UF/IFAS Okeechobee County Extension Service

458 Highway 98 North

Okeechobee, FL 34972-2578

Phone: (863) 763-6469

E- mail:  dfculbert@ifas.ufl.edu

October 6, 2004

Feature Article - for release the week of October 10, 2004

Dan Culbert - Extension Horticulture Agent

Diazinon Deleted from homeowner toolbox

Local homeowners have cleared the hurricane debris from their lawns, and have finally gotten around to mowing their turf grasses. Those with St. Augustinegrass lawns may discover that chinch bugs have now moved in, creating yellowed grass and thin patchy areas. The impulse is to apply our old standby insecticide, diazinon, to kill off these pesky bugs.

However, homeowners looking for this popular residential lawn care product will now find it difficult to locate diazinon at their garden center.  It’s not a supply interruption due to hurricanes, but a result of a decision to remove a product from the market. Today’s column will explain why and offer some alternatives to the use of this product.

The reason that a recent search for diazinon has been difficult is that the EPA and the product’s manufacturer, Syngenta Crop Protection have been slowly withdrawing diazinon from residential uses since the year 2000.  Sale of indoor pest management products with diazinon ended in 2002, and by the end of this year, products labeled for homeowner use on  lawns must be removed from the sales shelf.

Pesticide manufacturers must now comply with the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act.  This law means that the amount of risk allowed from the use of a product must be limited.  Risks from any pesticide use must be balanced among all potential users, yet shielded from potential exposure to children, pets and wildlife.  In many cases, manufacturers have decided to limit their liability by only selling these products for public health, commercial or agricultural uses.

Diazinon has now become a restricted use pesticide - you must have a license to buy or use recently packaged insecticides containing diazinon.  These certified pesticide applicators are required to pay close attention to the labeled directions which homeowners may ignore.  This restriction in use will insure that the risks of pesticide contamination to people and the environment are limited.

Alternatives to Diazinon

One alternative to homeowners using of diazinon is to create landscapes which will not require the use of this product. Reducing the amount of St. Augustinegrass in the landscape, or changing the kind of turf used (from St. Augustine to Bahiagrass, for example) will eliminate the basic food of chinch bugs. No food, no bugs, no need for pesticides.

And, many of our locally owned nurseries are back from the storm - they are more than ready to supply high quality replacement plants for your Florida Yard,. What better time to "get off the grass" and help these local businesses stay in business - and improve the appearance of our community.

Another alternative to the use of diazinon is to take a good look at how you take care of your lawn. By following the basic rules of turf care - mowing correctly, fertilizing correctly and watering correctly - damage from chinch bugs can often be a thing of the past.

The University of Florida maintains a list of pesticide management recommendations that is regularly updated. In our most recent list, diazinon has been removed as a recommended chinch bug product.  Older homeowner recommendations may list such products as No Pest - Insect Spray Concentrate™, Ortho Soil & Turf Insect Control-Diazinon Granules™, Scott's Turf Builder with Insect Control™ and Spectracide - Soil & Turf Insect Control 6000™; they should not be found on the shelves of garden centers anymore.

Instead, if chinch bug problems can not be solved by cultural means, look for one of the following products: Talstar™, Sevin™, Tempo™, Merit™, Scimitar™, or insecticides containing permethrin, which have labeling for chinch bug management in residential lawn areas.

Master Gardeners can answer your questions about your Florida Yard - call or visit them on Tuesday afternoons here at our office. If you need additional information on landscape pest management, visit out webpage at http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu , or stop by our office at 458 Hwy 98 North. Our phone number is (863) 763-6469, and you can email us at okeechobee@ifas.ufl.edu .

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References

Congdon, Cara and Buss, Eileen . Buss Southern Chinch Bug Management on St. Augustinegrass, Gainesville: UF/IFAS Extension Service, Bulletin ENY-325, Revised: February 2002. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/LH036

Plummer, Stephanie. Pesticides: Organophosphates - Diazinon. Washington: US EPA, October 2004. http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/op/diazinon.htm

Unruh, Brian 2004 University of Florida's Pest Control Guide for Turfgrass Managers. Gainesville: UF/IFAS Extension Service. http://turf.ufl.edu/2004PestControlGuide.pdf

Welshans, Jennifer "DIAZINON UPDATE/Q&A" in Trimmed Lines. Kissimmee: UF/IFAS Osceola County Extension Service, January 2004. http://osceola.ifas.ufl.edu/TrimLineJan04.pdf

Trade names, where used, are given for the purpose of providing specific information. They do not constitute an endorsement or guarantee of products named, nor does it imply criticism of products not named. The Florida Cooperative Extension Service - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research, educational information, and other services to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin.  Florida Cooperative Extension Service / IFAS / University of Florida.  Larry A.  Arrington, Dean This page is maintained by Dan Culbert