One of
Dayton's    TOP
Pest Control Specialists Contact Us

4012 N. Main Street
Dayton, OH 45405

QUESTION:

I have been reviewing the Masterline Bifenthrin label and MSDS, but I am confused. The MSDS states that work clothing is to be laundered separate from nonwork clothing. The label, though, says only to wash CONTAMINATED clothing before reuse. I know the MSDS is written around the concentrated formula, Bifenthrin 7.9. Does the MSDS apply because of the brief mixing period?
The label said a short sleeve shirt is fine for diluted formula though it wants long sleeves for mixing. I can imagine on some days I would really not want to wear long sleeves while spraying, though technically since a long sleeve shirt has been used to mix wouldn’t that make it eligible for laundering according the MSDS? It seems rather silly and wasteful more than likely a safety precaution grounded in much practical preventative logic.

ANSWER:

I guess I’ll start by saying that I did not find the Label statement allowing short-sleeve shirts to be worn when using the diluted material, although that’s a lot of words on the Label and I may have overlooked it. But, in the initial Precautionary Statements it says that all pesticide handlers (including applicators) MUST wear long-sleeved shirt, pants, etc., and in the next line under “after the product is diluted” the statement is only that the applicator must wear “shirt, pants, socks, shoes, gloves”, without the words “short sleeved”.

So, you may have misread this part, but even so long-sleeved shirts will be considered mandatory in pretty much every state. I understand that on hot summer days it would be nice to have a cool breeze on the arms, but I really doubt that any regulatory agency is going to allow this much more skin to be exposed. Let’s just go with the idea that if you are in professional pest management you will be obligated to wear long sleeves and long pants for ANY pesticide application except wear a product label specifically prohibits it. This may be the case with some liquid fumigants, but I haven’t examined those labels for this response.

As far as laundering, I refer to the opinion in California, and that is that ANY clothing worn while applying pesticides should be considered “potentially contaminated”, and it should be washed before wearing it a second day. The actual regulation states that if you use any Category 1 or 2 pesticides (Signal Word Danger or Warning) you MUST launder the clothing before wearing it a second day, but for Cat. 3 or 4 (Caution) you “should” launder it daily. I think in the interest of personal hygiene daily laundering is probably a good idea anyhow.

Again, what you wear as outer clothing while applying any pesticide should be presumed to have gotten some pesticide on it (potentially contaminated), particularly if you applied a liquid spray. The general recommendation is that this contaminated clothing should never be laundered in the same batch as the family clothing. You don’t want to run any risk whatsoever of transferring pesticides from your clothes onto your baby’s pajamas, to use an example. This may be erring on the side of caution, but this is how regulatory folks prefer to be, and maybe that’s not such a bad idea.

This discrepancy in the specific wording on the MSDS versus the Label can be confusing. In general the MSDS recommendations should be followed when dealing with the concentrate, particularly spills and other hazardous situations. The Label should be followed when using the material in the normal manner for application. You may find other contradictory statements, such as the kind of eye protection you have to wear, and the Label recommendation is the one to follow for normal mixing, loading, diluting, and application.

These are really good questions to go over with your local regulatory inspectors, because they are the ones who will cite you if you are not in compliance with the regulations in YOUR state or county. Way back in 1988 California completed revising the “Worker Safety Regulations”, and this really did benefit our industry by providing much more specific requirements regarding these kinds of issues. It is really tough to enforce vague laws, so by making them more clear for us the regulators did us a favor. This includes specific guidelines on TRAINING – what kind, when, by whom, and how documented, and this is a good idea too.

View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.

