Can my town make its own pesticide rules?

Whether state law lets cities and counties regulate pesticide use, state by state, with the statute or court decision behind each answer.

Updated October 7, 202649 official sources

On this page2 sections

1What to look for
2The rule in each state

In most states the research could check, the answer is no, or only in narrow ways. State law keeps pesticide rules for the state, so a city or county can't pass its own limits on how a pest control company uses pesticides. A few states leave room for local rules, and in some the answer comes from a court rather than a statute.

What to look for

Most states bar local pesticide rules. Common exceptions are zoning, building and fire codes, and a local government's rules for its own land.
Some allow a little. New York lets counties and New York City opt into neighbor notification, Montana lets a city or county require a posted sign, and Washington lets a first-class city of 100,000 or more, or its county, license structural pest control operators, though state law otherwise keeps pesticide licensing for the state.
Maine's towns may make their own rules, as long as the ordinance is filed with the state's Board of Pesticides Control.
Two answers come from courts. In Hawaii, a federal appeals court held in 2016 that state law impliedly preempts county pesticide ordinances. In Maryland, the Court of Special Appeals held in 2019 that Montgomery County's limits on lawn pesticides weren't preempted.

The rule in each state

The table says what the research found in each state's law, cited to the statute or the court opinion. Where a state isn't listed, the research didn't find enough on an official page to say.

