I have a daycare with OCFS regulations stating the local health department must approve any pesticides they will spray on their property. They have a bad tick problem around their playground. Being a partial service county, I referred her to my district office who handles our environmental services. They said they do not deal with this. Has anyone else ran into this issue and how have you handled it?

My quick answer is #1 below. The rest is just other info from my experience/quick research.

1. NYSDEC, under Environmental Conservation Law is the agency that regulates pesticides in NYS and is responsible for compliance assistance. I’d reach out to them for input. The Pesticide Compliance Section can be contacted at 518-402-8727 or PesticideCompliance@dec.ny.gov. I’ve lost track of who (if still in existence) our local (Jeff/Lewis) pesticide representative is at DEC.
2. For the daycare, they should obviously utilize a certified commercial applicator who is licensed under the appropriate category (for example, I’m licensed under category 5b “aquatic insects”, so I would not be able to do the work). Part of the certification process is category specific training, so an applicator in that appropriate category would hopefully know, or have references to any particulars of such an application scenario.
3. For general info related to any application, Integrated Pest Management practices should be used too, not just reliance on pesticide applications. So, I’d also check to see if/what has been done to mitigate risk already through engineering controls and other methods. (By chance, on the link I provided for the Cornell program, if you scroll down, the next three NYS IPM Events are all about tick control)
4. Under § 390-c. of Social Services Law “Notice of pesticide applications” only references notification to the commissioner of health (which I assume as state health) for emergency applications. I’m not sure if there is another statutory reference the daycare is speaking of or not, but 390 is what’s linked on the OCFS website.
5. Under § 390-g. of Social Services Law “Pesticide alternatives”, it does state: “2. No day care shall apply pesticide to any playgrounds, turf, athletic or playing fields, except that an emergency application of a pesticide may be made as determined by the county health department or for a county not having a health department such authority as the county legislature shall designate, the commissioner of health or his or her designee, the commissioner of environmental conservation or his or her designee, or, in the case of a public school, the school board.” That’s the only reference I found in the section regarding county health department and the one I assume the daycare is speaking of. The take away from that from my perspective is that as described, I would not think that the desire to apply to control ticks in this instance is an “emergency”, so I’d say the LHD is not involved. That brings me back to the first number suggestion though of outreach to NYSDEC for input and compliance guidance.

We follow NYS Health guidelines of Reducing Pesticide Exposure and Pests, Pesticides & Repellents.

I have not encountered this request in Yates or Schuyler Counties.

Greene has not heard of this requirement.