Presentation of Pesticides at Three Stores in HRM in 2005

On Aug. 9, 2005, I checked out presentation of pesticide products at 3 of the 5 stores in HRM that I had visited in 2004. The three stores selected were ones that in 2004 sold a lot of synthetic pesticides (i.e., pesticides not listed on Administrative Order #23).

I was interested in whether there had been any obvious improvement over last year in regard to

1. acknowledging the Pesticide By-law and promoting alternatives compatible with Administrative Order #23 (e.g., insecticidal soap, corn gluten meal; corn gluten meal is a 'natural' lawn herbicide which was placed on the Administrative Order#23 list only this year ^NOTE);


2. (b) separating acceptable alternatives from the synthetic pesticides on store shelves (ideally they should be in completely different areas).

• There were no notifications about the Pesticide By-law in any of the 3 stores within the areas where pesticides were displayed. At one store, a pamphlet (Reducing Pesticide Use in Halifax Municipality) was available at the cash area in a stand with various other pamphlets, however it was out-of-date, referring to the upcoming By-law and with a now incomplete list of materials that are permitted under Administrative Order#23.


• There were no posters or handouts promoting alternatives to banned pesticides, with one exception: one of the stores had a small poster promoting Shop-Vacs for control of chinch bug; it was located next to a carbaryl product (synthetic pesticide used for control of chinch bug, grubs and some other lawn pests).


• At two of the stores, 'Weed & Feed' products (containing both fertilizer and synthetic herbicide) and straight synthetic lawn herbicides were prominently displayed. Judging from the shelf area devoted to them (half or more of the total shelf area with pesticides), synthetic herbicides are still big sellers in HRM.


• Two of the stores offered a Corn Gluten product which is an alternative lawn herbicide now permited under the By-law. ^NOTE The price for a 9.7 kg bag was $20.99 at one store and $24.99 at the other store.


• All three stores offered insecticidal soap products that are compatible with the By-law. (Prices for 1 liter of straight insecticidal soap varied from $7.99 to $15.99.) In two of the three stores, these and other alternative products were placed together in one area, however, these areas were not clearly marked and were adjacent to shelves or sections of shelves with synthetic pesticides. This placement was an improvement for one of these two stores over 2004, when alternative and synthetic pesticides were not separated in any way. In the third store, there was some, but not complete, separation of synthetic and alternative pesticide products (as in 2004).

• Evidently, some of the major vendors of synthetic pesticide products still give little heed to the Pesticide By-law and, while they offer some alternative products, do not make any special efforts to promote alternative products.


• Synthetic lawn herbicides and 'Weed & Feed' products containing synthetic lawn herbicides appear to be big sellers even though they are banned under the By-law.