| You have just four more days to register with the City of Kelowna if you want to be notified when pesticides are being sprayed in your area.
The city's deadline to register for pesticide notification is March 11.
The annual registry is for Kelowna residents who wish to be informed when pesticide spraying occurs on residential properties adjacent to their own.
While the city has had a bylaw since 2009 banning the use of cosmetic, nonessential pesticides on residential properties such as herbicides, fungicides, rodenticides and "weed and feed" type products, some pesticides are excludes from the ban. And the city requires neighbours who register to be notified about upcoming commercial spraying operations on adjacent residential property.
Kelowna residents can register online at kelowna.ca/environment under Pesticide Free, by providing their name, street address, postal code, phone number, email address, preference for same-day or day-before notification and reasons for registering.
Alternately, they can register by calling the commercial pesticide notification registry hotline at 250-469-8556.
While registrants will be notified by commercial spray operators on the day before or the same day as the pesticide is applied to abutting residential properties, the registry notification does not cover pesticide applications on agricultural properties.
Residents must sign up each year in order to keep the registry accurate and up to date. Even if you have signed up in the past, you must sign up again by Friday to be included in the 2015 notification program, says city hall.
As alternatives to pesticides, the city recommends what it calls a number of healthy alternatives for your yard, such as using a compost-like products such as OgoGrow or GlenGrow. Other tips for a pesticide-free yard can be found on the Pesticide Free page on the city’s website.
For more information about the Kelowna's pesticide regulation bylaw or pesticide-free yard tips, go to kelowna.ca/environment.
