The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) is the primary statute that regulates pesticides at the federal level. FIFRA gives the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to regulate the sale, use, and distribution of pesticides. Congress has passed other statutes that ensure the safety of pesticides with respect to food and animal feed, re-testing of pesticides, and rules governing pesticide registration with the EPA.

At the state level, Kansas Pesticide Law regulates the use of pesticides in Kansas. This law requires individuals to become certified as commercial applicators and businesses to become licensed to apply pesticides to someone else’s property.

In Kansas, two written exams are required to obtain certification as a commercial pesticide applicator. Individuals must demonstrate their knowledge on proper pesticide mixing, application, and safety in order to pass the certification tests. Seven hours of classroom training and one hour of in-person core training administered by the state of Kansas are required each year in order to maintain certification.

At Maximum Pest Management, we train our new field service reps for two to three months before they are allowed to provide service individually. Our staff participates in pesticide management training in-person and online throughout the year. This helps us provide our customers with the best and safest pest control service possible.

Part of effective, safe pest management is choosing the right pesticides. Just as a doctor uses a particular medication to control a specific illness, extermination companies use certain pesticides to control specific pest issues. If you ever have questions about the pesticides we use, please don’t hesitate to ask us.

For example, bifenthrin is commonly used to prevent and treat for pests such as ants, spiders, ticks, fleas and more. It’s a manmade compound (pyrethroid) that mimics the chemicals found in chrysanthemum flowers (pyrethrins). Bifentrhin works by interfering with the nervous system of a pest when they eat or touch it. There are over 600 products containing bifenthrin in the US. There is no data to suggest that children have increased sensitivity to bifenthrin. It binds tightly to soil, making it unlikely to seep down into the groundwater.

Being a good steward of the environment is a primary component of professional pest management. We do not want to, nor are we allowed to, kill every insect in the environment. Instead, pest management seeks to limit only those insects, arachnids and rodents that threaten our public health or the safety of our property.

Common precautions we take to protect the environment include avoiding aquatic life and reptiles, limiting drift and run-off into surface waters and drainage, and avoiding applying treatments to blooming crops or weeds which could expose bees. In addition, every pesticide has its own unique environmental regulations and requirements.