Pesticide Labels Demystified: What You Need to Know

In this episode of The Evergreen Thumb, we delve into the essential topic of decoding pesticide labels. Understanding these labels is crucial for gardeners to ensure they are using products safely, effectively, and in an environmentally responsible manner.

The episode starts by exploring why it is vital for gardeners to read and comprehend pesticide labels. Expert guest Rachel Bomberger breaks down the key components of a label, including active ingredients, signal words, and usage instructions. We discuss the meanings behind terms like ‘Caution,’ ‘Warning,’ and ‘Danger,’ and what they signify about a product’s toxicity.

Listeners will learn how to identify appropriate application rates and methods to avoid common misconceptions about pesticide use. 

Rachel provides guidance on proper storage and disposal of pesticides, and introduces resources and tools available to help gardeners decode labels more efficiently. She also touches on the role of regulatory agencies in ensuring the accuracy and safety of pesticide labels.

Finally, Rachel shares advice on what to do if gardeners have questions or concerns about the information on a pesticide label, and how to stay updated on any changes to these labels. Join us as we unlock the secrets of pesticide labels to promote safer and smarter gardening practices.

Rachel is a Regulatory Specialist for Bonide Products, LLC. Before starting with Bonide, Rachel led the Plant Pest Diagnostic Clinic and worked as a Pesticide Safety Educator and Pesticide Publication Review Specialist at Washington State University. She has a Master of Science degree in Plant Pathology. Rachel has a passion for all things Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Pesticide Labels. Unfortunately, Rachel has a black-thumb and only has a garden full of beautifully diseased plants.

• Pesticides: Learning About Labels
• Pesticides: Safe Handling
• National Pesticide Information Center
• Pesticide Information Center OnLine (PICOL) Database
• Pesticides | Washington State Department of Agriculture
• Pesticide Labels | US EPA
• Pests, Predators, and Prevention: Integrated Pest Management for Vegetable Gardens — Episode 017

[00:00:00] Erin Hoover: Welcome to The Evergreen Thumb, your go-to podcast for up-to-date research-based horticulture and environmental stewardship knowledge to help you grow and manage your garden, produced by Washington State University Extension Master Gardener volunteers and brought to you by the Master Gardener Foundation of Washington State.

[00:00:16] I’m your host, Erin Hoover, a WSU Extension Master Gardener since 2015 and a certified permaculture designer and modern homesteader. WSU Master Gardener volunteers are university-trained community educators who have been cultivating plants, people, and communities since 1973. Are you ready to grow? Let’s dig into today’s episode.

[00:00:44] Welcome to The Evergreen Thumb Episode 28. My guest today is Rachel Bomberger and Rachel is here to talk to us about pesticides; more specifically, how to read a pesticide label. Rachel is a Regulatory Specialist for Bonide Products, LLC. Before starting with Bonide, Rachel led the Plant Pest Diagnostic Clinic and worked as a pesticide safety educator and pesticide publication review specialist at Washington State University.

[00:01:12] Rachel has a Master of Science degree in plant pathology. She has a passion for all things integrated pest management and pesticide labels.

Unfortunately, Rachel has a black thumb and only has a garden full of beautifully diseased plants. Rachel, thanks for joining me today. Welcome to the show.

[00:01:29] Rachel Bomberger: Thank you so much.

I’m so glad to be here.

Pesticides 101

[00:01:31] Erin Hoover: You’re here to talk about pesticides and pesticide labels. So we should probably start off with the basics. What is a pesticide?

[00:01:39] Rachel Bomberger: So this has to be one of my favorite questions I get asked.

In another part of my life, I’m a yoga instructor and so people ask me like, “Hey, what do you do?”

[00:01:46] I’m like, well, I work on pesticide regulation. And then the next question is, “Well, what is a pesticide?” Or, my favorite is, “I don’t use a pesticide.”

Often they’ll say, I don’t use a pesticide as they have, like, an antimicrobial wipe and they’re wiping down their yoga mat. So, anything that kills, repels, mitigates, controls, a pest on a surface is a pesticide.

