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Product Info

Pest Control Product Description - Lawn Care

The primary objective of all our lawn care programs is to establish and maintain a healthy lawn. Just like with people, the healthier the lawn, the more capable it is to fight off a pest problem (such as weeds or insects). The most effective way to do this is through proper fertilization and sound cultural practices (such as mowing, watering, aeration, seeding, etc.). We offer our customers lawn care programs that utilize pesticides as required, or programs that exclude pesticide use. All of our programs follow the principles of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Under these principles, if pesticides are to be used, they are only used where and when warranted. The decision to use any pest control product is based on many factors including:

Pest population (infestation)
Pest life cycle
Potential lawn damage

The pest control products used in our programs are the same products (and used at the same application rate) as those products found in local retail garden centres. They are all registered by Health Canada and applied according to their label recommendations.

The chart below lists the range of pest control products that may be used as part of our programs at various points across the growing season. Their use may be further restricted by provincial or municipal (bylaw) regulations. This chart illustrates the concentration percentage of the pesticide’s active ingredient (a.i.) in its original form before we prepare our trucks for work. We dilute these products in water according to their label. The last column shows the pesticide concentration in the diluted form that we apply to the lawn. As this illustrates, 98% or more of our spray application is water.

LAWN CARE PEST CONTROL PRODUCTS

		Pesticide Concentration
Product Name	Use	Original Product	As Applied to Lawns
Par III (PCP# 27884)	Weed control	10% mecoprop 19% 2,4-D 1.8% dicamba	0.03 to 0.11% mecoprop 0.06 to 0.21% 2,4-D 0.006 to 0.02% dicamba
Dimension (PCP# 23003)	Crabgrass control (Pre-emergent control)	12.4% dithiopyr	0.027 to .089% dithiopyr
Acclaim Super (PCP# 22886)	Crabgrass control (Post-emergent control)	8.05% fenoxaprop-p-ethyl	0.006 to 0.057% fenoxapoprop-p-ethyl
Merit Solupak (PCP# 25932)	Insect control (Grubs – liquid spray application)	75% imidacloprid	0.017% to 0.057% imidacloprid
Merit 0.5G (PCP# 25933)	Insect control (Grubs – granular application)	0.5% imidacloprid	0.5% imidacloprid
Sevin T&O (PCP# 26873)	Insect control (Chinch bug, Sod webworm, Leatherjackets)	42.8% carbaryl	0.56% to 1.9% carbaryl

* Above pesticide application concentrations are based on spray volumes ranging from 4.5 L to 15 L per 1,000 sq ft.

Pest Control Product Description – Tree and Shrub Care

As with our lawn care program, the primary objective of our tree and shrub care program is to establish and maintain healthy trees and shrubs. A healthy plant will be more resistant to damage caused by insect or disease infestations. Our tree and shrub care program offers our customers insect pest control with the use of all natural products. Even though these are natural products, our program still follows the principles of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Under these principles, if pesticides (natural or otherwise) are to be used, they are only used where and when warranted. Just like in lawn care, the decision to use any pest control product is based on many factors including

Pest population (infestation)
Pest life cycle
Potential plant damage

The chart below lists the range of pest control products that may be used as part of our programs at various points across the growing season. This chart illustrates the concentration percentage of the pesticide’s active ingredient (a.i.) in its original form before we prepare our trucks for work. We dilute these products in water according to their label. The last column shows the pesticide concentration in the diluted form that we apply to the lawn.

TREE & SHRUB CARE PEST CONTROL PRODUCTS

		Pesticide Concentration
Product Name	Use	Original Product	As Applied to Tree/Shrub
Landscape Oil (PCP # 28124)	Insect control	99% Mineral Oil	2.0 to 2.5% Mineral Oil
Safer’s Natural Insecticide (PCP # 14669)	Insect control	50.5% Potassium salts of fatty acids	0.5 to 1.0% Potassium of fatty acids
Trounce (PCP # 24363)	Insect control	20% Potassium salts of fatty acids 0.2% Pyrethrins	% Potassium salts of fatty acids 0.01% Pyrethrins
Success 480SC Naturalyte Insect Control (PCP #26835)	Insect control	48% Spinosad	0.001% Spinosad

Product Safety Precautions

As the products we use are applied in dilute solutions, the safety precautions for us (as applicators) or our customers (or other by-standers) would be similar to those prescribed for similar pest control products used by the general public.

With regards to pesticide treatments on the lawn, we make the following recommendations:

Stay off the lawn until the application has dried. Drying time may range from 1 to 4 hours, depending on weather conditions. An easy rule of thumb would be to stay off the lawn until the next day. Studies at the University of Guelph found that after watering the lawn, or rainfall, you can not dislodge residues of the product applied.
If people or pets come in contact with the spray solution, wash the effected area with soap and water.
The odour that is sometimes apparent after an application is the formulant in the pest control product, not the pesticide. This odour is no indication of exposure or toxicity.

Government Compliance

All of the pest control products we use are registered by Health Canada and approved for use by the Ontario Ministry of Environment. We are a licensed operator under Regulation 914 of the Ontario Pesticides Act. Our lawn and tree care specialists are licensed to apply pesticides under this Act.

Fertilizer Product Description

Lawn Care

Our lawn care programs provide balanced granular fertilizers. They provide the needed amounts of essential plant nutrients including nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P2O5), and potassium (K2O). The source and amount of these nutrients may vary depending on the following:

Program requirements

Environmental / seasonal conditions

Generally, these fertilizers provide nitrogen from urea and ammonium sulphate, phosphorus from ammonium phosphate, and potassium from potassium chloride. Depending on the season and environmental conditions, we may provide a slow release fertilizer containing the same nutrients. An amount of the nitrogen component in this slow release fertilizer is protected by a coating that slowly breaks down releasing the nitrogen. This coating may be made of sulphur or a polymer coating.

In our organic-based programs, our fertilizers include the above nutrients and sources, but are fortified with all natural corn gluten meal. This is a product of the corn milling process that provides a natural source of nitrogen.

We also offer a range of all-natural fertilizers, depending on the market and program. These include a 100% corn gluten meal fertilizer and fertilizers containing feathermeal, bone meal and natural sulphate of potash.

Tree and Shrub Care

Our tree and shrub program provides a balanced application of fertilizer in a liquid form directly to the root zone of the tree or shrub. This fertilizer provides essential nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium through our unique soil injection tool that also allows us to surface feed shallow rooted plants in shrub beds.

Our lawn or tree and shrub care technicians are trained to apply the appropriate amount of fertilizer based on the season and environmental conditions. This is a key requirement in developing and maintaining a healthy lawn or plant that is more resistant to pest attack or environmental stress. After we apply any of our fertilizers, customers, bystanders and pets can immediately walk on the lawn. There is no cause for health related concerns.