contractors who have had to notify list participants note that the number calls they must make per application is small. “Over about 2300 lawns, I’d say we usually only have to make about a dozen phone calls after looking over the registry,” comments Steve Good, owner, Spring-Green/Surtevant, Sturtevant, Wis. “So far it’s not been too much of a problem for us.”
Still, Good notes that he anticipates the list getting longer over time and causing some potential problems between clients and neighbors. “It does get to be a bit of a nuisance at times, especially if we can’t get a hold of the registrant,” he explains. “We may be able to finish all the properties in the surrounding area, but if one lawn abuts the property of a person on the registry and we can’t get in touch with them, we may have to make a special trip back there to treat it later. I think it also can cause a rift between neighbors because, all of a sudden, one person on the block is potentially holding up the process for everyone else.”
Currently, the registry carries names and contact information for about 15,000 Wisconsin. Crayford says he could see the list becoming much longer and more bothersome to lawn care operators as more residents become aware of it.
Additionally, Brian Swingle, executive director of the Wisconsin Landscape Federation, notes that larger companies could get some kickback from frustrated registrants as a result of the tight registration deadline compared to when most companies make their first spring lawn care applications. “After it’s compiled, the registry takes effect on March 1 of each year and expires March 1 of following year,” he explains. “That doesn’t give applicators a whole lot of time to update their records and make sure they have everyone on board and accounted for before the first application of the season is set to go out. As a result, there will be some people who fall through cracks in the spring and will voice their frustrations.”
Residents have until Feb. 1 to apply for inclusion in the registry for 2005 and residents who were included in previous registries must reapply annually. A news release on the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture’s Web site notes that phone calls for pesticide application notification are exempt from Federal Do-No-Call List regulations. Also, Pesticide applicators are required to post a red and white warning sign listing the company name and phone number on lawns that have been treated. Effective complaints must include the address where the pesticide was applied and the name of the pesticide business appearing on the warning sign.