[00:02:11] So that means a lot of the things we come in contact with happen to be pesticides. Again, your classic disinfectant wipe is a pesticide. Bug spray is a pesticide.

Then there’s kind of the classic three. We think about herbicides, things that we use to kill weeds or unwanted vegetation. Insecticides are products we use to kill insects or mites or bugs. Lowercase bugs, as my entomology friends would tell me.

[00:02:33] Uh, and then there’s fungicides. Oddly enough, fungicides and bactericides kind of get grouped together. The things that cause plant diseases. And then we even have nematicides, things that kill nematodes. Miticides, things that specifically kill mites.

[00:02:50] So again, it’s anything that’s going to kill, repel, control, or mitigate a pest. So, it’s a big, huge spectrum.

My favorite is there’s a thing called ursicide, that’s bear spray. So we use pesticides in our daily lives. Many people are kind of shocked and blown away.

[00:03:10] I once did this to a dentist, so they had my mouth pulled open wide. They’re like, “Well, I don’t use pesticides”. I was like, oh, actually, that thing I was saying next to you is a pesticide, right? So it is one of my favorite games to play with people. What actually is a pesticide? So again, it’s this whole big group of products that actually we use in our everyday lives.

What controls the Information on Pesticide Labels?

[00:03:30] Erin Hoover: Alright, so how are pesticides managed? What controls, what information gets put on the label?

[00:03:37] Rachel Bomberger: Ah, that’s great. So, first and foremost, comes from federal regulations. So federally pesticides are regulated by the EPA or the Environmental Protection Agency. They’re tasked with mitigating risks to human health and the environment.

[00:03:52] So they set the standards, the rules, the regulations, the standards. these general requirements. Then it can go down to the state level.

At the state level, states can choose to further restrict pesticides, not allow certain pesticides in general, or add kind of different modifications.

For example, in Washington state, I’m very familiar with pesticide regulation with, um, any product that is applied to water or an aquatic pesticide is automatically state-restricted use, which means you have to have a pesticide license to actually purchase and use that product.

[00:04:30] That is because the Washington State Department of Agriculture or WSDA, as I will say very quickly and often, they’ve decided that they want to add that extra layer of risk mitigation to that particular pesticide use. So again, we have federal kind of setting that standard bar. They set testing requirements.

[00:04:50] They’re the ones whose actual companies have to provide a lot of scientific data and analysis to say, hey, this product is effective. And, uh, is not super high risk, right? If any product is incredibly high risk to human health or the environment, and the benefit of the use of the pesticide isn’t there, the pesticide is not going to get registered by the EPA, which means it cannot be used by the states.

[00:05:17] So there’s this bar that gets set by EPA and then the states can kind of tweak for their special state needs and regulations.

What to do Before Applying a Pesticide Product

[00:05:27] Erin Hoover: So what should a person do before applying a pesticide product?

[00:05:32] Rachel Bomberger: Read the label. Truly, it seems really simple, but it’s often overlooked. These pesticide labels tell you and help you understand how and when to use the product, right?

[00:05:48] We want you to get good control when you use the product, but we also want to reduce risk to the user and the environment. The way that’s done is through the pesticide label. So the pesticide label is actually a legal document, that we first get approved by the EPA, who sets, again, mitigation standards, reducing risks to human health and the environment and the states.

[00:06:11] So these are incredibly fine-tuned documents where we’re trying to give the information on how to use the product along with what to do to keep yourself and the environment safe.

Why is it Important to Read Pesticide Labels?

[00:06:23] Erin Hoover: Why is it important for gardeners to read and understand a pesticide label?

[00:06:27] Rachel Bomberger: So again, the label’s the law. If you’re going to use this product, you are liable for the use of this product.

[00:06:35] It can come down to, in truly a garden situation, is you don’t want to accidentally use an herbicide on your beloved petunias, right? So you want to be able to read the label, understand how, when, and why you’re going to use the product, and again, get the control you want.

So the important information in the label is when, how often, how much, and when not to apply, right?

[00:06:58] That’s another big one we kind of need to touch on. There are times when you’re not supposed to apply certain products. This can be for PH or what’s called a pre-harvest interval, so the last time you spray between when you actually, say, pick the tomatoes off of your plant. Or pollinator environmental precautions, right?

