5.2 Turf and Ornamental Posting

Quick Answer: For commercial turf or ornamental applications under N.J.A.C. 7:30-9.13, post white signs at the start of the job that say “Pesticide Treated Area” in at least 1/2-inch dark letters, add a 2-inch no-walk-dog-on-lawn icon, and keep them up 72 hours. Give the contracting party a Consumer Information Notice. A waiver does not waive the signs. Golf courses use starting-tee boards with 1-inch letters and current treatment facts.

Lawn and landscape notification is a posting rule first and a paper rule second. Household structural work in 9.12 leans on the CIN and indoor notices. Turf and ornamental work in 9.13 puts a white sign on the property before the first gallon hits the grass, then still requires a CIN. Mixing the two sign designs—especially the dog icon versus the mall walking-person icon—is a reliable way to miss Core items.

Who N.J.A.C. 7:30-9.13 Covers

N.J.A.C. 7:30-9.13(a) covers commercial applications by applicators certified in, or working under the direct supervision of someone certified in:

• 3A Ornamentals
• 3B Turf
• 3C Interior plantscaping
• 7A, 7B, 7D, 8A, 8C treatments that include perimeter barrier treatments beyond two feet, shade trees, lawn areas, shrubbery, or brushy areas
• 6A General vegetation management

Minimum-risk pesticides exempted by N.J.A.C. 7:30-2.1(m)5 need not follow 9.13. A 7A foundation spray that stays within two feet of the structure is a 9.12 household job. The moment the hose walks the lawn, the white 72-hour sign in 9.13 is in play. Category 6A vegetation management on industrial sites, airport runways, or dams is a 9.13 posting question when the work is turf or ornamental in character; remember from the category landscape that those industrial vegetation sites also need 6A, not 3B, on the license.

The White 72-Hour Turf Sign

At single-family residences, 7:30-9.13(b)1 is the sign specification you should be able to draw from memory:

The applicator or applicator business is responsible for posting and removing the signs. Removal may be delegated to the contracting party in writing. An oral “the homeowner will pull them Thursday” is not delegation. If the homeowner never pulls them, NJDEP still looks to the applicator unless that written hand-off exists.

N.J.A.C. 7:30-9.13(b)5 is the sentence that fails people who memorize only the CIN waiver: whether or not a waiver is granted, the signs shall be posted. The 72-hour white sign is not consumer-optional.

Consumer Information Notice for Turf and Ornamental Work

Do not apply until the contracting party has had the chance to review a CIN, provided in writing or by e-mail. The turf CIN in 7:30-9.13(b)2 tracks the household list: exact dates available on request; brand and common names; label instructions relating to contracting-party or public safety, with separate precautions for each product; applicator business name, address, and phone; NPIC and New Jersey Poison numbers; Pesticide Control Program number with “This number is for pesticide regulation information and pesticide complaints.”; labels available on request; and the sanitation/IPM toxicity statement.

Label instructions on turf jobs often mean water-in directions or covering or removing pets and yard equipment. Giving those instructions does not transfer legal responsibility. If you decide on site to use a product whose precautions were never given, reschedule. An advance list of possible products is allowed, but you must leave written notice of the specific pesticide used on the application date.

The turf waiver language is prescribed in 7:30-9.13(b)4 and is kept at least three years, immediately available to NJDEP. Waivers do not relieve 7:30-10.2 precautions, and they do not relieve the signs.

Multi-Family, Commercial, and Interior Plantscape Sites

N.J.A.C. 7:30-9.13(c) uses the same white 72-hour sign, 1/2-inch legend, 2-inch dog icon, identity, and phone for multi-family residences and industrial or commercial buildings. Place signs so they are legible from principal access points and at reasonable perimeter intervals. If only a smaller section is treated, post that section.

For Category 3C interior plantscaping, place signs where they will be visible and put a separate sign in each cluster or grouping of plants. One sign at the lobby desk does not cover three planter groups on three floors.

Give the CIN to the contracting party and the building manager or building contact person if they differ. The same three-year waiver and 10.2 non-waiver rules apply. Signs still go up even if someone waives the paper CIN.

Golf Courses: Starting-Tee Boards

Golf is not a white lawn flag with a dog icon. N.J.A.C. 7:30-9.13(d) requires signs at the starting tees, posted prior to any application so they are visible to persons using the course.

• “Pesticide Treated Area” in letters at least one inch high (not 1/2 inch)
• Information legible from three feet, changed as necessary:
  • Date of last application
  • Area(s) treated (tees, fairways, greens, and roughs for each hole)
  • Pesticide(s) used (brand and common chemical names, if available)
  • Intended date of next application for tees, fairways, greens, and roughs for each hole
  • Name and telephone number of the person to contact for more information

Anyone who asks must be told that, on written request, the applicator or business will provide within two weeks copies of the labels used, the New Jersey Poison number, and the Pesticide Control Program number with the regulation/complaint statement.

If a pesticide is applied to a residential property that is part of the golf course grounds, use the single-family CIN and 72-hour white signs of 9.13(b). If the application is to golf grounds that are not the playing course and not residential property (a nursery bed, a maintenance-shop lawn), post that treated area with the ordinary (b)1 white 72-hour signs. Superintendents who only maintain the starting-tee board have not finished the job when they spray the clubhouse lawn.

Schools, Parks, and Similar Sites

N.J.A.C. 7:30-9.13(e) still uses the white 72-hour sign, 1/2-inch “Pesticide Treated Area,” 2-inch dog icon, applicator or business identity, and phone. Place signs so they are legible from principal access points to treated areas such as athletic fields, playgrounds, and recreation areas. If the field is open or unfenced, post at reasonable intervals around the perimeter of the treated area the public can reach. School turf posting under 9.13 does not replace School IPM Act notice in N.J.A.C. 7:30-13 when a non-low-impact product is used on school property. A 3B contractor on a high-school football field may need both the white 72-hour turf signs and Category 13 plus 72-hour parent/staff notice. That overlay is Section 5.3.

Give the CIN to the contracting party and the site manager (head of the school, institution, or park). Public health officials are exempt from 9.13 during the normal course of their duties (7:30-9.13(f)).

Worked Scenario

A 3B business treats a municipal park ballfield on Friday at 7:00 a.m. and a private golf hole on the same morning. At the park, white signs with 1/2-inch “Pesticide Treated Area” and the 2-inch no-walk-dog icon go at the field gates before the spray starts and stay through Monday morning (72 hours). The parks director gets a CIN with NPIC, NJ Poison, and PCP (609) 984-6507. At the golf course, the starting-tee board is updated before play with 1-inch “Pesticide Treated Area,” Friday’s date, “green and fairway, Hole 7,” the product names, the next intended date, and the superintendent’s phone. The practice-green nursery behind the shop, which is not in play and not a residence, gets the ordinary white 72-hour lawn signs, not just the tee board.

Official sources: N.J.A.C. 7:30-9.13, NJDEP pesticide regulations index, Rutgers PAT record and notice forms.