Changes to the registration of imidacloprid pesticides (agricultural uses)
Download in PDF format
(203 KB, 2 pages)
Organization: Health Canada
Date published: November 2023
ISBN: 978-0-660-67666-1
All pesticides used in Canada must be registered under the Pest Control Products Act. Pesticides are re-evaluated to ensure that they continue to meet health and environmental requirements. Re-evaluation may result in the revocation of a product or product uses. Health Canada may also request changes to a product's label, including mitigation measures, use sites and application methods.
Imidacloprid is a neonicotinoid insecticide used on several crops, for seed treatments, for the treatment of structures and on pets against fleas and ticks. Highlights of the re-evaluation decisions of the active ingredient imidacloprid for agricultural uses, published on April 11, 2019, and on May 19, 2021, are summarized below.
The changes concerning seed treatments are presented in the factsheet "Changes to the registration of imidacloprid pesticides (seed treatments)".
Label changes for imidacloprid pesticides
Cancelled uses
As of April 11, 2021
Stop soil application for the following crops:
- Legume
- Fruiting vegetables and cucurbits grown outdoors
- Herbs harvested after bloom
- Small fruits and berries:
- Caneberries
- Bushberries-Ribes, Sambucus and Vaccinium genera
- Low-growing berries
- Berries and small fruits vines, excluding grapes
- Ornamentals attractive to pollinators and planted outside
Stop foliar application on the following crops:
- Pome fruits
- Stone fruits
- Certain tree nuts attractive to pollinators, excluding peanuts
- Lavender
- Rosemary
As of May 19, 2023
Stop foliar application on lowbush blueberries.
Other risk reduction measures
As of April 11, 2021
- Prohibited application before or during bloom on the following crops:
- Fruiting vegetables
- Herbs harvested after flowering
- Fava beans, broad beans and Vicia faba
- Berries - foliar application after bloom is possible on woody berries, but regeneration pruning is needed after harvest
- Nuts, except peanuts, and nuts attractive to pollinators
- Prohibited application during bloom on the following crops:
- Potatoes
- Grapes
- Legumes, except fava beans, broad beans and Vicia faba
- Peanuts
- Tobacco
As of May 19, 2023
- Limitation to a single foliar application per season for:
- Vegetables
- Potatoes
- Legumes
- Tobacco
- Soybean
- Reduction of the maximum foliar application rate on soybeans
- Updated re-entry intervals (REI)
- Added statement "For outdoor use only", except for greenhouse uses specified on the label
- Updated buffer zones
- Added requirements for greenhouses equipped with closed water recirculation system, such as closed chemigation system
Users must follow the instructions on the updated labels.
Using a pesticide contrary with the label directions is a violation of the Pest Control Products Act.
Read the label
All pesticides registered in Canada have a Health Canada-approved label with a registration number. Read the pesticide label carefully, as it contains specific information on how to use it.
To find the most up-to-date label, use our online label search tool, or search for "Health Canada pesticide labels" using your favourite search engine.
For more information
Re-evaluation decision RVD2021-05, Imidacloprid and its associated end-use products
Re-evaluation decision RVD2019-06, Imidacloprid and its associated end-use products: Pollinator re-evaluation
The Health Canada-approved label is the official document for enforcement purposes. In the event of any discrepancy with the contents of this factsheet, the information on the label shall prevail.
Factsheet: Changes to the registration of imidacloprid pesticides (seed treatments)
Health Canada's Pesticide Compliance Program (PCP) is responsible for the enforcement of the Pest Control Products Act.