Stay up to date with the latest from the Board of Pesticides Control. This update covers everything you need to know about upcoming meetings, new rules, and important reminders to keep you and your community safe. We’re here to keep you informed, and we’d like to hear your thoughts—drop us an email anytime at pesticides@maine.gov.
The next Board Meeting is October 3, 2025 it will be hybrid at the Deering Building in Rm 101 in Augusta, ME 04330, and on Microsoft Teams. The meeting starts at 9:00 AM. For more information, visit the Board Meetings Page.
Upcoming Credit Meetings
The following program has been approved for pesticide recertification credits. More recertification opportunities may be found on the BPC Credit Calendar.
August 28, 2025 and August 29, 2025– Rodent Academy 2 Day In-Person
Location: Portland Regency Hotel, 20 Milk Street, Portland, ME, 8 AM to 5 PM
FIFRA Section 2(ee) outlines certain exemptions for using a pesticide inconsistent with its labeling. Pesticide registrant companies and distributors may present you with these supplemental labels for products you are using or purchasing. The BPC reviews and approves Section 2(ee) labels and they cannot be used unless accepted and on file with the Board of Pesticides Control. Although not required by the EPA, submission of supplemental labels is required in Maine.
If you would like to know if a 2(ee) is registered, please contact the BPC registrar.
This section of FIFRA presents special circumstances where it is permissible to use a 2(ee) label ONLY for the following reasons:
Applying a pesticide at any dosage, concentration, or frequency less than specified on the label, unless exclusively prohibited. Section 2(ee) can never be used to increase the dosage, concentration, or frequency of an application or to decrease the preharvest interval.
Applying a pesticide against any target pest not specified on the labeling, to a crop, animal, or site on the label, unless label only allows use for control of labeled pests.
Employing any method of application not prohibited by the labeling, unless the label states that the product may be applied only by the methods specified on the label. Section 2(ee) recommendations cannot suggest a method of application, such as chemigation or aerial application, if the label specifies only ground applications.
Mixing a pesticide or pesticides with a fertilizer, when such a mixture is not prohibited by the labeling.
When using a 2(ee) label, you must have the supplemental label available, just like you would a Section 3 label. If you are using a 2(ee) that suggests off-label use outside of these limitations, please discontinue this use and notify the BPC.
BPC Reminders and Updates
Drought Conditions and Pesticide Use
Recently, there have been concerns about drought conditions throughout parts of Maine. A new map from the National Drought Mitigation Center shows the drought conditions throughout Maine, see below.
Broad scale conditions map of drought in Maine. Local conditions may vary. See accompanying text summary for forecast statements.
Image courtesy of droughtmonitor.unl.edu
Given these conditions throughout parts of Maine, it’s important to understand the effect that drought may have on pesticide use. The below article was recently published from UNH and may have some insightful resources for growers and pesticide applicators in Maine.
Drought Conditions Can Reduce Pesticide Effectiveness: What Growers Need to Know
Friday, August 08, 2025
Rachel Maccini, Field Specialist Pesticide Safety Education
Image courtesy of unh.edu
As drought conditions become more frequent and intense across many agricultural regions, understanding how water stress impacts pesticide performance is critical for effective pest management. University and Extension research has shown that drought can significantly reduce the efficacy of herbicides, insecticides, and biological control agents in the field.
Herbicide Challenges Under Drought
Dry conditions cause plants — including weeds — to develop thicker, waxier leaves and slow their growth. These changes reduce herbicide uptake, especially for systemic products like glyphosate. Pre-emergence herbicides also become less effective without adequate soil moisture, as they may not activate properly or move into the root zone where emerging weeds absorb them.
Additionally, higher temperatures and low humidity increase the risk of herbicide volatilization and spray drift, leading to off-target impacts and poor weed control.
Insecticide Performance Also Drops
Systemic insecticides, which rely on plant uptake and internal movement, can lose effectiveness in drought-stressed plants. Reduced transpiration limits the pesticide’s ability to move within plant tissues, resulting in inconsistent protection and increased potential for pest survival.
Spray-applied insecticides are also more prone to evaporation and drift under hot, dry conditions, leading to reduced on-target deposition and efficacy.
Biological Controls Are Not Immune
Research into biological pest control — such as viruses used against pests like the fall armyworm — has shown that plant stress from drought can interfere with the pest-pathogen interaction, weakening control outcomes. This underscores the importance of adequate irrigation not just for crop growth, but also for supporting biological pest suppression.
What Growers Can Do
Time applications carefully: Apply pesticides when plants are less stressed — early morning or after light rainfall can help with absorption.
Read and follow all pesticide labels: Labels contain critical guidance, including temperature restrictions. Avoid applying pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides if temperatures exceed label-specified thresholds — often around 85°F (29°C), but this varies by product.