[00:07:15] Sometimes we have pesticide labels that say do not apply during bloom, and that means from the first time you see a little bit of the bud through petal fall because we’re reducing that potential risk to pollinators. Same thing, with soil types. If you have sandy soil or shallow groundwater, you have, there are certain products where they’re not going to be appropriate for your situation to, again, protect the environment.

[00:07:43] All of this information is on the pesticide labels. And lastly, you want to be able to use the product correctly, right? You went out and bought the product, you spent money, you want to get good control.

By following the recommendations in the pesticide product, we have tests and efficacy data that show this product will work when used appropriately.

[00:08:03] So again, it’s that balance between how to get the product to work the way you want it to, while still protecting the people around you and your impact.

5 Things to Look for on a Pesticide Label

[00:08:10] Erin Hoover: Alright, so what are the five things that we should always look at on a pesticide level?

[00:08:15] Rachel Bomberger: Alright, so this is where you’re going to see a little bit of a bleed of my previous history as a diagnostician.

[00:08:20] So first, the way I kind of think of it, is you want to make sure that your plant or the site you want to use the product on is actually on the product label. This is a huge legal step. If you want to use a pesticide product on your tomatoes, tomato has to be on the label. That is your first requirement to use this product.

[00:08:41] So your plant, that’s your crop, your tree, etc. needs to be on the label or your site. I always lovingly call this the situation.

So like, ornamental, um, houseplants. greenhouses, landscaping, these kinds of larger areas, the crop has to be on the label, or your site has to be on the label, right? There’s testing that supports those particular uses of the product.

[00:09:07] So before you take a product home with you, make sure your site is on the label. Next and this is kind of that diagnostician mindset. Is the product one that’s going to fit your issue, right? We always say the first step in integrated pest management is identification. So, you need to know what pests you’re dealing with.

[00:09:26] Do you have an aphid problem or do you have a beetle or a cutworm that’s eating your plant? Those are two very different insects, and they have very different feeding behaviors. That means we have different types of insecticides. for each one of those pets. So ideally your pest, your disease, or your weed is on the product label, but as any gardener knows, really there are tons of different pests.

[00:09:52] So you can also look at extension bulletins, reach out to your extension, um, coordinators, master gardeners, to see if they also have data that says, hey, this particular active ingredient we know is effective on these pests, and it is legal and labeled for this crop. So those are the two that you’re trying to balance.

[00:10:14] And that also means getting familiar with some pesticide language, like a systemic insecticide or a systemic fungicide. Those are pesticides that move throughout the entire system, if you will, or the entirety of the plant. Because different insects are going to interact with that insecticide a little differently.

[00:10:33] Same thing with herbicides, really. We have things like contact herbicides, so they only kill what they touch, versus a systemic herbicide, which would kill the whole plant. Depending on what you’re trying to control, You are going to want to use one or the other, so you need to balance knowing what’s legal, your plant, versus is that product going to fit.

[00:10:55] So once you have those two big concepts down, next you want to know what the EPA number is. The EPA number is like the fingerprint of that pesticide. This is the number that our federal regulators give to that specific product that includes the active ingredient. This is what is actually doing the work, the control of your pest, along with the other ingredients that might go into a pesticide.

[00:11:20] When I say other ingredients, these are often water, emulsifiers, and stabilizers. But they’re all tied to that EPA number. So once you know your EPA number, that helps you look at the active ingredient. The reason why it’s important to look at an active ingredient is a lot of times fact sheets you might get from your local cooperative extension; might just talk about using a particular active ingredient, like glyphosate, malathion, or imidacloprid, like thiamethoxam.

[00:11:44] All of these very strange-sounding words that you’ll notice I only picked the four that I knew how to say quickly and confidently, right? But they’re those big kind of chemical words.

[00:12:00] But when you’ve identified the active ingredient, that’ll help you go to your local garden center and help pick out a product that might work for you.

[00:12:09] The next thing you’re going to want to look for once you’ve identified a product that has your crop, it will control the pests you’re looking for. Next, you’re going to want to read the label. The thing most people kind of skip to is how much, right? So, how much of the product do you apply? When do you apply it? And how often can you apply?

