Features Agronomy
Newly-implemented pesticide ban unsettling for Ontario lawn care operators

OWNERS of Ontario’s lawn care companies will be challenged this year
like never before to produce healthy, weed-free lawns for their
customers.

With the new Ontario Cosmetic Pesticide Ban Act having kicked in on
April 22, these companies have officially been stripped of many of the
tools they have come to rely upon to deliver customer satisfaction at a
fair price.

The new legislation, whose ill timing coincides with an already
depressed economic climate, has left a bitter taste in the mouths of
many company owners, who feel the political process leading to the ban
was not only unjust, but one likely to result in lost revenue.

“The intent of these environmental activists is to wipe out the lawn care industry, not protect your health or mine,” said Marty Kendall, owner of Kendall Lawn Care which has been servicing a predominantly residential customer base the past 43 years in Wellington, Peel and Dufferin counties. “I do not understand how the environmental movement and the political parties and governments that collaborate with them can influence public policy based on fraudulent information and get away with it.”

Kendall anticipates he could lose about 25 per cent of his business by not being able to offer his customers a completely reliable weed control product.

Glenn Wagner of Wagner Lawn Care, which has been servicing mostly residential customers the past 17 years in Barrie, Orillia and surrounding areas, said he had been anticipating the legislation for some time, but added, “It’s not easy for a small business to plan for such drastic changes to its products and systems, and hence its revenue stream.

“We anticipate further reductions in revenue and from possible new customers once the weed season in mid-May hits. New prospects, with lawns full of weeds, have no economical option for control. What are we to tell these people? Unfortunately, while we can take a soil test, aerate, seed, topdress, fertilize, etc., outcompeting existing weed populations is very, very difficult and takes an extended time period—time and costs our potential customers are not likely to accept.”

Martin Fielding, founder and president of Caledon-based Enviro Masters Lawn Care, which has launched 50 franchises across Canada since 1987, said it’s still too early to tell how the new legislation will affect business.
“There’s no way to tell how this will affect anyone yet for probably two years as we could only guess this early,” he said. “There’s no way to know how well we can manage customer satisfaction since there will be a lot more problems to deal with.”

Jay Murray of TLC Professional Landscaping in London figured the Ontario government could have reached a fair compromise with the lawn care industry instead of enacting a total ban on previously-used pest control products.
“They could have allowed only licensed applicators to apply pesticides, and everyone must be IPM (integrated pest management) certified with a more vigorous audit process to ensure compliance,” he said.

TLC has been servicing the condominium residential sector of London and area for the past 24 years and employs about 70 staff.

Murray said his customers’ lawns will no longer be perfect, adding, “There’s no way around this, and no feasible alternatives to Killex at this point.”

Wagner agreed that the range of alternative products deemed acceptable is limited, and none will be nearly as effective as the products now banned.

“Given the fact the products we used were among the most researched and tested in the world, they (provincial government) should have waited until more effective, reasonably-priced alternatives were available. Also, monies channeled for educating consumers on organic lawn care and supplied to the so-called environmental groups to discredit the lawn care industry should have been directed to smaller lawn care companies adversely affected by the act.”

Fielding, whose Enviro Masters company services a mix of residential and commercial customers, said the act should have been phased in, allowing more time for the development of effective alternative control products.
Kendall said the act should never have been enacted at all, suggesting small, special interest groups and politicians should not be able to pass laws based on a myopic world view without peer-reviewed, scientific evidence to prove the banned products cause harm, adding this was not a democratic process.

“These environmental activists groups have lots of money and time and are well funded,” he said. “Wiping out lawn care is step one. They are going to go after golf and agriculture next.”

The political process leading toward the ban should have been based upon proving unacceptable levels of risk from the products before taking such tools away, Kendall added.

These tools should not have been taken away until alternatives were available that actually worked and were cost-effective, he suggested.

“Many so-called natural products are not rigorously tested or regulated and can prove dangerous, more so than the products being banned,” Kendall said.

With their hands virtually tied, Kendall, Wagner and Murray have been educating their customers about what to expect with a ban in place.

“Get used to some weeds,” Murray has been telling his customers. “We are going to leave the lawns quite long—31/2 inches after cutting—and fertilize one extra time to try and limit weed infestation.”

He added his company has been advising customers of the need to adjust their expectations.

“We have done newsletters and attended meetings where our customers attend and made presentations,” Murray said. “I guess my concern is that there are people out there using poor alternatives—for example, beet juice, corn gluten—who will make claims about efficacy that just aren’t realizable.”
Kendall is encouraging aeration, overseeding, fertilization, and proper watering and cutting techniques as a means for his customers to stay on top of weeds.
“You are going to have more weeds than you are accustomed to, even if you pick them,” he has been telling his customers.
Unfortunately, he has found the general population to be fairly ignorant about the implications of the legislation, as though they haven’t been following the process in the media.

“I make it a priority to communicate with my customers, and many still are not connecting the dots. They still don’t realize this ban is going to affect their property and their wallet.”

Wagner has sent two letters to each customer and has followed up with telephone calls.

“Despite our attempts to temper expectations and explain restrictions, our customers desire a great-looking, healthy lawn,” he said. “Some have been realistic and will accept the new reality. Others aren’t really sure what to expect and hence are hesitant to spend extra dollars on the unknown.”

Wagner figures some growth will be realized in services such as aeration and overseeding, but added, “This will not come close to making up revenues lost from the ban.”

Murray said he also anticipates some growth through overseeding, but Kendall was cautious to predict any growth for his company in the wake of the ban.

“Only if customers can tolerate weeds in their lawn or a new, cost effective product becomes available in the near future,” he said.

Potential growth was something Fielding couldn’t predict, either, at this time, “but not if we can’t provide good control services for weeds and insects. Insect options are very few for most companies.”

Wagner has done extensive soil testing in his region and has subsequently introduced some new products.

“We have been open and honest with customers about the impending ban and have talked with them about lower expectations in regards to weed-free desires,” he said. “We have also communicated that new bio-pesticides, which we hope will be effective and reasonably-priced, should be available in the near future.”

For now, however, the costs associated with organic solutions, whose efficacy is inferior to the banned Health Canada-approved herbicides, have increased dramatically “and thus the investment from our customers must increase to cover our additional expenses,” Wagner said.

“In a time when the economy is already reeling, the new act has already proven unpopular with most customers and revenue has declined dramatically year to date.” –