The ants infest the wood at the weakest point and excavate it from there. Flinn says people should call a pest control company when they see little piles of saw dust lying around or if they see a few ants in the same location every day. Flinn says killing …

View complete article

And hopefully it’s here to stay. But with the warm weather and sunshine come other guests who are not usually as welcome – pests of the insect and plant variety. While most people can easily dwell on the pleasures of the summer season, others can’t forget …

View complete article

Few homeowners realize just how serious an infestation by Florida termites can be. Florida’s warm and humid climate is the perfect breeding ground for these pests. They are extremely apt invaders, with the ability to enter any home with an opening as …

View complete article

As invasive forest pests such as emerald ash borer and Asian long-horned beetle decimate forests they never should have seen, scientists are investigating ways to slow the introduction of new insects that may be just as devastating. One collaborative …

View complete article

The Post and Courier of Charleston reports that park officials say the wood people bring could have insects and diseases that could harm woodlands. Officials say they want to prevent a recurrence of what has happened in upstate South Carolina when a …

View complete article

Herbal Armor Spray Insect Repellent from All Terrain offers protection from pesky insects, but without the pesticide DEET. Instead, it uses six natural oils as the active ingredients, including up to a 25-percent concentration of soybean, citronella …

View complete article

Makhteshim Agan Launches New Fipronil Based Insecticide Products PR Newswire (press release) MAI's affiliate Control Solutions, Inc. in the US will launch the active ingredient under the brand name Taurus(TM) for use in the professional pest control market and Prefurred(TM) for companion animal use. MAI's subsidiary QualiPro will launch a … and more »

View complete article

Snail invasion forces farmers to shell out for bait ABC Online Grain growers in South Australia's Mallee are now fighting pests on two fronts – high numbers of mice and an increasing army of snails. Ian Farley farms at Jaebuck and says hundreds of snails have appeared in paddocks. "All of our canola country has … and more »

View complete article

QUESTION:

We have a bedbug infestation. We would like to use Nuvan Prostrips. We plan to place the furniture in a box truck and seal the rear door, and then place the pest strips inside the sealed box for five days on a sheet of cardboard. Once done we would wash out the truck bed box and air it out. Could we then use the same box truck for food delivery?


ANSWER:

I always like to take some heat off myself by suggesting that you get the opinion of your own local regulatory agency. They are the ones who will ultimately interpret the product Label and say whether you did or did not remain within the guidelines on this document. In the case of Nuvan Prostrips and their use within an outside storage bin MY personal opinion is that you ARE within the allowances on the Label for this product. Nuvan Prostrips are labeled for use in a “container”, according to the Label, and I believe that this box truck could be interpreted as a large container. These strips are NOT permitted for use in “food areas” though, and food areas are where foods are “stored, processed, prepared, or served”, so you would need to be careful and again get the opinion of your local regulators.

The Nuvan label does go on to say the strips can be used in certain places where food is stored though, particularly “after canning and bottling”, so if the food that will be delivered later in this vehicle is contained within these kinds of impermeable containers that certainly should be within the Label. The strips also are labeled for use in kitchen cupboards, which again suggests its okay to use them near packaged food. And, if you have removed the strips and the container is ventilated this also would likely be sufficient to allow that container to be used for food deliveries later.

A few issues here though. First is that you really want to ensure even distribution of the vapona vapors that are released from the strips, and placing all of them onto one piece of cardboard might not be sufficient. Better would be to place them sporadically throughout the container, and absolutely ensure you are using enough strips for the cubic footage in the container. The strips are good for up to 4 months, so once you complete this job re-seal them and use them again for the next job.

Another issue is the time of exposure, and studies by the Univ. of Kentucky sometime back showed that the strips definitely produce vapona that can pemeate enclosed items, such as electronics and boxes, but that the vapors do so slowly, and their suggestion was to leave the strips in place for as much as 2 weeks to ensure the kill of all bed bug EGGS, which are more difficult to kill. The Nuvan Label states to leave them for a minimum of 7 DAYS, so your 5 day plan is too short. To leave behind even a couple of live eggs is to leave the infestation in place. The other issue is to ensure the container is sealed completely to retain the vapors as much as possible, so lining the interior with thick plastic sheeting that is taped together at the edges would be very helpful.

If you do all this I suggest also placing all computers, TV’s, and other electronic equipment in the truck as well. Bed bugs are perfectly happy to hide in these items and deposit eggs there too.

View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.