[00:12:27] Some products you’re only going to apply once a season. Maybe once a year. Other products you might be spraying on a 7, you know, 5, 7, 10, 14, 21-day rotations. All of this is really important to know. If you have a product that needs to go on every 7 days. And if you don’t read that part, and don’t follow the label instructions, you’re going to be really upset when you find that the pest has come back, or that the disease keeps coming back and back and back.

[00:12:58] Gardeners who deal with aphids know that this is often an issue, right? We get flights of flights of aphids for a period of time, so we often do need to retreat. You have to ensure that you understand your label so you know when you can re-treat.

Further, you also need to know when to stop treating your plant, especially when you’re dealing with anything that’s going to be edible.

[00:13:18] There’s often that pre-harvest interval that says, do not apply five days before harvest. There are also a lot of products that you can apply up to the day of harvest, so that same day, or we call it a zero PHI. Zero pre-harvest interval. So those are really important to read. Now the last thing that it’s critical to look at, and really I’m going to tell you to read all the labels because they’re great.

[00:13:42] They have so much information, uh, but that precautionary statements are next. These are where you’ll find your environmental restrictions, and how you can protect the environment, pollinators, and people around you.

It’ll also contain the personal protective equipment, or what you wear while you’re using the product.

[00:14:01] Even more important, it’ll tell you how to dispose of and clean the environment after you’ve used the product. The PPE is really important. And then re-entry. A lot of us have people or pets that might come into the area that we might have just applied pesticides, so you want to read that re-entry interval, so when folks can come in.

[00:14:21] With a lot of home and garden products, it’s after the spray has dried, dust has settled, but some products will tell you, don’t let anyone out into this area for four hours, 12 hours, et cetera. So those are the big five. Is your plant or site on the label? Will the product work for what you’re trying to kill? EPA number, an active ingredient, how much, when, how often, and your precautionary statements.

Understanding Signal Words on Pesticide Labels

[00:14:49] Erin Hoover: Okay, so when it comes to precautionary statements, what, um, what is the difference in the signal words of caution versus warning versus danger?

[00:14:59] Rachel Bomberger: Yeah, this is a big one. These signal words are actually really tightly regulated.

[00:15:05] They depend on the toxicity of the products. We have four different categories. We call it four even though there are three signal words that you see.

You’ll see caution. Caution means the pesticide product is slightly toxic if eaten, absorbed through the skin, inhaled, or it causes slight eye or skin irritation.

[00:15:28] Then there is warning. This indicates that the product is moderately toxic if eaten, absorbed through the skin, or inhaled, or it causes moderate eye or skin irritation.

Last, we have danger. This means that the pesticide product is highly toxic by at least one route of exposure. When I say route of exposure, that’s if you inhale it, if it gets on your skin or eyes.

[00:15:50] It can be corrosive, meaning it causes irreversible damage to the eyes or skin. Alternatively, if it is highly toxic, if eaten, absorbed with the skin, or inhaled, then it’s actually what we call danger poison.

This has to be listed in big red letters on the front of the label. This lets you know that the product has some things you need to be very aware of.

[00:16:14] That’s what our signal words mean. Again, they’re very tightly regulated. They’ll be on the front of the label. Often, that’s where they’re located.

It’s usually just letting you know these different routes of exposure and the toxicity categories. Precautionary statements will give you a little bit more information along with first aid, but these signal words are really important.

Environmental Hazard Information on Pesticide Labels

[00:16:38] Erin Hoover: Okay, so what kind of things should we look for in the environmental hazards section?

[00:16:45] Rachel Bomberger: In the environmental hazard section, this is Where you’ll find a lot of information on the restrictions, right? Where you can’t use the products. This will tell you, again, if you have a shallow groundwater table, maybe you can’t use this product.

[00:17:01] Or, there’ll be restrictions on do not spray if it’s windy, etc. Do not allow to drift onto blooming crops to protect pollinators. There are all of these little bits of information that help you use the product with less risk to yourself and the environment.

