Regulations – Roberts Rants

Mosquito Less(on) Learned

Posted on July 6, 2023July 6, 2023 by Robert Percy

This just seemed like this little screw up needed documented.

There have been several attempts at bringing 25b products or those Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) products into Canada. You remember the EPA decided products like thyme oil, spearmint oil and other plant based extracts did not require a full blow data package, or any package to be used as a pesticide in the US.

Extract from citrus, d-limonene another great example.

But in Canada?

No way. Show me the money!!

So how many GRAS products do we have registered?

So anyway, one company decided to pony up all the money involved, with a bit of a break as some date just could not be generated, and obtained a registration for Garlic Oil.

Yeppers, just the juice from a garlic clove.

Wait, you need to submit data and fees and a little bit more data and a lot more fees to get a registration for garlic oil? you bet

To repel mosquitos? damn straight

So if I squished the hell out of a billion garlic gloves and sprayed my bushes I would be making an illegal application? hahahaha…or a salad for an extinct oversized lizard.

So we have had a couple garlic oil products registered, domestic for the RTU’s and a commercial full strength concentrate that requires a mosquito license to purchase. Thats in case someone wants to kill themselves by drinking the concentrate and die by alienating friends and lovers.

SO END OF STORY

hahahahaha

Remember where we are, and this is Health Canada we’re ranting about.

THE REST OF THE STORY

So here we are in the midst of the season, when a customer called and told us he’d been inspected by Health Canada, and that he could not use the garlic oil product he purchased from us last year. About a third of a pail left, used once for a senior organic vegan hippie type. (Who were bitten the next day by Culex pipiens and died of West Nile Virus on Christmas Eve eating cauliflower blintzes. But thats my next rant.)

That was it, you just could not spray it. Nothing about was it a stop sale or recall or disposal as Hazardous waste.

Did they say why? Well, apparently the registration lapsed a while back – like 6 months ago – as the owner came down with a debilitating illness, a new company bought them, but never guessed a garlic oil sprayed for bugs outdoors would require the intervention of Health Canada.

The registration wasn’t renewed. No big deal.

Did someone forget to tell the rest of the world, like us or Varyairyus or Amazon Crime or Home Creepo or Canadian Tired or Home Hardly (sorry on a roll there) that all this product on their shelves and websites and in the hands of millions of consumers, that it was illegal to sell, use or spray?

No, just that the registration was up for fast tracking to mend this oversight. Probably the next few weeks. Which it should be, but here’s the question, what if the PCP# changes, what happens to product in the field? And homes. Does it need relabeled? Destroyed? Burned up as waste for a mere $250 a liter, or hauled off to residential household waste?

Why the delay? Vacation schedules maybe, or the act of just ticking the registered box seems way to simple.

If this had been Preparation HHH and had its DIN pulled, what happens? Does HC tell anybody, or do we just use it like we do the expired tube and stick it….well you get the rest.

It’s July, my garden needs weeding now that its fertilized.

Product Approval Update:

Posted on October 3, 2012 by roberts

Thought it might be a good time to give a short product update, as we did manage to get one product back into the market and a new product registered for use in the last few months.

So good news and bad news come together right?

Bordicate by FMC has now been classified/scheduled in Ontario so it is available throughout the country. Boradicate is essentially the new name for Borid. New name, new supplier, and white (not blue). Almost like a new product but the label really hasn’t changed.

Quantum did receive full PMRA registration and now we are awaiting manufacture. Looks like it will come in a 12 bottle case, but will go out in both case lots and as individual bottles. Again, we are waiting for Ontario scheduling. Production may take place this fall, and Gardex is the first in line with an order on the system.

Chlorfenapyr has me really excited, but delayed until sometime in 2013. Maybe. Known as Phantom in the US, this product has broad pest labeling, good residual and should be a great new tool. Brought to you by BASF, the product will be trade named MYTHIC…weird name for a structural pest control product, but must be some reasoning behind it.

Another BASF chemistry is dinotefuron, sold as Alpine in the States (why do they get all the products???) and will probably have the same trade name here.

What else…

That looks like most of it for the time being…

Except I was just told I’m going to be a Grandpa for the second time. Tough to get old! And that’s the good news!

A Call to Action – Part One! (Canadian Rodenticide re-evaluation decision)

Posted on May 22, 2012 by roberts

The Industry needs your help as Professional Pest Managers.

You are all aware of the PMRA’s actions on the rodenticide re-evaluation decision, and the effects on domestic and commercial baits. But there is one part of the decision we as an Industry should try to have reversed, and that is the limiting use of difethialone (DFN) baits for indoor use only, completing eliminating the opportunity to use outdoors. The names more familiar to you would be Generation and FirstStrike.

The PMRA has lumped this bait into the same category as brodificoum, based on arbitrary levels set in one or two chemical properties.

What was ignored was the fact the bait is used at 50%, or half the rate, of brodificoum, and the properties of the products are much closer to bromodialone than brodificoum. But this and other factors must have taken into account by the EPA, as PMP’s are still allowed to use DFN products both indoors and out in the States.

So what else does the current decision mean and what impact can it have?

There is now only one second generation anticoagulant available for outdoors. And what, after 5 – 10 years of using one bait for outdoors, will we build up a resistant population of rodents???? Possible??? Who knows, but why take the risk. And do we want to chance ruining another great active by overuse, leaving Canada with no effective bait for outdoors, where you need to stop infestations from coming inside?

The second issue is bait shyness, which we all know develops after continual use and feeding. This will also impact choices…leaving us with products that aren’t any where near as effective.

So what do you need to do to help?

Read part 2!

Licensing and Re-certification for Pest Professionals in Canada

Posted on March 20, 2012 by roberts

I wanted to expand on my last post concerning the re-certification issue in BC being such a big draw at the annual CPMA meeting.

BC has similar licensing rules and regs to other provinces, but with the added requirement that Pest Management Professionals (PMPs) need to either get continuing education units (I believe 20 hours every 2 years?) or re-take the test. This ensures that PMP throughout the province are getting up to date on new technologies, but more importantly keeping up on regulations as they change in the course of doing business.

That sounds like a no-brainer to me, versus some provinces requiring passing the exam, then your licensed for life (Ontario).

Also, different provinces recognize and accept licensing (reciprocal agreements) for other provinces across Canada, but not all do this.

If we look at the PMP’s being regulated properly, then doesn’t it make sense to have them go through continual training in order to maintain their license?

And, using the same train of thought, my drivers license for Ontario allows me to drive anywhere in the country…so why not the same for a licensed and trained PMP???

Lots of disconnects here folks.