Use proper adjuvants: Surfactants and other additives can improve pesticide coverage and uptake during dry conditions.
Monitor closely: Adjust pest thresholds and scouting intensity during drought, as pest dynamics and plant sensitivity may shift.
Integrate IPM practices: Relying solely on chemicals becomes riskier under drought. Incorporate cultural, mechanical, and biological strategies to build resilience into your pest management program.
As weather patterns shift, adapting pest control strategies to environmental stressors like drought is essential for sustainable crop production. For more guidance, contact your local Extension office or crop advisor.
Author Rachel Maccini, Field Specialist, Extension
Obsolete Pesticide Collection Events: Registration is Open
BPC and DEP are hosting the annual obsolete pesticide collection events. Registrations are open for the 2025 season. See the flyer below for more details.
This is a FREE program for Maine residents that would like to safely dispose of their pesticide and adjuvant waste. This program is open to homeowners, gardeners, and family-owned farms. Registration is required to participate. Registrants will receive a packet in October with more information about the late October events held in Presque Isle, Bangor, Augusta, and Portland. For more information, scan the QR code below or visit our Pesticide Disposal Resources webpage for more details.
This program is not open for commercial pesticide waste. Commercial applicators are encouraged to reach out to hazardous waste contractors for their excess or unusable pesticides.
Toxicology Corner
Part 1: Nuts and Bolts of the EPA’s Human Health Risk Assessment for New Pesticides
By Doug Van Hoewyk, PhD, BPC Pesticide Toxicologist
Last month, the EPA proposed the registration of the novel fungicide fluoxapiprolin for use on a wide variety of crops. As with all new pesticides, the EPA’s Health Effects Division must analyze and assess any potential dietary risks from the consumption (food and water) of a pesticide. This month’s “tox talk” briefly discusses what this risk assessment entails.
Although the molecule fluoxapiprolin is practically non-toxic to animals- including humans- a metabolite was discovered that is of toxicological concern. This metabolite is produced during the natural degradation of fluoxapiprolin, and goes by the forgettable name of BCS-BP32808. Importantly, this metabolite was only detected on the residue of green onions, and was not detected on a broad variety of other crops: berries, potatoes, leafy vegetables, cucumbers, grapes, etc. However, since BCS-BP32808 was detected in green onions, a health assessment was performed to evaluate the risks to humans and different subgroups; these subgroups include biological differences in sex and age. (In other words, risk might be different between men and women, and between an infant and an adult. This is because a 12-pound four-month-old will metabolize and respond to a chemical differently compared to a 170-pound forty-year-old).
Within the EPA’s Health Effects Division is a group of experts that forms the Cancer Assessment Review Committee. This committee examines the results of several mutagenic tests. Based on these results, the committee declared that the metabolite BCS-BP32808 is “Not Likely to be Carcinogenic to Humans.”
Further toxicological testing in rats examined whether or not BCS-BP32808 induced early signs of adverse health effects, which are referred to as “endpoints.” The early endpoints observed were decreased motor function and piloerection (goosebumps). These early endpoints are common in toxicological assays, and are more protective in establishing a safer reference dose (or acceptable daily intake) compared to observing a later endpoint, i.e. death. Based on these early endpoints, the EPA established a reference dose of 0.05 mg/kg body weight for the metabolite BCS-BP32808; this reference dose is the concentration that a human can safely consume daily for 70 years without anticipated adverse health effects.
In summary, the EPA concludes that the reference dose (0.05 mg) does not exceed a level of concern for all human subgroups, including infants. This is because the anticipated exposure to BCS-BP32808 is far below the reference dose, or what humans would consume. Therefore, because BCS-BP32808 (a metabolite of fluoxapiprolin) is below a level of concern for all human subgroups, the EPA decided to proceed with the proposed registration of fluoxapiprolin.
In next month’s newsletter, I will discuss how a reference dose is calculated in Part Two of my “tox talk.”
Enforcement Reminder
During recent inspections, staff have observed that Spray Contracting Firms and Commercial applicators may not have a positive property identification protocol in place. Although the protocol criteria were once in policy, they are now in rule. All commercial pesticide applicators must have a positive property identification protocol in place and train their employees annually about the protocol to avoid unauthorized and misapplications. Please see the rule below.
Chapter 20: SPECIAL PROVISIONS.
Section 7. Positive Identification of Proper Treatment Site
A. Commercial applicators making outdoor treatments to residential properties must implement a system, based on Board approved methods, to positively identify the property of their customers. After December 31, 2023, the master applicator responsible for the supervision of certified and noncertified applicators at each branch location must ensure that all applicators under their supervision are trained, annually, on positive identification of proper treatment sites. This master applicator must maintain records of the method of positive identification of proper treatment sites as adopted by the branch location. Appropriate positive identification methods that must be employed include at least one of the following:
Obtain the customer’s electric meter number in advance of the treatment, list it on the work order or invoice, and require the applicator to check for that number before initiating the treatment.