As I kind of mentioned before, the herbicides with shallow groundwater for insecticides will tell you potentially not to use around threatened or endangered species habitats for Lepidoptera.

[00:17:31] So, there’s, um, a bacteria that’s really good at killing cutworms and larvae. Because of that, it should not be used around anywhere you know you have a habitat for butterflies. So we always have to balance what we’re trying to control with what we’re trying to protect. As gardeners, I know we all love pollinators.

[00:17:54] So, read your environmental statements, your precautionary statements, because they’re going to tell you how to best keep your pollinator friends safe. Right? We love our beneficials. So, your environmental hazard statements. Definitely what you want to read.

Resources to help Gardeners Understand Pesticide Labels

[00:18:11] Erin Hoover: Okay, so are there any particular resources or tools available to help gardeners better understand the labels?

[00:18:19] Rachel Bomberger: There are so many, but that’s coming from a nerd like me who spends a lot of time looking for these sorts of resources. One of my absolute favorites is called NPIC or the National Pesticide Information Center. This is actually run out of Oregon State University. This is a website run by scientists trained in risk communication, so they’re a non-biased, extension-serving group that is just there to help you understand pesticides.

[00:18:52] You know, in reality, I love them for looking up signal words. Like, how do we best explain what a signal word means? NPIC has some great options. The same thing with if you’re curious about an active ingredient, NPIC has a lot of specific documents written for the average person to read about what is azadirachtin, what is glyphosate, tell you, and explain, you know, what are the toxicities, what are the environmental hazards, what are potential, um, risks to wildlife.

[00:19:27] All of that is contained on NPIC. You also have your local, what’s known as a PSEP, which is a Pest Site Education Program. That’s where I used to work with WSU.

So there are folks who go around training pesticide applicators and the public all about pesticides. They’re often putting out different fact sheets, and little tidbits of information to help you understand both pesticide labels and things that might be emerging in the pesticide world.

[00:19:54] New regulations, new restrictions, um, extensions, always wonderful, and your state department of agriculture. Your state department of ag has wonderful folks who work in regulations. They’ve also seen a lot of interesting things before. So they can help you navigate, especially if you have a question of, can I do this?

[00:20:16] You can always ask WSDA or your local State Department of Ag. They’d much rather have you call them than they have to call you, right? So reach out to your resources.

You also have the Environmental Protection Agency and the company. For example, at Bonide we have customer service. You can reach out to us and ask your questions. We’re here to help. And I know that’s how other companies are as well.

[00:20:39] So, I just listed off five options of people who would love to answer your label questions. There are more label nerds like me who want to talk to you about your pesticide product. And often you might find something that we go, Oh, okay, I can write that a little bit better in the future.

[00:21:00] Um, you know, so we’re here for you. You have lots of resources.

What to Do If You Have Questions About a Label

[00:21:05] Erin Hoover: So what should gardeners do if they have questions or concerns about a label?

[00:21:13] Rachel Bomberger: Same kind of the same thing. You can reach out to your state department of ag, your local extension, pesticide safety education program, or the company. Ask us the question.

[00:21:24] We’re there to help you. And your companies are also going to have websites where they’re going to have quite a few resources. I will say when it comes to home and garden products, sometimes they’re in little teeny tiny prints. When you come to the company’s website, you’ll often be able to find a PDF version of that label that you can make larger and easier to read.

[00:21:46] And sometimes that’s enough. They’re there to help you figure out, you know, what is my conversion rate? How many tablespoons do I put in this product? Everyone’s here to help you.

[00:22:00] So just, if you find something weird, the best thing is just to ask. You have a question. Someone out there has an answer.

[00:22:06] Get a hold of us. We’re ready for you.

[00:22:09] Erin Hoover: Are there limits to how small the text can be?

[00:22:12] Rachel Bomberger: Yes. So, your text is not allowed to be smaller than 6-point font. Which is pretty tiny. It’s all dependent on how big the product label actually is. Um, and as someone now who works on product labels, it’s like, wow. Six points is still not quite enough for me to get everything into that one section that I needed.

[00:22:34] But there are limits on how small your text can be. And certain words, certain signal words, for example, have to be a minimum of six point. Size 8 font, size 10 font. Again, depending on the size of the product label.

