Northside Healthy Lawn Team

Pesticide Notification

Wisconsin's Landscape Pesticide Advance Notice Registry gives renters and homeowners a way to be notified in advance of neighbors' pesticide applications.

How does it work? You fill out an application form, listing addresses on your block or adjacent blocks. These addresses are then added to the state's registry. Landscape and lawn care companies that use pesticides compare the addresses on the registry to their customer's addresses. If there is a match, the company will notify you (or whoever listed the address) that they are going to apply pesticides. You'll receive a notification via phone or mail. The notice lists the name of the lawncare company, the addresses treated, pesticides to be used and the scheduled date of application. By law, companies must give you at least 12 hours notice before applying chemicals.

The idea behind advance notification is to give you the opportunity to minimize your exposure to these chemicals – before they are applied. For example, if you know that a neighbor's yard will be sprayed tomorrow, you might decide not to hang out laundry. You might want to keep your windows closed. And you would certainly want to keep children and pets away, once the lawn has been treated.

Advance notification also gives you an opportunity to talk with your neighbors who use pesticides and express your concerns in a non-judgmental way. Remember, many of the folks who have contracts with lawn chemical companies don't think of pesticides as pollutants; they are not aware of the harmful health and environmental effects of pesticides.

The deadline for requesting advance notification is February 1st, each year preceding the grass growing season. For more information and a printable copy of the form, link to the state's Landscape Pesticide Advance Notice Registry site.