Using pesticides correctly
Brennan Jackson Jones County Extension Coordinator & 4-H Agent
Pesticides can be an effective tool to combat different issues you’re facing whether you have troublesome weeds in your lawn, destructive insects, or a plant disease outbreak.
However, it is important to use them judiciously and correctly. In regards to using them judiciously there are certain factors to consider. For instance, if you find one hornworm on your tomato plants should you go mix up some insecticide to rid your tomato plants of the hornworm?
Probably not. You could simply remove it by hand and disperse of it. What if there are dozens of them causing unimaginable damage to the tomatoes? You could probably go mix up some insecticide because while you can remove them by hand it is more practical to make that insecticide application. Judicious use of pesticides can be fairly obvious because they should not be used when they are not needed. The issue then becomes whether or not they are being used correctly.
All pesticides go through rigorous testing to ensure that health and/ or environmental thresholds are not exceeded. From there, the product is labeled with specific instructions as to how and how much should be used. For example, if the label indicates that you should mix three ounces in four gallons of water to cover a 1,000 square foot area then that is what should be used. It’s not one of those situations where if three ounces works then six ounces will work better.
Actually, by using too much or to little product can lead to resistance problems in the future. This labeling also gives specific information as to what it should be used on. It should go without saying, but if you’re fighting weeds then a fungicide is not going to work on that. On the other end of the spectrum, even though you may decide to use a Neem product for your vegetable garden to battle insects, that product does not necessarily work on all insects. Neem is a great organic option for insects that is commercially available, but it does not work on scales, yellow jackets, mites, or mosquitoes. Therefore, knowing what you’re combating is very important to determine what you can use.
Timing is another important factor to consider. You may have properly identified the weeds in your lawn correctly and purchased the correct product to destroy them, but if the weeds are fully mature then it will be harder for the herbicide to work because most labels indicate that the best time to spray is when the weeds are younger, smaller, and more susceptible. If you decided to apply a pre-emergent herbicide to your lawn to prevent weeds from germinating but the weeds have already germinated then the herbicide is not going to work.
While there are many more considerations when using pesticides judiciously and correctly, you’ll be ahead of the game by applying the correct rates on the correct pest at the correct time. For more information about pesticide selection and usage please contact the Extension office by calling 478-986-3958 or emailing brennan4@uga.edu.