[00:22:48] Erin Hoover: A big question from someone who often uses these types of products is, why didn’t it die?

[00:22:56] Rachel Bomberger: Yeah, this one comes up a lot. Um, personally, I have a couple of examples, unfortunately, from my mom. Um, why didn’t it die? I once got a phone call from my mom and she’s like, “I just sprayed this weed and it didn’t die”. You’re chatting with her a little bit longer. I realize she not only has sprayed the weed, but she sprayed it three times in three days.

[00:23:17] What really happened is my mom was using glyphosate. The way glyphosate works is it’s a systemic herbicide. It takes a while for that herbicide to actually kill the entire plant. So, you know, my mom went out and sprayed the plant. In reality, it probably looked a little less green to a trained gardener.

[00:23:35] We’ve been like, oh, that is dying. I don’t have to worry about it. But to my mom, she was like, still kind of green, still alive. I should spray it again.

So my mom ended up spraying this poor plant three times with glyphosate when she should have just waited. And had she read the product label, it would have said, and I’ve looked at this product label.

[00:23:55] It does say weeds will begin to yellow and wilt within four hours. Complete kill will occur in one to two weeks. So there are a lot of times where people aren’t quite reading the pesticide label all the way through. Unfortunately, the next example I have of why I didn’t die is another Mama Beth story. My mom.

[00:24:16] I took a look at her petunias. I saw that she had a lot of aphids. And I was like, you know, you could actually just wash this off. Right? IPM is sometimes, it’s not always pesticide, but there are some mechanical actions we can do. So I just told her to watch out for pests. However, what do you think my mom heard when I said you had aphids?

[00:24:34] Kill them. Okay, kill them. I know bugs. What does my mom do when she has bugs? She gets out a can of household bug spray, or that, insecticides. Not at all supposed to go on a plant. So I walk around, turn the corner, and the next thing I hear is shh, shh, and she’s spraying a can of household bug spray all over her plant.

[00:24:58] Which isn’t going to kill the aphids, without maybe massively killing the plant. So, when your weed didn’t die, that’s when we have to step back and go to that first step of IPM. Proper identification. Second step let’s start putting a plan together. What is the weed, for example? Is it an annual, is it a biannual, is it a perennial, right?

[00:25:23] Because if it’s an annual, contact herbicide might work really, really well. Unless, has that weed already started flowering? Has it already gone to seed? If that’s the case, you’re dealing with a problem next year, and we’re looking at different management strategies. An entirely different class of pesticides.

[00:25:41] Um, we call those pre-emergent. Also, just our mitigation strategies. Next year, you’re going to have to be ready to start pulling those little tiny weeds that went to seed the previous season. Then we have to consider what is the appropriate pesticide to get the control you need. Again, we talked about, let’s say you have a weed that’s come up, but it’s a perennial.

[00:26:01] If you spray a contact herbicide, you’ll kill the above-ground parts for a little while until they resprout. So you actually need a systemic herbicide to kill down to the root. So whenever you have a weed that didn’t die or your problem didn’t go away, that’s a time to reassess. In this particular talk, we’re talking a lot about pesticides.

[00:26:23] So, were you using the right pesticide product? Were you supposed to have reapplied that product 21 days after your first application?

Another thing we see, this is counterintuitive, but the happier the weed, the more likely it is to die when you spray it with pesticides. That’s because your plant is actually actively spraying it.

[00:26:43] Kind of absorbing the pesticide, which means it gets that full dose that is lethal. But if you have a weed that’s stressed, it’s kind of gone down into survival mode. It’s actually much harder for the pesticide to enter into the plant and kill it. If you read a pesticide label, it usually tells you not to apply to drought-stressed or otherwise stressed weeds.

[00:27:04] We’ll also have temperature restrictions on pesticide labels. Again, everything trying to help you create the best killing scenario possible for these products. Sometimes it’s going to be a battle. There are some really tough weeds. I spent two years every summer pulling weeds for the forest service.

