Oct 2, 2011 – Wasps In The Woods
QUESTION:
I have a client that has an infested tree with around 50,000 wasps in it - it's incredible. Can I spray it with my gas sprayer with Dragnet?
ANSWER:
This answer depends a bit on what your regulatory agency allows. Dragnet is labeled for use on ornamental trees for a wide variety of pest insects, but essentially for those pests that are feeding on and damaging the tree. It is not labeled for treatment of wasps found IN trees, although it is labeled for wasps on and around structures. So, here's the question. Does your regulatory agency allow you to use a product for any pest that occurs on a labeled site? Most states in the U.S. do but a few do not, and those few require that you only treat for pests that are listed on the sites you hope to treat, meaning you would have to use a product labeled for wasps found in trees. This is probably going to be much more difficult to find a product labeled in that manner.
To me it is logical that if you can safely treat for all those listed pests on a listed site that it would be just as "safe" to treat for some other kind of pest on that same site, even though it is not named on the product Label. Manufacturers usually have various kinds of general terms and vague statements that allow this judgment call on your part, such as "treat for pests such as but not limited to" or "for the following and similar kinds of pests", etc. However, the Dragnet label does state that it may be used to control "insect pests on ornamentals, so this could be construed as allowing its use for any pest insects found in an ornamental tree. The list of insects that follows may not, in the eyes of this manufacturer, necessarily be limiting the use of the product only to those pests.
But, since your local regulatory agency would be the one to say yes or no to this question it always is best to consult with them if you are uncertain. Better to know ahead of time that you should not than to go ahead and do it and get cited for it later.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
I have a client that has an infested tree with around 50,000 wasps in it - it's incredible. Can I spray it with my gas sprayer with Dragnet?
ANSWER:
This answer depends a bit on what your regulatory agency allows. Dragnet is labeled for use on ornamental trees for a wide variety of pest insects, but essentially for those pests that are feeding on and damaging the tree. It is not labeled for treatment of wasps found IN trees, although it is labeled for wasps on and around structures. So, here's the question. Does your regulatory agency allow you to use a product for any pest that occurs on a labeled site? Most states in the U.S. do but a few do not, and those few require that you only treat for pests that are listed on the sites you hope to treat, meaning you would have to use a product labeled for wasps found in trees. This is probably going to be much more difficult to find a product labeled in that manner.
To me it is logical that if you can safely treat for all those listed pests on a listed site that it would be just as "safe" to treat for some other kind of pest on that same site, even though it is not named on the product Label. Manufacturers usually have various kinds of general terms and vague statements that allow this judgment call on your part, such as "treat for pests such as but not limited to" or "for the following and similar kinds of pests", etc. However, the Dragnet label does state that it may be used to control "insect pests on ornamentals, so this could be construed as allowing its use for any pest insects found in an ornamental tree. The list of insects that follows may not, in the eyes of this manufacturer, necessarily be limiting the use of the product only to those pests.
But, since your local regulatory agency would be the one to say yes or no to this question it always is best to consult with them if you are uncertain. Better to know ahead of time that you should not than to go ahead and do it and get cited for it later.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
