Pesticides are legitimate and useful tools that can provide significant benefits to society. To maximise these benefits pesticides must be used in a safe and efficient manner. Misuse of pesticides can cause harm to people and the environment.

The role of pesticides in society

In primary industry, pesticides can improve the yield and quality of food and fibre crops, and the health and productivity of animals. Poison baits help to control vertebrate pests, such as foxes and rabbits, and other rodent pests. Pesticides are important in the prevention and treatment of termite infestations in buildings. The control of biting insects such as mosquitoes provides public health benefits and improves the quality of our lives. The use of pesticides in recreational areas such as sporting grounds, golf courses, parks and waterways has social, recreational and aesthetic benefits.

Many exotic organisms such as weeds or feral animals can harm the natural environment. Pesticides can help to control environmentally harmful organisms, leading to the protection of native habitat and the maintenance of biodiversity. Products for domestic and home garden use also provide benefits and can enhance the quality of our lives.

Risks of pesticide use

For society as a whole, it is important that the benefits of pesticide use outweigh all the costs, and that any risks associated with their use are both acceptable and minimised as far as possible. Inappropriate use of pesticides may:

• Cause illness or harm to humans who are exposed
• Harm non-target organisms including native, ornamental and agricultural plants and animals
• Contaminate agricultural produce, leading to trade problems and health risks
• Pollute land and water, which can damage ecosystem function and reduce biodiversity
• Cause environmental nuisance such as noise or odour
• Contribute to the development of resistance in pests

Your responsibility when handling or using pesticides

The document EPA Guidelines for Responsible Pesticide Use (.PDF, external site) provides a comprehensive coverage of this subject.

If you handle or use pesticides you have a common law duty of care to ensure that your actions do not cause harm to the environment, other people or their property, or yourself. You are also required to comply with all laws that apply to the storage, transport, application and disposal of pesticides. The Legislation page of this website summarises the legal framework regulating pesticides in South Australia. Two Rural Chemicals Program fact sheets provide information about storage and disposal.

Storage of agricultural and veterinary chemicals (.PDF)

Disposal of agricultural and veterinary chemicals (.PDF)

Sources of information

Product label

The product label, and any leaflet, pamphlet or booklet included with the product provide the necessary information on safety, use and disposal of the product. Read the label and follow the instructions. All label directions should be followed but some are mandatory label instructions that must be complied with. A Rural Chemicals Program fact sheet on Label Instructions provides more information.

Material Safety Data Sheets

Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are produced for any hazardous material used in workplaces. These are prepared by the manufacturer and provide information on the physical, chemical and biological properties of the product, along with its health and physical hazards. The MSDS for a pesticide can be obtained from the product’s manufacturer, possibly from the distributor, from pesticide databases or from the internet. This website contains information about InFINDer, which is a fully searchable pesticide database developed and maintained by PIRSA Rural Chemicals Program.

Training courses

In most cases, there is no specific training requirement to purchase or use pesticides in South Australia. You do have a common law and a legal obligation, however, to use pesticides responsibly. Some pesticides that are more dangerous because of higher toxicity can only be purchased and used by 'authorised persons' who have successfully completed an approved training program. These restricted products must not be used in home gardens. This website provides details of approved training programs.

PIRSA Rural Chemicals Program encourages anyone who use pesticides for other than occasional domestic or home garden applications to undertake chemical user training.

Minimising public exposure to pesticides

Three general strategies ca be adopted to reduce the risks of public exposure to pesticides:

• Reduce pesticide use
• Reduce exposure outside the target area
• Reduce exposure within the target area

Reducing pesticide use

Integrated pest management (IPM) is the coordinated use of a range of suitable control techniques to achieve effective long-term pest management. The aim is to incorporate methods that are cost-effective and practical and which will reduce reliance on pesticides. The methods used should reinforce each other, with the ultimate goal of achieving long-term pest control without damaging the environment or risking human health. Successful IPM requires long-term planning based on an understanding of pest biology and ecology, control methods and the situation. Some of the techniques that can be incorporated into an IPM program are listed below. The PIRSA fact sheet Integrated pest management (.PDF) provides further information.