[00:27:26] There are some weeds you’re just going to be battling for a few years and that’s okay. That’s why we have integrated pest management. We’re going to look at a bunch of different options and it’s all about timing your management options with the growth stage of the desirable plants, and the growth and biology of your pest, because we’re going to do different things at different times.

[00:27:47] And again, this is why we’ll always push integrated management. There’s no silver bullet for these. It takes a concerted effort. That might be a year-round battle if you will. I’m not going to say struggle, because I think it’s a battle. You can win it. We have to take some thought. That’s why you have master gardeners who can help you develop these integrated pest management plans.

How to Keep Up with Pesticide Label Regulation

[00:28:10] Erin Hoover: So how often do pesticide labels change or the regulation over them change? How do we keep up?

[00:28:18] Rachel Bomberger: Yeah, that’s an interesting question, for sure, especially in my new role. There could be lots of little changes, but it’s often like, there’s a typo here or the alignment’s off. The biggest thing to take away as a gardener is the pesticide label on the product you have is the pesticide label you are obligated to follow.

[00:28:40] So keep that in mind if you are going, this product’s 10 years old, I can’t really read the pesticide label. You probably want to reach out to the company and see if they have a copy of that label, or you might consider the fact that you might need to properly dispose of that product if you don’t think you can use it safely or correctly

[00:29:00] As far as big changes, we are seeing some changes coming from federal regulation as well as state regulation. As far as those changes, usually, we know they’re coming ahead of time. For example, we have Endangered Species Act, uh, regulations that are changing pesticide labels. That starts with herbicides.

[00:29:24] So you might see new label language on herbicides. Then you’ll see new label language on insecticides. So the biggest thing is, again, you can reach out to the companies. We are way more than happy to help you figure out how to use the product appropriately. The biggest thing is, legally, you must follow the label on your product.

Household Products Commonly Used as Pesticides

[00:29:43] Erin Hoover: Okay, so I’m going to throw a curveball at you now. Okay. So what about household products that people or gardeners use as pesticides, like vinegar?

[00:29:57] Rachel Bomberger: Ah, okay. Yeah, so these are totally unregulated. Um, vinegar is a really interesting question that you asked because we have acetic acid that is regulated federally and by the state as a pesticide.

[00:30:15] Do you know what the active, or the concentration of acetic acid-based herbicides are?

[00:30:22] Erin Hoover: Isn’t it like 20%?

[00:30:23] Rachel Bomberger: Yeah, what’s the vinegar in your cupboard? 5%. 5%! There’s a big difference between these products, right? I’ve also when we start going into these homemade pesticides, I’ll also hear about people putting dish soap in as a surfactant, as a way to help get the product closer to the leaf.

[00:30:50] And what’s interesting to me is everything that goes into a pesticide product that’s registered is tested, is looked at. Your dish soap, we don’t know how long it’s going to stick around in the soil. We don’t know how it metabolizes in the plant because it was never intended to be used as a solvent. As, right, that was never its intent, or excuse me, it’s a surfactant.

[00:31:16] So, those get really hairy really fast because you don’t know, right? It might be fine, but for someone like me who’s worked with pesticide safety, I will never tell you, yeah, go ahead and use dish soap. Now, if you’re using it to do a little bug trap, that’s fine. It’s acting as, um, it’s breaking surface tension for you.

[00:31:37] That’s great, but you’re not putting that in your mouth at some point. Again, when you’re putting it on the plant, we don’t know. I’d rather have something that I know is highly regulated go on my plant than dish soap or, I don’t know, should be, might be fine. Um, and then with the vinegar, the funniest thing that I hear for the vinegar is, they’ll tell me like, well I sprayed vinegar in my garden, but it killed my pea plants.

[00:32:08] Because, for some reason, there’s this thought process that like, well, it won’t hurt the crops, I’m only using it to kill the weeds, but the vinegar doesn’t know what the weed is, right? So, we have to be careful with these things, and kind of the thought process that goes along, and vinegar or acetic acid is caustic. It can also hurt.

[00:32:28] So we need to be careful how we use these products. Again, when they’re regulated, they’ve been tested. We know how to reduce their risk. We have all of these measures in place. To make sure that the product can be used effectively and with as low risk as possible to you and the environment and someone else who might find your garden.

