Pesticide safety is about you

(NC)—From keeping the apple in your lunch box worm-free, to repelling mosquitoes, controlling mice in your attic, keeping your pool clean and treating weed infestations on your lawn, pesticides touch many aspects of your daily life.

Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency is responsible for determining if proposed pesticides can be used safely when label directions are followed and if they will be effective for their intended use. If there is reasonable certainty from scientific evaluation that no harm to human health, future generations or the environment will result from exposure to or use of a pesticide, its registration for use in Canada will be approved.

Once on the market, Health Canada monitors pesticide use through education, compliance and enforcement programs. Pesticides are also reviewed every fifteen years or sooner as new information is discovered and as science evolves.

Each pesticide is developed to control, destroy or inhibit the activities of a specific pest. Some pesticide products are available for domestic use, that is, for general consumers, while a larger number are available for agricultural, commercial and industrial uses.

To encourage the judicious use of pesticides, Health Canada promotes various methods to effectively control pests and prevent infestations. In order to reduce or eliminate the need for pesticide use, you should:

• determine if you really have a pest problem;

• properly identify the pest and understand its behaviour; and,

• modify the physical environment to make it less attractive to the pest or to repel it altogether.

More information is available online at www.health.gc.ca/pmra, or toll-free at 1-800-267-6315.

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