Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the Rodenticide Cluster Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) in July 1998 in response to human health and environmental concerns associated with rodenticides. The EPA and its stakeholders worked for 10 years developing risk assessments and mitigation plans, issuing the final Risk Mitigation Decision (RMD) on May 28, 2008. The RMD restricts retail sale of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides for commensal use and it refers field use rodenticide registrants back to the RED, which makes those products Restricted Use. This means that all applications of field use products must be made by a certified applicator. These changes have potentially large ramifications for smaller private applicators that are generally not certified to use Restricted Use materials. The California Department of Food and Agriculture, the University of California Cooperative Extension, and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation worked collaboratively to streamline the exam process for private applicators, allowing for a time-limited exam through June 2012. The concern for the Vertebrate Pest Control Research Advisory Committee (VPCRAC) is that many people will not take and/or pass the exam. This will impact the ability to effectively control rodent pests in some areas and may affect the revenue stream supporting the VPCRAC program. Preliminary sales data is not indicative of any impact to the program, but it may be too early to accurately draw any conclusions.