Who can use a herbicide?
By The EC Team

Who can use a herbicide?

Herbicide usage comes with legislation so what does it take to be qualified to use it?

Not all Glyphosate is the same!

Roundup is the brand name of one of the most common herbicide (“Glyphosate” was developed by Monsanto now owned by Bayer) used to treat or kill most invasive plants, including Bamboo, Buddleia and Himalayan balsam. The chemical can be applied to the leaf surface via a knapsack sprayer or via injection directly into the plant stem so that it trans-locates to the root system killing the plant off, or in some species (such as Japanese knotweed) controls the spread.

In this article we explain why herbicides are generally not for public usage, and the qualifications any user should hold – and be able to prove before doing so.

Firstly not all Glyphosates are the same and not all are approved for certain areas, this is called “field of use”, all Glyphosates work the same but dependent on the additives within the mix, will determine where they can and cannot be used. Not all Glyphosates for instance are approved for use within Aquatic situations, some are Agricultural only and must not be used in an Amenity environment. End users can quite easily obtain herbicides from sellers online, but are they legal to use within the UK, do they have the correct field of use. All Herbicides including Glyphosate have an individual MAPP number (Ministerially Approved Pesticide Product), which ensures all pesticides have undergone rigorous testing before they are allowed within the public domain. some products sold online do not have authorised MAPP numbers to be used within the UK and could be forgeries, they have not been tested and could have devastating effects to the environment and the end user and they ultimately they are illegal.

This get’s us neatly onto qualifications. Did you know that to be able to apply herbicide you need at least a PA1 and PA6 qualification to enable herbicides to be applied by a hand held sprayer or knapsack sprayer? These qualifications cover the safe use of pesticides and handheld applicators. They are required for anyone working in the amenity, horticulture, agricultural, or forestry industries, such as weed control contractors, grounds maintenance operatives and gardeners, lawn care operatives, and green keeping staff.

Then there’s legislation. Is the product intended to be used listed and the relevant MAPP number in date and the product still has authorisation? This information can be found on the Chemicals Regulation Division (CRD) website. Is the user signed up to OCR regulations?

So as you can see it takes a qualified and experienced technician to use herbicide, plus it takes specialist knowledge to know which herbicide to use where, on which plant type, and most importantly – how much to use!

Questions you should be asking (yourself or your gardener):

  • Are you qualified to use any herbicides?
  • Is it the relevant product for the situation it’ll be used in?
  • Do you know how to use herbicide safely?
  • Are you breaking the law?

If you’d like more information on anything in this article or would like to know how we reduce herbicide usage through Integrated Weed Management (IWM) please get in touch.

contact the team

0330 056 8880