State	What state law says about local pesticide rules
Alabama	No county, city or other political subdivision may adopt or keep any ordinance regulating the sale, use, storage, labeling or application of pesticides; building and fire codes are excepted (Code of Ala. 2-27-5.1).^1-2
Arizona	Pest management is a matter of statewide concern and isn't subject to further regulation by a county, city, town or other political subdivision (A.R.S. 3-3602).³
Arkansas	No city, county or other political subdivision may adopt an ordinance on the sale, handling, use or application of pesticides; ordinances adopted before March 1, 1993 stay valid (Ark. Code 20-20-226).⁴
California	State law preempts local ordinances regulating the registration, sale, transportation or use of pesticides, and any such ordinance is void (Food and Agricultural Code 11501.1).^5-6
Colorado	A local government can't adopt or keep rules on the use of pesticides by regulated applicators, covering labeling, how and where they're applied, notification, and licensing or training; it may still regulate pesticide use on its own property (C.R.S. 35-10-112.5).^7-8
Connecticut	State law gives the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection exclusive authority over pesticide spraying, including practices before and during spraying (Conn. Gen. Stat. 22a-54(a)).⁹
Florida	State law preempts all local regulation of pest control services and the pesticides they use, apart from listed exceptions such as business taxes, land development rules and ordinances requiring termite inspections or treatments by a licensee (s. 482.242, F.S.).¹⁰
Georgia	No county, city or other local government may adopt or keep any ordinance on pesticide use, sale, storage, labeling or registration, though they can still issue business licenses and make zoning decisions (O.C.G.A. 2-7-113.1).¹¹
Hawaii	The Ninth Circuit held in 2016 that the Hawaii Pesticides Law (HRS chapter 149A) is a comprehensive, uniform state scheme that impliedly preempts county pesticide ordinances (Syngenta Seeds v. County of Kauai, 842 F.3d 669).^12-13
Idaho	No city, county or other local government may adopt or keep any rule on pesticide sale, use or application, including notification of use, applicator training and certification (Idaho Code 22-3426).¹⁴
Illinois	Local governments, including home rule units, can't regulate pesticides, except counties and municipalities with more than 2,000,000 people (415 ILCS 60/3).¹⁵
Indiana	Cities, towns and counties have no authority to regulate the use or application of pesticides by ordinance (IC 15-16-5-71).¹⁶
Iowa	State law preempts local legislation on the use, sale, distribution, storage, transportation, disposal, labeling, registration or manufacture of pesticides, and any such local rule is void (Iowa Code 206.34).¹⁷
Kansas	The Kansas pesticide law applies uniformly statewide, and no city, county or other local authority may enact rules that conflict with or add to it, apart from zoning, fire codes and hazardous waste rules (K.S.A. 2-2480).¹⁸
Kentucky	No city, county or other local government may adopt or keep any ordinance on pesticide sale or use, including notification of use, licensing and certification (KRS 217B.270; KRS 217B.537).^19-20
Louisiana	Parishes and municipalities can't adopt ordinances affecting the registration, sale or application of pesticides unless the commissioner approves them (La. R.S. 3:3224), and structural pest control work is governed only by the commission's rules (La. R.S. 3:3366).^21-22
Maine	Towns may adopt their own pesticide ordinances, and state law leaves that authority in place, but an ordinance's pesticide provisions are void unless it's filed with the Board of Pesticides Control (22 M.R.S. §1471-U).²³
Maryland	No state statute preempts local pesticide rules. In 2019 the Court of Special Appeals held that Montgomery County's ordinance restricting lawn pesticides wasn't preempted by state law, expressly, by conflict or by implication (Montgomery County v. Complete Lawn Care, No. 1203, Sept. Term 2017).²⁴
Massachusetts	The state Pesticide Control Act holds exclusive authority over the labeling, distribution, sale, storage, transportation, use, application and disposal of pesticides (M.G.L. c. 132B, s. 1).²⁵
Michigan	State law preempts local pesticide ordinances. Local governments may only adopt ordinances identical to state law (including on posting and notification), or stricter ones approved by the Commission of Agriculture where there are unreasonable adverse effects on health or the environment (MCL 324.8328).²⁶
Minnesota	State law preempts local ordinances that prohibit or regulate the sale, handling, use or application of pesticides, except where chapter 18B allows otherwise, such as city turf-sign ordinances and first-class cities banning pollinator-lethal pesticides (indoor pest control products are exempt) (Minn. Stat. 18B.02, 18B.09).^27-28
Mississippi	Authority over the registration, sale, handling, distribution, notification of use, application and use of pesticides rests solely with the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, except where other state agencies hold it under state law (Miss. Code 69-23-109(4)).²⁹
Missouri	State pesticide law preempts all ordinances, rules and regulations of political subdivisions on the subjects it covers (RSMo 281.005).³⁰
Montana	Apart from the sign-posting ordinance the statute allows, a local government may not regulate or prohibit the registration, labeling, distribution, use or sale of pesticides (MCA 80-8-120).³¹
Nebraska	The Pesticide Act preempts local ordinances and resolutions that prohibit or regulate the registration, labeling, distribution, sale, handling, use, application or disposal of pesticides (Neb. Rev. Stat. 2-2625).³²
New Hampshire	State law occupies the whole field of pesticide registration, sale, transportation and use to the exclusion of local regulation, though local ordinances in effect when the section took effect in 1993 still stand (RSA 430:49).³³
New York	Jurisdiction over the distribution, sale, use and transportation of pesticides is vested exclusively in the DEC commissioner (ECL 33-0303). Counties outside New York City, and New York City, may opt into the neighbor notification rules by local law (ECL 33-1004).^34-35
North Dakota	A political subdivision, including a home rule city or county, may not regulate the registration, labeling, distribution, sale, handling, use, application, transportation or disposal of pesticides, except through city zoning ordinances (NDCC 4.1-33-04).³⁶
Oklahoma	Cities, towns, counties and other political subdivisions can't adopt or keep any ordinance on pesticide sale or use, including notification and posting, that's stricter than the Board of Agriculture's rules (2 O.S. 3-85).³⁷
Oregon	No city, town, county or other political subdivision may adopt or enforce any rule on pesticide sale or use, including notification of use and licensing (ORS 634.057). Local governments can still set policy for pesticides on their own property (ORS 634.060).³⁸
Pennsylvania	The Pesticide Control Act occupies the whole field of pesticide registration, sale, transportation, distribution, notification of use and use, to the exclusion of local regulation, and no local ordinance in conflict with the act may regulate them (Pesticide Control Act of 1973, section 37).³⁹
Rhode Island	Jurisdiction over pesticide registration, sale, distribution, use and application, and over applicator licensing and certification, is vested exclusively in the DEM director (R.I. Gen. Laws 23-25-35).⁴⁰
Texas	Cities, counties and other political subdivisions can't adopt ordinances on pesticide sale or use, apart from zoning, fire and building codes, disposal sites, hazmat routing, sewer discharge and education (Agric. Code 76.101(d); Occ. Code 1951.005).^41-42
Virginia	The state Board has exclusive authority to regulate pesticides, and that authority can't be delegated to any locality (Va. Code 3.2-3907).⁴³
Washington	A 1993 Attorney General opinion found that chapter 17.21 RCW preempts city and county licensing of pesticide application and use, except that a first-class city of 100,000 or more, or its county, may license structural pest control operators (RCW 17.21.305). It found chapter 15.58 RCW doesn't generally preempt local rules on pesticide distribution, storage and disposal that don't conflict with state law.^44-46
West Virginia	The Pesticide Control Act says nothing in it lets municipalities or counties enact laws or ordinances on pesticide control (W. Va. Code 19-16A-2).⁴⁷
Wisconsin	Cities, villages, towns and counties may not prohibit or otherwise regulate pesticide use, apart from listed exceptions such as their own land and storm water programs (Wis. Stat. 94.701).⁴⁸
Wyoming	No city, county or other political subdivision may adopt or enforce a pesticide ordinance on storage, sale, distribution, notification of use or use that's stricter than the state act (W.S. 35-7-374(c)).⁴⁹

For the notice rules your state sets, see Will I be told before pesticide is applied near my home?

State statutes and court opinions, from state legislatures and courts, checked October 2026.

Can my town make its own pesticide rules?

What to look for

The rule in each state

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