From Issue 2 of our newsletter September 2015
From the 1st November 2015 the law will require users of herbicides, insecticides, fungicides or plant growth regulators to obtain a certificate of competence in order to use these products on their land. Previous ‘Grandfather Rights’ which allowed people born before 31st December 1964 to apply professional products with basic training expires on 31st October 2015 and they will need to obtain a Certificate of Competence in order to continue to purchase or apply pesticides.
For those people without Grandfather Rights a full Certificate of Competence with two assessment tests will need to be taken. The first is a theory test of knowledge relating to the safe use of pesticides and the second test is a practical test using the equipment for which you wish to be certified for, i.e. Knapsack, boom, granular, mister, etc.
For details of training and assessment go to www.nptc.org.uk where you can find training providers and assessment centers. There is a heavy penalty for those found not having a certificate and to purchase pesticides you will need to provide your Certificate of Competence No.
