Your Top SprayDays Questions, Answered
Watch our new video, then dive into the details and materials below.
When the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) launched SprayDays California last year, we set out to do something that hadn’t been done before: give the public advance notice of restricted material pesticide use in agriculture statewide.
Since then, Californians who live and work in and around agricultural areas have explored the map, signed up for notifications, and asked thoughtful questions. That engagement helps us improve how we share information about the system and provide more context on the strict rules that govern pesticide use in California.
Today, we’re sharing a new video (English and Spanish) that gives a quick look at what SprayDays is all about.
What is SprayDays California? – English
What is SprayDays California? – Spanish
We’ve also gathered a few of the questions we hear often and answered them in one place. Whether SprayDays is new to you or you already use it, this context can help you see how this tool fits into California’s broader work to protect public health and the environment.
1. What are restricted material pesticides, and why does SprayDays only include these pesticides?
California restricted material pesticides are among the most strictly regulated pesticides used in agriculture. They carry that designation because they have a higher potential to affect human health, the environment, or both. As a result, California requires extra oversight before they can be used, including a license, a permit, advance notice, and approval from county officials before each application.
SprayDays focuses on restricted materials because that’s where a consistent, statewide source of advance-notice information exists by law. Under state regulations, restricted material pesticides are the only category that requires advance notice. That extra oversight is what makes SprayDays notifications possible. Other categories of pesticides don’t carry that same statewide advance-notice or approval requirement.
You can find more about California’s restricted materials list and the criteria behind the designation on DPR’s website.
2. How are SprayDays notifications created?
SprayDays doesn’t generate notifications on its own. It builds directly on California’s existing permitting process for restricted materials in production agriculture, one of the most rigorous in the nation.
Before a licensed grower or applicator can apply a restricted material pesticide, they must submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) to their County Agricultural Commissioner for approval before each intended application. Notifications are required 48 hours ahead for soil fumigants and 24 hours ahead for all other restricted materials.
Growers and applicators submit NOIs to their county through CalAgPermits, the electronic pesticide permitting and reporting system used across all 58 California counties. Once an NOI is submitted, information from CalAgPermits populates the SprayDays map and triggers notifications.
The SprayDays system simply takes information that already exists in the regulatory process and makes it something you can view in real time and subscribe to.
A notification appears in SprayDays once an NOI has been submitted to the Commissioner, but before the Commissioner has approved it. Because of this, it’s important to remember that an application shown on the map may:
- Not happen at the exact time listed (an approved application can take place at any point within a four-day window);
- Be rescheduled due to weather, pest conditions, or other factors; or
- Be cancelled altogether.
3. What information does SprayDays provide?
SprayDays displays the following details on the map:
- The intended date and time of an application
- The location, shown as a one-square-mile section
- The pesticide product name and active ingredients
- The application method
- The approximate acres to be treated
- The U.S. EPA registration number
If you’ve signed up for notifications, you’ll receive a link to view these application details by email, text, or both, in your preferred language.
This information stays on the SprayDays map for four days after the intended start time. A dotted pattern on the map means a notification was created in that section within the last four days. A boxed number on the map means upcoming applications. If a section has both dots and a number, it means there was recent activity and there are new applications planned.
An intended application may not happen exactly as listed, or at all. Your local County Agricultural Commissioner keeps the official records of completed applications and provides them to DPR, which shares statewide agricultural pesticide use annually through its comprehensive Pesticide Use Reporting (PUR) data available on DPR’s website.
The SprayDays website also provides information on how pesticides are regulated in California, safety tips and resources for community members and workers, user guides, and a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section – with more resources on the way.
4. Why doesn’t the map show exact locations?
SprayDays displays application locations using the Public Land Survey System (PLSS), which divides land into a grid of one-square-mile sections. We use PLSS for two important reasons:
- It works the same way across all 58 California counties. Every county operates a little differently but the PLSS information is always consistent. This standardized system is also used in the state’s more comprehensive Pesticide Use Reporting.
- What appears on the SprayDays map corresponds directly to what is submitted in the permitting system (CalAgPermits), which is recorded at the one-square-mile section level. This allows for an immediate transition from the moment an application is submitted to the county to its display on the SprayDays map and notifications.
When you sign up, you receive notifications for planned applications in your corresponding section, as well as in any section directly next to your location.
5. What are the rules for pesticide applications near schools?
California has additional protections for schools located near agriculture.
State regulations require certain distances between school sites and the application of specific pesticides. The required distance depends on the application method. For example:
- ¼ mile (1,320 feet): for applications by aircraft, air-blast sprayer, sprinkler chemigation, dust or powder (with limited exemptions), or fumigant.
- 25 feet: for applications by ground-rig sprayer (with some exceptions, depending on the equipment and materials used).
These restrictions are in effect Monday through Friday, from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
When a County Agricultural Commissioner reviews a request to apply a restricted material pesticide, they check the proposed application area against these minimum distances before approving it. County Agricultural Commissioners also enforce these requirements.
Some lower-risk applications have no distance restriction.
Growers must also provide an annual notice to any school site within ¼ mile of their production agricultural property, as required by state regulation.
Learn more about pesticide applications near schools and childcare facilities on DPR’s website.
6. How do I report a pesticide incident, illness, or concern – and what happens after I do?
If you are being exposed to pesticide spray right now, especially if you have serious symptoms like difficulty breathing, leave the area immediately and call 911.
To report a suspected pesticide illness or incident, contact your local County Agricultural Commissioner as soon as possible:
- By phone: 1-877-378-5463 (1-87-PEST-LINE), available 24/7. You can leave a message after hours.
- Online: Find your county’s contact info.
You may ask to keep your name confidential, or you may report anonymously. You may also request a language interpreter during any field inspection or investigative interview.
What to have ready (the more you can share, the better – every detail helps the investigation):
- Location
- Date and time
- Any health symptoms you experienced
- A description of what you saw, smelled, or felt
Using the information you provide, Commissioner staff will work to identify the person or business involved and conduct an investigation. The time needed to complete an investigation varies. At any point, you can call to ask for the name of the pesticide(s) involved, which can be shared once identified, and to check on the investigation’s progress. You also have the right to a copy of the final investigation report once it’s complete.
If you are worker, you have the right to report unsafe pesticide work conditions and suspected pesticide illnesses, injuries, and illegal uses.
Learn more about reporting an incident on DPR’s website.
7. How can I help raise awareness about SprayDays?
SprayDays is most useful for communities near agricultural areas when they know about the tool and can use it to stay informed. You can help in a few simple ways:
- Sign up for free notifications
- Share the video and factsheet below with family, neighbors, coworkers, and anyone interested in learning about pesticide use in their community
- Connect DPR with a community-based organization, health clinic, or local agencies that serve people who would find the notifications helpful – we would be happy to help support or attend local events
- Highlight SprayDays in newsletters, community meetings, or local events
For more on how SprayDays works, what it covers, and how to use it, including answers to common questions about topics such as reducing potential pesticide exposure, visit our FAQ and Community Health Tips webpages.
If you’d like materials in additional languages, want to coordinate outreach in your community, or have feedback or additional questions, email us at SprayDays@cdpr.ca.gov.