Ch.9: Protecting Sensitive Areas and Nontarget Organisms

2. Nontarget Organisms

• A nontarget organism = any living thing that is NOT causing harm by being a pest.
• Pesticides harm them directly (immediate injury) or long-term (environmental pollution; some build up in animals or soil).
• Examples: non-weed plants; beneficial insects (pollinators, predators, parasites); fish, birds, wildlife; pets, livestock, people.

3. Plants (Phytotoxicity)

• Phytotoxicity = pesticide injury to plants. Nearly all pesticides can cause it; herbicides are the most likely, but even insecticides and some formulations (ECs) can.
• Herbicide injury happens most often when the herbicide has a narrow range of selectivity (protected crops/grass get harmed).
• Persistent herbicides can injure plants later planted on the site (replanted roadsides, cover crops).
• Injury is worse when abnormally cold or dry weather slows breakdown, or when application rates are too high.
• Pesticides can also damage plants nearby or on adjacent land.

4. Insects & the Two Problems

• Many insects/arthropods (e.g., spiders) are beneficial: pollinators, predators/parasites of pests, decomposers.
• Applying pesticides reduces beneficials along with pests, which can trigger two problems:
• Pest resurgence = the ORIGINAL target pest rebounds and even surpasses pretreatment levels, because no natural enemies are left to hold it in check.
• Secondary pest outbreak = a DIFFERENT, formerly minor pest (held down by predators/parasites and competition) suddenly causes major damage.
• The distinction: resurgence = same pest comes back stronger; secondary outbreak = a new pest takes over.

5. Bees & Other Pollinators

• Many insecticides harm/kill pollinators — and even fungicides and herbicides can (herbicides indirectly, by damaging plants pollinators forage on).
• Pollinators include bees plus some flies, beetles, butterflies, and moths.
• Benefits: good yields of pollinator-dependent crops depend on healthy pollinators; hedgerows that help pollinators also harbor beneficial insects that control pests; pollinator habitat can double as forage for grazing animals / habitat for game species.

6. Label Restrictions vs. BMPs

• Label pollinator restrictions may prohibit spraying at certain times of year/day, certain temperatures, or when plants are in bloom / bees are foraging — and, like all label directions, you MUST follow them. (Found in Environmental Hazard or Directions for Use.)
• Best Management Practices (BMPs) are NOT regulatory requirements (unlike label directions or local ordinances) — they provide additional guidance. Key BMPs:
  • Use an IPM approach; only apply pesticides when needed.
  • Avoid applying to plants in bloom; if you must, pick products less toxic to pollinators and follow all label pollinator restrictions.
  • Least-hazardous formulation: dust and microencapsulated are MOST hazardous to bees (pollen-sized, stick to bee hairs); granular is LEAST hazardous when bees are present.
  • Minimize drift into nontarget areas (plants in bloom, water sources, apiaries, bee nesting sites).
  • Communicate with local beekeepers before applications (some states require it).
  • Plant pollinator-attractive plants (intercropping, cover crops, rights-of-way).
• Communication tools: DriftWatch, BeeCheck, FieldWatch.

7. Wildlife, Pets & Livestock

• Harmed directly (sprayed during application) and indirectly (contacting treated sites; consuming/contacting contaminated water, vegetation, soil, or food).
• Persistent pesticides last longer in active form → greater risk to animals and the environment.
• At sublethal doses, pesticides can cause growth reduction, behavioral changes, decreased reproduction, cancers, or other diseases.

8. Endangered & Threatened Species — The Bulletin System

• Endangered Species Act (ESA): federal law passed in 1973; requires government agencies (including EPA) to ensure their actions don't jeopardize a federally listed endangered or threatened species.
• EPA uses a "bulletin" system (not instructions on every label) because listed species are confined to specific areas, habitats, and sometimes times of year.
• How to know if a bulletin applies: Read the label — a product that requires one notes it in the Directions for Use. If the label doesn't direct you to a bulletin, you don't need one (but follow all other directions).
• Timing: consult the bulletin no sooner than 6 months before treatment; use the bulletin valid for the month you'll apply.
• Bulletins are an enforceable EXTENSION of the label — follow the pesticide use limitations on the label and in the bulletin.
• PULA (Pesticide Use Limitation Area): an area EPA designates because using a pesticide there might harm a listed species or its habitat.
• A bulletin may direct you to: use buffer areas, reduce rates, restrict timing, or prohibit use altogether.
• To obtain one: enter the product's EPA Registration Number and the month of application (or call to request a copy).
• If directed to a bulletin, you MUST obtain it and check whether your site is in a PULA for your time period.
• Outside a PULA (or outside the stated time period): bulletin restrictions don't apply — but it's smart to keep the bulletin to show you checked.
• Help: EPA website/tutorials; your state's department of agriculture, pesticide safety program, extension program; EPA contacts ESPP@epa.gov / 844-447-3813.

Key Vocabulary