[00:32:55] Um, and I still do not know, I’ve never been able to figure out how milk kills powdery mildew. The science might evolve someday which says it’s outside the box. It’s the calcium or the vitamin D that inhibits the fungal growth, but for right now, milk’s not doing anything to your powdery mildew other than washing it away.

[00:33:12] So we have to be really careful, one, from a risk perspective, two, from, I hate to say it, but snake oil. So we gotta be careful. Use a product that’s labeled or registered. There’s a lot of cool green chemistry coming about. I mean, that’s something that I find really fun about a place I work at, Bonide Products, is they’re looking at green chemistry for the homeowners.

[00:33:37] So, there are a lot of options. Um, so please don’t get your dish soap or the milk. Drink your milk, don’t put it on your plants.

Common Misconceptions about Pesticide Labels

[00:33:51] Erin Hoover: Okay, so what are some common misconceptions about a pesticide label?

[00:33:56] Rachel Bomberger: That’s an interesting one, because I don’t know if they’re misconceptions, but almost assumptions. Like, you don’t actually have to read the product label, or if you chose the product with a lower signal word, so caution versus warning, now you can do whatever you want with it.

[00:34:15] Um, so there’s these misconceptions of how and when you get to use the product. In reality, you have to read the product label. Sometimes there’s, I’ll see issues where people are like, “Well, I can use it on tomatoes. That means I can use it on my broccoli because they’re both plants”. In reality, those are two very different plants and they metabolize the pesticide differently.

[00:34:42] So, there’s a reason why we specifically list out the types of crops or the very specific and explicit crops you can use the product on because we have tests to prove that the product is efficacious and does not pose a risk. So, that’s the biggest misconception of, well, I can use it on this food crop, that means I can use it on everything.

[00:35:04] That might just, in general, be the misconception. Well, I can use it on plant A, which means I can use it on plants B, C, D, Q through S, right? We think we can use it on everything. In reality, read your label, your plant, and foresight must be on the label. That is probably the biggest misconception, and that one pesticide, say herbicide or insecticide, fits all your needs.

[00:35:31] Right? One herbicide is not going to work for all your weeds. One insecticide is not going to work for all your insects. And further, I’ll often hear questions where they’re like, Well, I used this insecticide, why didn’t it kill my powdery mildew?

Well, it’s powdery mildew and insects are different. So, identification, first step of IPM, every single time, your pesticide’s not going to magically reinvent your integrated pest management for you.

[00:35:59] We have to follow that thought process and think scientifically, think strategically.

Final Thoughts on Pesticide Labels

[00:36:06] Erin Hoover: Okay, I think that about wraps up the questions that I have. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

[00:36:14] Rachel Bomberger: Read the label. Read the label. It’s really your best friend. Um, and if you have questions, reach out. Again, I know I’m very biased for Washington State Extension, but y’all have great extension agents.

[00:36:27] Reach out. If you are in another state, I bet you also have fantastic extension agents. I know many of the other state pesticide safety educators. They’re wonderful, too. You have a network of folks who are so nerdy when it comes to labels and regulations, who would love to answer your question. Again, keep in mind, as the company, we’re here for you too.

[00:36:52] You know, we want you to be happy with the product. We stand behind our products. So we’re here for you. We want you to have great success because we love to garden too. I mean, I’m a terrible gardener because I’m a diagnostician. So I have a garden of all the weeds and diseases. And I’m like, look at my powder and mildew. Look at my lovely aphid problem over here. But I still love to garden.

[00:37:11] There’s, you know, there’s a reason why we go into these careers. So we’re here for you too.

Erin Hoover: Well, thanks for being here today.

Rachel Bomberger: Absolutely. Thank you. It’s great to get to be here, and again, anytime you want to talk labels, I’m here for you.

[00:37:30] Or pesticides. Maybe not ursicide, they don’t know that much about bear spray, other than ursicide is probably my favorite one to say.

[00:37:40] Erin Hoover: Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Evergreen Thumb, Brought to you by the WSU Extension Master Gardener Program Volunteers and sponsored by the Master Gardener Foundation of Washington State.

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