Visit the customer in advance of the treatment, and using a global positioning system (GPS), identify the coordinates of each property to be treated. Include the coordinates on the work order or invoice, equip the applicator with a GPS unit, and require that employee to check for those coordinates before initiating any treatment.
Visit the customer in advance of the treatment and take a digital time/date stamped photo of the home and any distinctive features of the property. Include the photo on the work order or invoice and require the applicator to carefully check the photo before initiating any treatment.
Visit the customer in advance of the treatment and attach a company logo or other unique identifying tag on the property. Include the location of the logo/tag on the work order or invoice and require the applicator to carefully check for its presence before initiating any treatment.
Any methods that were submitted in writing to the Board prior to March 1, 2024. Any methods submitted after this date may be subject to approval by staff.
EPA Releases New Mobile Tool to Help Farmers Implement Recommended Ecological Pesticide Mitigation Measures
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the release of the Pesticide App for Label Mitigations (PALM), an easy-to-use, mobile-friendly tool to serve as a one-stop shop that helps farmers and applicators use EPA’s mitigation menu to reduce pesticide exposure to nontarget species from agricultural crop uses. Quickly accessible in the field, at users’ fingertips, PALM will make mitigation information from the final Insecticide Strategy, Herbicide Strategy and other strategies readily available in an intuitive, user-friendly format. This action supports Administrator Zeldin’s Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative Pillar 1: Clean Air, Land and Water for Every American.
EPA has released multiple resources to assist applicators in determining what mitigation options are available to them, including the spray drift and runoff calculators. PALM now saves time for farmers and applicators by combining the functionality of both of these calculators in a mobile-friendly and easy-to-use web interface. This nimble application incorporates information from the Ecological Mitigation Support Document to Support Endangered Species Strategies Version 2.0 (published in April 2025), as well as the Insecticide Strategy and Herbicide Strategy. PALM also provides a useful summary to show how users can calculate their runoff and erosion mitigation points or ecological spray drift buffer reductions and what field characteristics or application parameters are applicable to their individual applications. As an on-the-go solution, the tool will help pesticide users understand available mitigation measures without the need for redundant data entry or any additional software or models.
This is the initial version of PALM that EPA is sharing with stakeholders and is part of the agency’s larger information technology improvement goals. In the future, EPA intends to expand the functionality of the application and include access to additional information on labeling and bulletins. EPA welcomes public feedback to improve both subsequent versions of PALM and other available tools that help communicate how to comply with the runoff and erosion point system and the ecological spray drift buffers as they begin to appear on pesticide labeling. To provide feedback on and suggest future enhancements to PALM, please contact us at PALM@epa.gov.
EPA Announces Proposed Registration of Pesticide Fluoxapiprolin
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released for public comment its proposed registration for one technical and one end-use product containing the new active ingredient fluoxapiprolin, a broad-spectrum fungicide proposed for use on Brassica head and stem vegetables, bulb vegetables, cucurbit vegetables, fruiting vegetables, grapes, leafy vegetables, leaf petiole vegetables and potatoes. Fluoxapiprolin, when used according to label instructions, does not result in risks of concern for human health or the environment.
Fluoxapiprolin provides an alternative active ingredient for control of diseases like downy mildew, late blight or phytophthora blight. This new active ingredient is expected to be a useful addition to Integrated Pest Management programs. It would also give farmers an additional tool to help manage fungal diseases on crops.
In addition to its proposed registration decision, EPA is releasing human health and ecological risk assessments for the fungicide, as well as a determination that there would be no effects to listed species under the Endangered Species Act. EPA is not requiring any additional data to assess risk to human health or the environment.
After considering public comments on the proposed registration and risk assessments, EPA will determine whether the registration action meets the standard for registration under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. If EPA determines that the registration action can be granted, EPA will finalize the decision.
To read more about the proposed registration of fluoxapiprolin and to comment, see docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2022-0980 at www.regulations.gov. The public comment period will be open for 30 days, closing on Sep 12, 2025.
National Marine Fisheries Service Biological Opinion Implementation
During consultation with NMFS, methomyl registrants agreed to amend their product labels and registrations to include mitigations that would avoid potential jeopardy or adverse modification to the listed species and critical habitats identified in the NMFS biological opinion.
The newly approved labels for methomyl products will now:
Include mitigations which would reduce runoff and spray drift from treated areas into species’ habitats,
Describe how to report any ecological incidents associated with methomyl applications,
Include maximum annual application rate limits, and
Direct the user to the Endangered Species Protection Bulletins using the Bulletins Live! Two (BLT) website to identify additional methomyl mitigations in geographically-specific locations.
