Pesticides are sometimes needed to control pests and must be used safely and according to legal requirements. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an approach that uses a combination of pest management techniques in an organized program to suppress pest populations in effective, economical and environmentally sound ways.
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Integrated Pest Management
What’s new from our regulators?
What are the regulatory requirements of integrated pest management?
How is this applicable to UBC?
Integrated Pest Management
What’s new from our regulators?
The rodenticide sale and use in B.C. has recently changed. To reduce the risk of wildlife poisoning, an 18-month ban on second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) started on July 21, 2021. SGARs are poisonous baits containing any of the following active ingredients: brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difethialone. These active ingredients are highly toxic, causing death by internal bleeding and stay in animal tissue for a long time after feeding. Read more…
What are the regulatory requirements of integrated pest management?
UBC’s pesticide application and pest control activities follow the guidelines set out by the BC’s Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Act and Regulations.
IPM is a decision-making process that includes six elements: Prevention, Identification, Monitoring, Thresholds, Treatment, and Evaluation. The primary goals of the IPM Act and Regulation are to:
- Establish regulatory requirements based on degree of risk to human health and the environment
- Promote environmental stewardship and integrated pest management
- Set clear and enforceable standards for the protection of human health and the environment
The regulations cover the sale, use and handling of pesticides in the province. Pesticides are categorized into three groups – permit restricted pesticides, excluded pesticides, and non-excluded pesticides. All non-excluded pesticides applications require a license and a certificate. The regulations also prescribe specific record keeping and reporting requirements, as well as public notification of pesticides application, labeling, transportation, storage, disposal practices, and application of precautionary measures.
The pesticides we use at UBC are approved by Health Canada. The Health Canada Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is responsible for pesticide regulation in Canada. This branch of Health Canada consolidates the resources and responsibilities for pest management regulation.
How is this applicable to UBC?
The following UBC units which may use non-excluded pesticides are affected by and need to comply with the above Act and regulations:
- Botanical Garden
- Botanical Garden Nursery
- Nitobe Memorial Garden
- Land and Food Systems: Totem Field & Horticultural Greenhouse
- Botany Department Teaching Greenhouse
- Plant Care Services Greenhouse
- Forest Sciences – if pesticides are used for a purpose other than research on pesticides
- UBC Farm: Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
- Building Operations: Municipal Services – landscaping group; Custodial Services – rodent control activities; Building Operations nursery
- Student Housing and Community Services – rodent control activities