1. Prevention (hygiene): e.g. national, State and local Quarantine measures.
2. Management: Manage situations to make them more robust and less susceptible to pest invasion, e.g. crop rotations, resistant varieties, competition with desirable or beneficial species of plants and insects.
3. Physical control:  e.g. cultivation, slashing or burning of weeds; use of pheromones to disrupt mating of insects; pruning or burning to remove diseased plant material. Flame and steam weeding employ a burst of intense heat to kill weeds. flame weeding uses burners fuelled by propane gas or kerosene to apply a constant flame directly to the target weeds. Steam weeding appplies pressurised heated water to the weeds. The objective is not to burn the weeds but to "boil" moisture in the plant, causing the cells to burst. Further information is available from Elgas (external site) which is one Australian company that supplies flame-weeding equipment.
4. Biological control: uses natural predators or diseases from the area of origin of an introduced pest to reduce the vigour and/or reproduction of that pest. Biological control does not eradicate a pest but, if successful, can reduce the population to a manageable level. CSIRO Entomology (external site) has had a long and successful involvement in the biological control of invertebrate pests and weeds of agriculture and the environment. Grazing may help to suppress weeds if the type of animal and grazing management are appropriate. Sheep and goats are quite useful at suppressing weeds. Horses, on the other hand, are very selective grazers that will actively seek out palatable species while allowing weeds to dominate. Cattle are intermediate between sheep/goats and horses in their grazing habits.
5. Pesticides: IPM aims to reduce, but not necessarily eliminate, pesticide use. Chemical control of pests can be economical and effective. Pesticides may be the most practical control technique for some hard-to-kill pests. When used as part of an IPM program, correct timing of pesticide application can increase the effectiveness of control further. This may lead to an overall reduction of pesticide use in the longer term. The life cycle of the pests, and the situation in which they occur, need to be taken into account. Use of residual pesticides can be a contentious issue. They can inhibit reinfestation for an extended period of time, thus reducing the need for more frequent intervention. To provide residual control, these pesticides must be persistent in the environment. This persistence may have negative consequences, however. Some residual herbicides have been implicated in the contamination of ground- and surface-water and in off-target damage to desirable plant species, usualy through root uptake. Some residual insecticides, especially the now largely banned organochlorine group, may accumulate along the food chain.

Reducing pesticide exposure outside the target area

Spray drift is the movement of pesticide away from the target area during, or after, application in the form of droplets, particles or vapour. All chemical users have an obligation, under the Agricultural and Veterinary Products (Control of Use) Act and other legislation, to take all reasonable and practicable measures to prevent or minimise spray drift. Refer to the Chemical Trespass (Spray Drift) page of this website for further information.

Reducing pesticide exposure within the target area

This section deals with the risk of public exposure to pesticides. It does not address the personal safety of the chemical user. Personal safety is covered comprehensively in the chemical user training programs described on the Education & Community Awareness page of this website.

Public exposure to pesticides within the target area is unlikely to be an issue where application occurs on privately-owned property, eg farms or home gardens. Chemical users who apply pesticides on public areas such as roadsides, footpaths, public gardens, parks and reserves, etc should take steps to minimise the risk of public exposure to the pesticide at the time of spraying and for a few hours afterwards.

• Give prior notice by letters, newspaper advertisements, posters, etc of where and when spraying will occur. Advise the public to avoid the target area for a prescribed period of time if possible.
• Spray when there is least likelihood of human activity in the target zone, eg at the beginning or end of the day for places that are occupied during business hours, or during holiday periods for schools and kindergartens, etc. Erect warning signs or barriers on the boundaries of the target area and leave them in place for a prescribed period of time after spraying.
• Use marker dye in the spray mixture so that the public can identify and avoid sprayed areas until the dye has faded from view.

Pesticide application records

It is good practice to keep records of pesticide appplication. Records are important tools in showing 'due diligence' in pesticide use. Recorded information on product performance is useful in pest management. Decisions can be based on objective data and observed results compiled over a number of years. Records can help to corroborate actual use if there are questions regarding drift damage, residues, injury, etc.

Information should be recorded as soon as practicable, and no later than 24 hours, after the application. The minimum information required is:

• The full product name(s) of the pesticide(s) applied
• The pest or pests being targeted
• The rate of application of the pesticide(s) and the quantity applied
• A description of the equipment used and the method of application
• The location, address and general description of the treated area
• The date and time of application (including start and finish times)
• The name, address and contact details of the applicator, or employer of the applicator
• The name, address and contact details of the property owner
• A record of the weather conditions - at least wind speed, wind direction and temperature - immediately before and at intervals during the pesticide application

Pest management technicians (contractors) are required, under the conditions of their licences issued by Department of Health, to make such records and keep them for seven years.