Bob,
Oddly, it doesn't matter what a product can do. It
matters what you claim a product can do. For example, I know that Yucca
can kill certain insects, larva, and even fungi and bacterial pathogens. I
know it makes a great sticker, surfactant, and wetting agent. But to sell
the product with those claims, it must be registered with the EPA and the State
where it is sold as a pesticide before you can sell the product. On the
other hand, another person can sell the exact same product, but not have any of
those claims and does not have to register the product as a pesticide.
It's the claims you make that determine whether or not registration is
required.
I should add that if you make fertilizer claims on your
product label, literature, or on your web site, you need to register your
product as a fertilizer. Every state where such a product is sold will
require you to register your product as a fertilizer. If you make no
fertilizer claims, then your product is not subject to being registered as a
fertilizer.
I know this may seem strange, but that's the way the regulations
work. It's part of the law. If you make such claims and don't
register your product as a pesticide or fertilizer (depending upon what claims
you make) then you are in violation of the law and can be prosecuted if you
don't comply with the law.
So, one person can claim their compost tea has pesticidal properties and
fertilizer properties and can register their product as such and can make the
claims that their registration covers. You can say your tea kills aphids
and register it as a pesticide to do that. If you then say your tea also
kills mites and fleas and that wasn't part of your original registration, then
you are in violation of the law for those new pesticidal claims.
I can sell the exact same product and not make any pesticidal claims or
fertilizer claims and I will not be required to register the product as a
fertilizer or pesticide.
An interesting example: Water can be used to kill certain
insects. If I bottle up water for the purpose of killing a given insect
and describe that on my product label, then that product must be registered as a
pesticide. I can take that exact same water and put it in another bottle
and label it as pure, refreshing drinking water. The first product is a
pesticide. The second product is not a pesticide.
So, just because one person says their compost tea has pesticidal
properties and registers it as such, that doesn't mean that other people selling
compost tea who are not making such claims, will be required to register their
tea as a pesticide. The need for registration is tied to the claims that
you make for your product.
How do I know this? I've talked to people at the EPA and State
Department of Ag agencies who conduct pesticide and fertilizer
registrations.
--Thomas Giannou
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