Is it okay if the custodian gives us bug spray to use around the dumpsters to kill bees?
This is a complicated situation. Under the NC School Children’s Health Act, which passed in 2006, all schools will have to have a notification process to notify any parents, students, and staff if a non-exempt pesticide is applied. The request to be notified is filed annually and the requestors are notified 72 hours prior to any scheduled spraying. If it is done in an emergency (and one is likely talking about yellow jackets more than bees in this particular situation because yellow jackets are usually the problem around dumpsters) and it is done when the yellow jackets are discovered, then one has to issue a notification to anyone who requested it within 72 hours after the treatment. Explaining what is a “non-exempt” pesticide is complicated. It is best to strongly discourage spraying by anyone who is not trained. Mike Waldvogel, Extension Specialist in Entomology at NCSU, has said that he would not say that one needs to be a licensed professional because some school systems (Wake, Ch
