Following 2024 restrictions on the use of neonics in agriculture to protect pollinators, new restrictions will focus on neonic pesticides commonly used in non-agricultural landscapes
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
New restrictions on non-agricultural outdoor uses of neonicotinoid pesticides will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025. This includes products containing acetamiprid, clothianidin, dinotefuran, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam. While these products are currently available to be purchased by consumers, starting next year only licensed pesticide dealers and applicators will be authorized to sell or use neonic products for outdoor non-agricultural use.
October 1, 2024 – SACRAMENTO — The California Department of Pesticide Regulation is preparing to implement a new state law that will limit most retail sales and non-agricultural outdoor uses of neonicotinoid type pesticides to licensed applicators, effective Jan. 1.
Today, DPR shared information on how to comply with the law with pesticide dealers, retailers and pesticide applicators, and provided guidance for enforcing the new law to county agricultural commissioners who enforce pesticide laws and regulations locally.
Neonicotinoid pesticides are commonly used for killing insect pests on farms, and in landscapes and yards. Scientific studies increasingly show they are hazardous to bees and other pollinators.
Assembly Bill 363, signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October 2023, requires businesses selling neonicotinoid pesticides for non-agricultural outdoor uses to be licensed by DPR. The law allows only licensed applicators to buy or use neonicotinoids around homes, businesses or other non-agricultural landscapes.
AB 363’s restrictions on the outdoor non-agricultural uses of neonicotinoids align with DPR’s scientific assessment on the impact of neonicotinoids on bees, which informed state regulations that took effect in January 2024 to restrict the agricultural use of these pesticides. The neonicotinoid regulations currently in effect are tailored by crop to restrict uses of neonicotinoids when plants are in bloom, including how neonicotinoids can be applied and how much can be applied.
“Pollinators and other beneficial insects are critical to maintaining a stable food supply and healthy ecosystems, and for practicing sustainable pest management,” said DPR Director Julie Henderson. “The new non-agricultural neonicotinoid restrictions build on recent DPR regulations for agricultural use and align with our scientific assessment of neonic risks to pollinators.”
Under the new law, only licensed applicators may apply neonicotinoids in the following situations:
- Outdoor applications to ornamental plants in non-agricultural settings, such as landscaping around homes, schools, libraries, airports, and businesses.
- Outdoor applications to all trees in non-agricultural use settings, including fruit and nut trees around homes and residences.
- Outdoor applications to turf.
- Outdoor applications to ornamental nursery stock at retail nurseries.
The new law doesn’t apply to agricultural use of neonicotinoids, which are restricted through regulation, or indoor consumer products containing neonicotinoids, like ant baits, or veterinary products, like pet flea treatments.
For more information on how to interpret these legal requirements, and for how they will be enforced locally, see DPR’s guidance to county agricultural commissioners on the department’s Enforcement Branch webpage.
You can also contact your county agricultural commissioner for guidance. Find your local county agricultural commissioner’s contact information here.
For a list of pesticides affected by the new law, see this webpage from the California Notice.
To learn more about California pesticide licensing and requirements, see DPR’s Licensing and Certification webpage.
About California Department of Pesticide Regulation
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation protects human health and the environment by fostering safer and sustainable pest management practices and operating a robust regulatory system to monitor and manage the sale and use of pesticides across the state. DPR’s work includes registering all pesticides sold or used in California, conducting scientific evaluation of pesticides to assess and mitigate potential harm to human health or the environment, investing in innovative research to encourage the development and adoption of integrated pest management tools and practices, monitoring for pesticides in the air and water, conducting outreach to ensure pesticide workers, farmworkers and local communities have access to safety information, and enforcing pesticide regulations in coordination with 55 County Agricultural Commissioners and their 500 field inspectors.
