General criteria for IPM outdoor use and certification

1. An IPM outdoor use protocol is required to minimise the use of anticoagulants. This is because these products contain PBT substances with a high potential for secondary toxicity affecting predatory mammals and birds.
2. The expertise of the pest controller should be the starting point for the protocol. Additional requirements for limiting outdoor use should not be so restrictive that the effectiveness of control (defined in the plan of approach) is seriously compromised.
3. The restrictions imposed on the professional users are enforceable. Because the effectiveness of curative use of anticoagulants is based largely on the expertise of the pest controller, it is imperative that the use of anticoagulants and the justification for their use can be monitored by the inspection services. Further details how this can be achieved are included in the basic criteria for the protocol used by the professional pest controller.
4. All pest controllers should be trained thoroughly on minimising outdoor use, possibly linked to mentoring/supervision by experts. The certification exam should verify that the pest controllers are fully cognisant of the procedure to be followed under the IPM protocol for outdoor use. In mutual consultation, the stakeholder organisations in the sector and the training centres shall prepare a training module for training and testing professional controllers in the outdoor use of rodenticides in accordance with the IPM protocol.
5. Cooperation between the customer and the professional controller. To ensure the effective use of non-chemical methods, it is essential that the pest controller works intensively together with the customer, because non-chemical means are often more labour-intensive. Because the pest controller will have to justify and register why non-chemical methods are not being used, he will have to make clear agreements with the customer.