How to Avoid Problems When Treating Around Fish Ponds, Fish-bearing Streams and Estuarine Areas

From "Agricultural Chemical Toxicity to Selected Aquatic Animals: Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Rainbow Trout, Crawfish, and Fresh Water Shrimp" by T.L. Wellborn, Jr., Ruth Morgan, and G.W. Guyton. Extension Wildlife and Fisheries and Extension Entomology, Mississippi State University.

• Use maximum gallonage (3 gallons spray or more by air or 6 gallons/acre with ground equipment) per acre and low pressure (max 25 PSI for aircraft and 40 PSI for ground sprayers).
• Delay treatments near fish ponds, etc., until wind is blowing away from sensitive area.
• Use the chemical less toxic to fish if the choice is available. Apply IPM principles such as scouting, etc., and treat only when necessary and with minimum rate to obtain control.
• Advise farmers, where practical, to plant crops near ponds and fish-bearing waters that will require a minimum of insect control (soybeans rather than cotton, for example).
• Check application equipment daily to ensure there are no leaks in hoses and fittings.
• Aerial applicators, whether equipment is loaded or empty, should not fly over fish ponds or fish-bearing waters if it can possibly be avoided. Avoid the use of LV or ULV sprayers in the vicinity of fish ponds or fish-bearing waters.
• Check to ensure that chemicals are mixed adequately before initiating spray operations (for example, premix chemical before loading sprayers). Aerial applicators should check calibration and follow all practices which enhance accurate delivery of pesticides. See Application section of handbook for tips on calibration, etc.