Got Fined By The County :(

[temeculagrassgators]

Well today i was fined by the county for not having my applicators license I have a $1,736.74 fine over my head right now. Just because i have three customers that i do pest control services for, i wouldn't think i would need to get a applicators license for three houses! Not like i advertised for pest control. So what should i say in court? Or what should i do from this point? Thanks for your help -Tyler

[mark123]

Lawn care business tips

Well, as a guy that pays for his insurance, licensing and taxes all I can say is it serves you right. Now go pay your fine and get licensed or quit offering services you shouldn't offer. You get no sympathy for doing wrong.

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Boughter's Lawn Care Services Mowing and Fertilizing in New Castle, PA

[Steve]

Tyler,

Sorry about all that happening. How did this all come about? Did you just get pulled over by the cops and then they ticketed you?

Or how did the county fine you?

I think a lot of members just don't understand how this works and what the risks are. The more you can tell us the better so we can all learn.

[temeculagrassgators]

Mark123; I have my business license for the city and county i also have my insurance. But i agree with you i should have got my applicators license. Business license and pesticide license are two different things.
Steve; Originally what happened was the police were called when i was servicing a customer. The neighbor next door called them. They showed up and waited for a county official to come out. The neighbor complained that i was making to much noise at 8:45 AM and he was going to give me a noise ordinance fine and asked for my licensing and i gave him a copy of my business license and he saw i had a pesticide spray in my truck and he said do you have a applicators license and i told him no so he dropped the noise ordinance ticket and gave me the one for using pesticide without a applicators license.

[CheapNEasy]

How were you applying the product? Were you tank spraying or bottle/pump spraying? Maybe you were "Doing the customer a favor" spraying chemicals they purchased for them? I dont know what to tell ya, I dont know what your laws are, some places you only need to acquire a license if you are "misting" rather than "spraying". Do your research, know your laws, if you were at fault bite the bullet and learn from your mistakes. But there could be a loop hole to save you some cash to get the proper license to preform these services with no problem.

[mark123]

Originally Posted by temeculagrassgators

Mark123; I have my business license for the city and county i also have my insurance. But i agree with you i should have got my applicators license. Business license and pesticide license are two different things. ...

Yes, I understand as I have my pesticide license for PA. I'm not sure where you are located but here you can only do your own property without a pesticide license. This applies to fertilizers with crab grass or grub control also, not just spray. Every state has different rules.

Right now I pay for insurance to cover pesticide application, which is only a few bucks over regular business insurance per year, the test for licensing costs $50 and yearly renewal is something like $40 . Total cost is probably about $150 for the year for adding pesticide coverage and licensing. As you can see, not being licensed doesn't save anything. You eventually get caught.

Becoming licensed opens up a whole lot of opportunities. Maintaining your credits to keep your license active really teaches you a lot about safety, new products, new problems with old products, legalities and so much more.

I hope I didn't come off as being too much of a jerk.

[temeculagrassgators]

CheapNEasy I was tank spraying i have tank that goes on my back. I don't know much on all the pesticide stuff i was only doing it for three customers it wasn't a big part of my business. I was in the wrong i looked up the county laws and i do need a applicators license if i am applying it to other peoples homes. So i guess i have to "bite the bullet" on this one.
mark123 Well after everything settles i am going to get my applicators license then i can expand that part of my business. Mark so i need additional insurance to spray pesticide on top of the insurance that i already have? You didn't come off as a jerk i just thought that you figured i was an illegal not paying my taxes and that i didn't have my business license. But its a learning experience for me.

[mark123]

Originally Posted by temeculagrassgators

... Mark so i need additional insurance to spray pesticide on top of the insurance that i already have? You didn't come off as a jerk i just thought that you figured i was an illegal not paying my taxes and that i didn't have my business license. But its a learning experience for me.

I'm sure it depends on your location. Here I must have a statement on my insurance that says "Coverage applies to the use of pesticides". It's only a few more dollars per year for the extra coverage (not sure of the exact amount) it may even be already included in your policy. Ask your insurance agent. I pay $525 per year for business insurance including pesticide coverage.

[temeculagrassgators]

mark123 I will give my agent a call tomorrow to see how much it is. I pay $763.00 a year. But that might include pesticides but I don't think it does. Thanks for your help Mark!!

[Steve]

I have a $1,736.74 fine over my head right now.

How does all this work now? Will you have to go to court or do you send in a check to pay the fine? Were there any other strings attached to this at all? Like do you have to do anything else besides pay the ticket?