From January 6, 2005
WI Launches
Second Landscape Pesticide Registry, Sign Up By February 1st
(Beyond
Pesticides, January 6, 2005) Wisconsin residents may now
receive notice of pesticides that will be applied to lawns, trees and
shrubs in their neighborhood by professional landscape companies, if you
have joined the Landscape
Pesticide Advance Notice Registry. The deadline to join the registry
is February 1, 2005, and state agriculture officials urge residents to
act now.
“You do not have to share your reason for joining the registry,” said Debra Viedma, registry coordinator with the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. “However, participants have voluntarily told us they use the information so they can keep their windows closed or they can keep their pets or children inside while the applications are taking place.”
The registry is free, but you must complete an application form listing the addresses on your block or immediately adjoining blocks that you are concerned about. Last year, citizens listed nearly 15,000 addresses on the registry. Pesticide companies are required to let you know at least 12 hours in advance when and if addresses you have listed are to be treated with pesticides. Notification is not required when only fertilizers are used.
For an application form, contact the Landscape Registry Coordinator, Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, P.O. Box 8911, Madison, Wis., 53708-8911 or call 608-224-4616. You can also print the registry form from the department's Web site. Return your completed registry application to the above address by Feb. 1, 2005. Faxes are also accepted until Feb. 1 at 608-224-4656.
The Department urges residents to sign up now and allow enough time to complete the form and return it by the February 1 deadline. Once on the registry, participants may begin receiving advance notice by mid-March, depending on the weather. The notice may be a telephone call, a mailed postcard or a notice left at your door.
Renewal notices to current registry participants were mailed in September and a second reminder notice will go out in January. Renewals must also be returned by the February 1 deadline to be included in the 2005 registry.