Maine pest control service report requirements

What Maine requires

• No commercial applicator may use or supervise the use of any pesticide in Maine without prior certification from the Board of Pesticides Control; a competent person who is not certified may use a pesticide only under the direct supervision of a certified applicator22 M.R.S. 1471-D (1) (A)
• Every commercial applicator is licensed as a master or an operator, or is supervised on site by a licensed master or operator who is physically present on the client's property for the whole application with continuous visual and voice contact (video does not count as visual contact)01-026 CMR ch. 31, s. 1 (A) (amended 2024-10-21)
• Each branch office that employs commercially licensed people has at least one master applicator licensed in every category the office works in, who actively supervises and can be on site within six hours' driving time; licenses are affiliated with the company and end when the employee leaves; structural work falls under category 7 (7A general pest control, 7F termites)01-026 CMR ch. 31, ss. 1 (C), 1 (E), 2 (A) (VII)
• Commercial applicators keep application records with the town and location, the site treated, the target organism, the customer and customer address, the size or scope of the treated area, and for each site the date and time, brand name, EPA registration number, active ingredient, any restricted entry interval or ventilation period, method of application (type of equipment), dilution agents other than water, the licensed applicator's name and certification number, and the name of any noncertified applicator who made the application01-026 CMR ch. 50, s. 1 (A) (II) (a)-(b) (amended 2024-10-21)
• For each distinct site, the record gives the date and time of application01-026 CMR ch. 50, s. 1 (A) (II) (b)
• For each site the record keeps rate information: for a restricted use pesticide the total amount applied (undiluted); for a general use pesticide that amount, or the mix ratio and the total mix applied, or the mix ratio and the mix per unit area01-026 CMR ch. 50, s. 1 (A) (II) (c)
• For outdoor applications the record gives the weather: wind speed and direction, air temperature and sky conditions (sunny, partly cloudy, overcast, foggy or rainy); none is needed for pesticides placed in bait stations, devices on animals, or injections into trees or utility poles01-026 CMR ch. 50, s. 1 (A) (II) (d)
• Application records are kept current by recording all the required information on the same day the application is performed, kept for two years from the date of application at the primary place of business, and available to the Board's representatives on request01-026 CMR ch. 50, s. 1 (A) (I)
• Commercial applicators file an annual summary report for each calendar year by January 31 of the next year, electronically through a Board-approved system unless the Board grants a waiver, giving for each site the quantity of each pesticide, its EPA registration number and the total area treated; a missing report can suspend the license01-026 CMR ch. 50, s. 2 (A), (C), (D)
• A significant misapplication or accidental discharge of a pesticide, such as a fire, a spill, application to the wrong site or a place of human habitation in violation of the label, or equipment failure that releases pesticide, is telephoned to the Board as soon as practicable after emergency care is obtained and containment has begun01-026 CMR ch. 50, s. 2 (E)
• Inside occupied buildings (rented units the resident did not ask to have treated, common areas, businesses, agencies, institutions, licensed child care and nursery schools), a Board-approved written notice goes to the residents, employees or parents at least 24 hours and no more than seven days before an application, posted notices stay up 48 hours after, and anyone who asks gets the trade name and EPA number, the date and time, the location, the label's re-entry interval and a contact; baits, gels, pastes, dusts and crack and crevice treatments in areas they cannot readily reach are exempt from the notice01-026 CMR ch. 26, ss. 2, 3 (A)-(D)
• In occupied buildings covered by the indoor rule, applicators identify the pest specifically and evaluate the infestation before treating, and commercial applicators give the client a written evaluation of pest conducive conditions with specific recommendations for practical non-pesticide control measures01-026 CMR ch. 26, s. 4 (B)-(C)
• Unless the label prohibits it, only baits, gels, pastes, granular materials and crack and crevice treatments may be used while residents, patients, children, customers or unconsenting employees are in the same room, and products are chosen for low risk01-026 CMR ch. 26, s. 5 (A)-(B)
• A tenant's unit may not be treated if the tenant opposes it, unless a public health or code enforcement official finds an immediate need, and only after alternative control measures have been tried and documented as failing01-026 CMR ch. 26, s. 6
• Outdoor areas treated under category 7A (general pest control) are posted before the application starts and stay posted at least two days after, with a rigid, weather resistant, light colored sign at least 5 inches wide and 4 high bearing CAUTION (72 point), PESTICIDE APPLICATION (30 point or larger), the Board's symbol, the label's reentry precautions, the company's name and phone, the date and time of the application and when to remove the sign; marked outdoor bait stations are exempt01-026 CMR ch. 28, s. 3 (B)-(C) (amended 2015-05-24)
• Commercial applicators notify people on the Maine Pesticide Notification Registry of outdoor non-agricultural applications within 250 feet of their property boundary, 6 hours to 14 days ahead, with the location, date and approximate start time, brand names and EPA numbers, and the company's name and phone; 7A applications within 5 feet of the structure being treated, baits and wall void injections are exempt01-026 CMR ch. 28, s. 2 (D)-(E)