British Columbia's Ministry of Environment intends to amend the Integrated Pest Management Regulation (IPMR) to ensure that most pesticides used in landscaped areas are applied by trained people. According to Daphne Dolhaine, Manager of the Integrated Pest Management Unit, the amendment would require all people applying pesticides to public land, rights-of-way, forest land, or on a fee-for-service basis, be trained. In addition, amendments would change the current way Domestic class pesticides are sold and update the schedule of excluded pesticides.
 
The proposed regulatory changes are available through the Integrated Pest Management Program website. Click here to link directly to the intentions paper.
 
Comments to the ministry should be made on or before December 8, 2013 using this form.

Submit comments by email or regular mail to Cindy Bertram of C. Rankin & Associates.
Email:  [email protected]
Mail:    PO Box 28159 Westshore RPO
             Victoria BC V9B 6K8  

A recent study conducted by Canadian researchers, Youssef Oulhote and Maryse F. Bouchard, explores the correlation between household insecticides and behavior problems in children. Findings from that study and its examination of the effects of pyrethroids on human health, were shared in the October 31st issue of Environmental Health Perspectives.

The researchers indicate they did not observe an "association between organophosphate pesticide exposure and behavioral scores in children"; however, they report some pyrethroid urinary metabolites were associated with a high level of parent-reported behavioral problems." The authors agree that this research is preliminary and inconclusive and that more exploration is needed to determine the potential effects of pyrethroid exposure on behavioral problems in children. Read more...

They drink your blood while you sleep. They can attack you at home, in a hotel, at the hospital, or even on a plane. You might have them and not even know it. Trying to get rid of them could cost you thousands of dollars and if you're traveling, it could inadvertently cost you your life. They are bed bugs - and if you're unlucky you might become their next victim.

Bite Me: The Bed Bug Invasion is a one-hour documentary that burrows deep into the world of these blood-sucking night-crawlers. Although bed bugs were once nearly eradicated by using the pesticide DDT, the chemical was banned in the 1970's allowing bed bugs to make a steady comeback ever since. This fast paced film combines interviews with world-renowned experts and first-hand accounts from bed bug victims together with occasional light hearted moments to reveal the oversized impact these tiny pests are having on our daily lives.

Bite Me: The Bed Bug Invasion will have its world broadcast premiere on CBC Television's Doc Zone on Thursday, November 14, 2013 at 9 PM (9:30 PM NT). Check local listings.

Click here to read the full press release.