With acetamiprid (Gazelle SG) no longer being approved for the control of the Large Pine Weevil (Hylobius abietis) from 1st August 2024, FSC UK has published a UK National Environmental and Social Risk Assessment (ESRA) for the alternative pesticide cypermethrin (Forester). This is available from the FSC UK website pesticide guidance area - https://uk.fsc.org/forest-management/pesticides-policy.
FSC Pesticide Policy FSC-POL-30-001 requires FSC Forest Management (FM) certificate holders to undertake a comparative ESRA as part of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to identify the lowest risk option to control a pest, weed or disease, the conditions for any resultant pesticide use and the generic mitigation and monitoring measures to minimise any identified risks (FSC-POL-30-001 V3-0 EN clause 4.12.2). To help with compliance with this requirement, when using cypermethrin, FSC UK has worked with the UK’s Hylobius Industry Research Programme (HIRP) to complete this UK National Level ESRA.
Please note that:
- Where certificate holders have access to stocks of acetamiprid (Gazelle SG) these should be used, prior to the loss of use approval on the 1st August 2024, in preference to cypermethrin (Forester) as it has the lower FSC hazard rating.
- Where certificate holders are unable to obtain acetamiprid (Gazelle SG) for use before 1st of August 2024 then cypermethrin (Forester) can be used subject to a suitable IPM assessment and ESRA being in place.
As with any pesticide use, the certificate holder should first establish whether control is necessary and/or whether non-chemical approaches could be adopted before committing to any pesticide use. This being part of the required Integrated Pest Management approach. In the case of Large Pine Weevil (Hylobius abietis), Forest Research has produced a range of resources to support such an assessment. These are available from the following links: