02 NCAC 34 .0102             DEFINITIONS

In addition to the definitions contained in the Act, the following definitions apply:

(1)           "Act or law" means the Structural Pest Control Act of North Carolina of 1955.

(2)           "Active infestation of a specific organism" means evidence of present activity by that organism, visible in, on, or under a structure, or in or on debris under the structure.

(3)           "Active ingredient" means an ingredient which will or is intended to prevent, destroy, repel, or mitigate any pest.

(4)           "Acutely toxic rodenticidal baits" means all baits that, as formulated, are classified as Toxicity Category I or II (Signal Word "Danger" or "Warning") under 40 CFR Part 156.10.

(5)           "Board of Agriculture" or Board means the Board of Agriculture of the State of North Carolina.

(6)           "Commercial certified applicator" shall mean any certified applicator employed by a licensed individual.

(7)           "Commercial structure" means any structure which is not a residential structure, including but not limited to shopping centers, offices, nursing homes, and similar structures.

(8)           "Complete surface residual spray" means the over-all application of any pesticide by spray or otherwise, to any surface areas within, on, under, or adjacent to, any structure in such a manner that the pesticide will adhere to surfaces and remain toxic to household pests and rodents or other pests for an extended period of time.

(9)           "Continuing education units" or "CEU" means units of noncredit education awarded by the Division of Continuing Studies, North Carolina State University or comparable educational institution, for satisfactorily completing course work.

(10)         "Continuing certification unit" or "CCU" means a unit of credit awarded by the Division upon satisfactory completion of one clock hour of classroom training approved as set out in these Rules.

(11)         "Crack and crevice application" means an application of pesticide made directly into a crack or void area with equipment capable of delivering the pesticide to the target area.

(12)         "Deficient soil sample" shall mean any soil sample which, when analyzed, is found to contain less than 25 percent, expressed in parts per million (ppm), of the termiticide applied by a licensee which would be found if the termiticide had been applied at the lowest concentration and dosage recommended by the labeling.

(13)         "Department" means the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services of the State of North Carolina.

(14)         "Disciplinary action" means any action taken by the Committee as provided under the provisions of G.S. 106-65.28.

(15)         "Division" means the Structural Pest Control Division of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services of the State of North Carolina.

(16)         "Enclosed space" means any structure by whatever name known, including household structures; commercial buildings; warehouses; docks; vacant structures; places where people congregate such as hospitals, schools and churches; railroad cars; trucks; ships; aircraft; and common carriers. It shall also mean vaults, tanks, chambers, and special rooms designed for use, being used, or intended to be used for fumigation operations.

(17)         "EPA" means the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States Government.

(18)         "EPA registration number" means the number assigned to a pesticide label by EPA.

(19)         "Flammable pesticidal fog" means the fog dispelled into space and produced:

(a)           from oil solutions of pesticides finely atomized by a blast of heated air or exhaust gases from a gasoline engine; or

(b)           from mixtures of water and pesticidal oil solutions passed through a combustion chamber, the water being converted to steam, which exerts a shearing action, breaking up the pesticidal oil into small droplets (thermal fog); or

(c)           from oil solutions of pesticides which are forced through very narrow space by centrifugal force and atomized as they are thrown off into the air (mechanical or cold fogs).

(20)         "Fog or fogging" means micron sized particles of pesticide(s) dispersed by means of a thermal or centrifugal fogger or a pressurized aerosol pesticide.

(21)         "Fumigation" means the use of fumigants within an enclosed space, or in or under a structure, in concentrations which may be hazardous to man.

(22)         "Fumigation crew" or "crew" means personnel performing the fumigation operation.

(23)         "Fumigation operation" means all details prior to application of fumigant(s), the application of fumigant(s), fumigation period, and post fumigation details as outlined in these Rules.

(24)         "Fumigation period" means the period of time from application of fumigant(s) until ventilation of the fumigated structure(s) is completed and the structure or structures are declared safe for occupancy for human beings or domestic animals.

(25)         "Fumigator" means a person licensed under the provisions of G.S. 106-65.25(a)(3) or certified under the provisions of G.S. 106-65.26 to engage in or supervise fumigation operations.

(26)         "Gas-retaining cover" means a cover which will confine fumigant(s) to the space(s) intended to be fumigated.

(27)         "General fumigation" means the application of fumigant(s) to one or more rooms and their contents in a structure, at the desired concentration and for the necessary length of time to control rodents, insects, or other pests.

(28)         "Household" means any structure and its contents which are used for man.

(29)         "Household pest" means any vertebrate or invertebrate organism occurring in a structure or the surrounding areas thereof, including but not limited to insects and other arthropods, commensal rodents, and birds which have been declared pests under G.S. 143-444. "Household pest" does not include wood-destroying organisms: except that subterranean termite alates swarming in or around a structure may be considered household pests.

(30)         "Household pest control" means that phase of structural pest control other than the control of wood-destroying organisms and fumigation and shall include the application of remedial measures for the purpose of curbing, reducing, preventing, controlling, eradicating, and repelling household pests: except that contact spray application of pesticide to control subterranean termite alates shall be permitted under the "P" phase license.

(31)         "Inactive license" shall mean any structural pest control license held by an individual who has no employees and is not engaged in any structural pest control work except as a certified applicator or registered technician.

(32)         "Infestation of a specific organism" means evidence of past or present activity by that organism, visible in, on, or under a structure, or in or on debris under the structure.

(33)         "Inspection for a specific wood-destroying organism" means the visual examination of all accessible areas of a building and the probing of accessible structural members adjacent to slab areas, chimneys, and other areas particularly susceptible to attack by wood-destroying organisms to determine the presence of and the damage by that specific wood-destroying organism.

(34)         "Inspector" means any employee of the Structural Pest Control Division of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services of the State of North Carolina.

(35)         "Licensed structural pest control operation," or "pest control operation," or "operator," or "licensed operator" means any person licensed under the provisions of G.S. 106-65.25(a) or unlicensed who, for direct or indirect hire or compensation is engaged in the business of structural pest control work, as defined in G.S. 106-65.24(23).

(36)         "Liquefied gas aerosol" means the spray produced by the volatilization of a compressed and liquefied gas, to which has been added a nonvolatile oil solution containing a pesticide.

(37)         "Noncommercial certified applicator" shall mean any certified applicator not employed by a licensed individual.

(38)         "Open porch" means any porch without fill in which the distance from the bottom of the slab to the top of the soil beneath the slab is greater than 12 inches.

(39)         "Physical barrier" as used in 02 NCAC 34 .0500, means a barrier, which, by its physical properties and proper installation, is capable of preventing the passage of subterranean termites into a structure to be protected from subterranean termites.

(40)         "Residential structure" means any structure used, or suitable for use, as a dwelling such as a single- or multi-family home, house trailer, motor home, mobile home, a condominium or townhouse, or an apartment or any other structure, or portion thereof.

(41)         "Secretary" means the Secretary to the North Carolina Structural Pest Control Committee.

(42)         "Service vehicle" means any vehicle used regularly to transport the licensee or certified applicator or registered technician or other employee or any equipment or pesticides used in providing structural pest control services.

(43)         "Slab-on-ground" means a concrete slab in which all or part of that concrete slab is resting on or is in direct contact with the ground immediately beneath the slab.

(44)         "Solid masonry cap" means a continuous concrete or masonry barrier covering the entire top, width and length, of any wall, or any part of a wall, that provides support for the exterior or structural parts of a building.

(45)         "Space spray" means any pesticide, regardless of its particle size, which is applied to the atmosphere within an enclosed space in such a manner that dispersal of the pesticide particles is uncontrolled. Pesticidal fogs or aerosols, including those produced by centrifugal or thermal fogging equipment or pressurized aerosol pesticides, shall be considered space sprays.

(46)         "Spot fumigation" means the application of a fumigant to a localized space or harborage within, on, under, outside of, or adjacent to, a structure for local household pest or rodent control.

(47)         "Spot surface residual spray" means the application of pesticidal spray directly to a surface and only in specific areas where necessary and in such a manner that the pesticidal material will largely adhere to the surface where applied and will remain toxic to household pests or rodents or other pests for which applied for an extended period of time.

(48)         "Structure" means all parts of a building, whether vacant or occupied, in all stages of construction.

(49)         "Structural pests" means all pests that occur in any type of structure of man and all pests associated with the immediate environs of such structures.

(50)         "Sub-slab fumigation" means the application of a fumigant below or underneath a concrete slab and is considered spot fumigation.

(51)         "Supervision," as used in 02 NCAC 34 .0325, shall mean the oversight by the licensee of the structural pest control activities performed under that license. Such oversight may be in person by the licensee or through instructions, verbal, written or otherwise, to persons performing such activities. Instructions may be disseminated to such persons either in person or through persons employed by the licensee for that purpose.

(52)         "Termiticide(s)" (as used in these Rules) means those pesticides specified in 02 NCAC 34 .0502, Pesticides for Subterranean Termite Prevention and/or Control.

(53)         "Termiticide barrier" shall mean an area of soil treated with an approved termiticide, which, when sampled, is not deficient in termiticide.

(54)         "To use any pesticide in a manner inconsistent with its labeling" means to use any pesticide in a manner not permitted by the labeling. Provided that, the term shall not include:

(a)           applying a pesticide at any dosage, concentration, or frequency less than that specified on the labeling unless the labeling specifically prohibits deviation from the specified dosage, concentration, or frequency;

(b)           applying a pesticide against any target pest not specified on the labeling if the application is to the site specified on the labeling, unless the EPA has required that the labeling specifically state that the pesticide may be used only for the pests specified on the labeling; or

(c)           employing any method of application not prohibited by the labeling unless the labeling specifically states that the product may be applied only by the methods specified by the labeling.

(55)         "Type of treatment" means the method used to apply a pesticide formulation to a specific location, including but not limited to: space spray, crack and crevice, complete surface residual, spot surface residual, bait placement, or fog.

(56)         "Unauthorized personnel" means any individual or individuals not given specific authorization by the licensee or certified applicator to enter areas to which access is restricted by these Rules.

(57)         "Waiver" means a form provided by the Committee pursuant to 02 NCAC 34 .0603 which will, when completed correctly, permit the licensee to deviate from or omit one or more of the minimum treatment methods and procedures for structural pests which are set forth in the Committee rules, definitions, and requirements.

(58)         "Wood-decaying fungi" means any of the brown or white rot fungi in the Class Hymenomycetes that are capable of digesting or consuming the structural elements of wood after installation and causing a decline in strength or failure of wooden structural members.

(59)         "Wood-destroying insect report" means any written statement or certificate issued by an operator or his authorized agent, regarding the presence or absence of wood-destroying insects or their damage in a structure.

(60)         "Wood-destroying organism" is an organism such as a termite, beetle, other insect, or fungus which may devour or destroy wood or wood products and other cellulose material in, on, under, in contact with, and around structures.

(61)         "Wood-destroying organism report" means any written statement or certificate issued by an operator or his authorized agent, regarding the presence or absence of wood-destroying organisms or their damage in a structure.

 

History Note:        Authority G.S. 106-65.29;

Eff. July 1, 1976;

Readopted Eff. November 22, 1977;

Amended Eff. February 1, 2011; July 1, 2004; August 1, 2002; July 1, 2000; July 1, 1998; August 3, 1992; January 1, 1991; January 1, 1989;

Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. November 22, 2018.