The Falmouth Conservation Commission and the Ordinance Committee have for several years worked commendably to craft a balanced pesticide ordinance. Unfortunately for Falmouth’s hemlocks the emotion/science balance is still off.

Hemlock woolly adelgid infestations are killing hemlocks in eastern North America due to the absence of host resistance and natural enemies that keep HWA populations in check.

We steward two 60-foot hemlocks infested with HWA in our HOA’s 2-acre conservation area. For several years we have hired a licensed applicator to treat these threatened trees using a product which includes a neonicotinoid, the only effective form of treatment, applied to the bark. The applicator has complied with the Maine Board of Pesticides Control Aug. 5, 2022, letter approving neonicotinoids to combat HWA.

The commission is appropriately sensitive to neonicotinoid presence in pollen and nectar making them toxic to pollinators. Hemlocks produce neither pollen nor nectar. Having evaluated pertinent scientific data, the EPA in its Jan. 30, 2020, interim decision to reduce potential ecological risks, particularly to pollinators, recommended restricting neonicotinoid spraying on blooming crops and on residential turf. Not an outright ban.

Identifying the Maine Board of Pesticide exemptions to the commission at its Sept. 9, 2024, meeting, the commission incorporated them. Then, at its Oct. 16 meeting, the commission reversed course, banning any neonicotinoid use in Falmouth, thereby negating the Board of Pesticides’ three invasive pest neonicotinoid exemptions.

When I again raised this concern at the commission’s Nov. 25 meeting, members suggested we consider neem oil. This horticultural oil must be reapplied yearly and requires complete needle coverage. Impractical on a 60-foot tree.

The proposed ordinance allows pesticides to prevent grubs in lawns. Our hemlocks should be no less treasured and protected; Town Council is urged to so revise the proposed ordinance.

Robert Kline
Falmouth