How can I find a gardener in France who is allowed to use herbicides? – The Connexion

Reader Question: How do I find a list of licensed gardeners who can buy and apply a strong weed killer to eradicate ivy growth making a wall unsafe at our home in Dordogne?

The rules on this point depend on whether the product you want to use falls under France’s strict rules on chemical treatments for plants. If not, there should be no problem if you or your gardener want to use the substance in order to eradicate the ivy.  

The use of produits phytosanitaires (‘plant health products’) or phytopharmaceutiques (‘plant chemical substance products’) is strictly regulated in France and the decree issued in July of this year banned landscapers from using them in a range of places, including private residences and their outdoor spaces.  

Read more: France bans pesticide make use of in a lot more places, which includes private homes

The decree also applies to allotments, copropriétés , private access roads, campsites and hotels.  

This extended the scope of the particular Loi Labbé, which had already limited the use of such products in public parks and gardens, aiming to protect human, animal plus environmental health.  

Therefore, in general no one – not even professional home gardeners – are permitted to use strong herbicides in gardens.  

People failing in order to comply with the rules risk up to six months imprisonment and a €150, 000 fine.  

Herbicides which are considered low chance or are usually permitted within organic farming are not subject to these restrictions.  

There also exist some exceptions to the ban on herbicides in private residences.

The law does not use to:  

• Treatments and measures necessary for the destruction and prevention of the particular spread associated with officially-designated harmful species

• Treatments with plant protection products that are necessary to fight a serious health hazard or plants which are threatening the survival of the historical or biological heritage, which cannot be controlled by any other means, including non-chemical methods.

It is unlikely that ivy destabilising a wall would fit into any of these categories, but it could perhaps be argued that it is causing the health risk.  

However , a professional gardener might normally try to find an alternative solution, this kind of as introducing insects whose larvae eat the grow or using substances which are less harmful for the environment.  

If it is possible to make use of herbicides upon the ivy in your own garden a person will need to look for a gardener in whose firm has an agrément allowing them to use such substances. The particular gardener in question should furthermore have a certificat individuel de formation (individual training certificate).

This agriculture ministry database may help you to find a firm which usually holds an agrément .  

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