Call for a Balanced Pesticide Ordinance

The Falmouth Conservation Commission and the Ordinance Committee have for several years worked commendably to craft a balanced pesticide ordinance.

The ordinance passed May 28 on a 5-2 vote at the final meeting of the council's year.

Multiple councilors acknowledged the ordinance had flaws.

None of the 5 councilors voting for the ordinance ever answered one citizen's question – how is it possible to comply? The ordinance mandates that manufacturer's instructions must be followed. Only two fertilizer applications are allowed. Yet every available organic lawn product directs that it be applied more than twice which violates the ordinance.

One councilor dismissed citizens' concerns that ours is the only ordinance in Maine to ban all neonicotinoid use, suggesting that soap and horticultural oils would work instead to combat Hemlock Wooley Adelgid (HWA) and Emerald ash Borer (EAB) infestations which are killing these trees.

Horticultural oils do not work on EAB larvae which live under the bark of the ash. Oils operate by suffocating soft bodied insects. The EAB won't even encounter the oil.

Maine banned neonicotinoids in 2021 – with this, the Maine Board of Pesticides Control recognized the need for exceptions to treat infested Hemlock and Ash.

The only heartening aspect was that Council followed the guidance I provided on April 28 – defer the effective date until April 1, 2026.

So we don't impose a change on homeowners and applicators in the middle of the season.

A referendum to repeal this ordinance is already underway.