Pesticide Label Reading Activity
These instructions are for the pesticide bottle label reading activity presented at the
2016 workshops “Advanced IPM Training for UC Master Gardeners.” You can
conduct your activity the same way or modify it.
Before planning the activity, reserve the empty pesticide bottle loaner kit at
http://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=8983. Choose either the
“2016 Workshop Activity” or, if you don’t plan to do this activity, choose “Box of
various products” on the survey. The bottles for the 2016 activity are marked with
numbers (1-5) that correspond to the five questions in the “Pesticide Activity Sheet”.
Duration of activity
The full session (presentation and label reading exercise) takes about an hour
including the “IPM and Pesticides” PowerPoint provided to you on the UC IPM USB
drives. Download the activity answer sheet for the “Pesticide Label Reading
Activity” from http://ucanr.edu/sites/AdvIPM2016August/.
The PowerPoint presentation takes about 30 minutes, but feel free to edit out slides
if you wish. Allow 20-30 minutes for the group activity and discussion at the end.
Set up
Before the session, separate the marked bottles onto 5 tables. Print off copies of the
blank activity sheet for each participant, and a copy of the answer sheet for yourself.
Facilitators
At the beginning, tell participants the samples are empty, never-been-filled pesticide
bottles borrowed from UC IPM.
Give each participant a copy of the activity sheet. Direct them to divide into groups
and go to start at any table. Tell them they will rotate through each table during the
exercise.
Guide participants through the activity and direct them to discuss the questions as a
group and not individually. This helps the activity go faster and ensures they get the
correct answer.
Keep the activity on time to ensure participants visit all 5 tables. Get everyone
comfortable talking to each other, looking at the labels, and following the questions.
The first two rotations take the longest, then it goes quicker. Rotate the groups
when you see they’ve answered the question.
Once all participants have visited all 5 tables, go over the answers while everyone is
still standing near the tables. Ask participants to shout out the answers. Elaborate as
needed.
End with telling participants to always read labels and dispose of pesticide bottles
correctly. Point out the UC IPM web site to find nonchemical methods for pest
management and more information on pesticide use and safety.