Recordkeeping, Notification, and Reporting
Notification
Notification protects occupants and satisfies the label and state rules. Typically the owner and occupants - and in some jurisdictions adjoining occupants, the fire department, or the local agricultural commissioner - must be informed in advance, commonly at least 24 hours, with the date, time, fumigant, and re-entry expectations. At charging, post warning placards at every entrance with the signal word, fumigant name, applicator and company contact, and date; leave them up until clearance is documented. Coordinate with anyone who might enter: delivery drivers, utility workers, cleaning staff, and neighbors.
The fumigation record
A defensible record ties the plan to the execution. Expect to document: site address and structure volume; target pest; fumigant, EPA registration number, and lot; total amount used and method of release; readings including temperatures; exposure start and end times; monitoring data; clearance readings, device, and time; the certified applicator's name and license number; names of crew; and notification and posting details, plus signatures. Keep the SDS accessible and retained per the label and state rule.
Reporting
Many states require periodic use reports (often monthly) and immediate reporting of accidents, spills, or exposures. Some require a notice of intent or fumigation plan before the job. Records are commonly retained for about two years federally, but state periods may be longer - follow the longer one.
Traps
Recording the intended rate rather than the actual amount used; omitting monitoring or clearance readings; failing to document who was notified and when; and treating placard removal as the end of the paperwork when the clearance reading is the item that matters.
Worked example: a complete entry reads "Fumigant X, 24 lb, released 0800, 70 °F, exposure ended 0800 next day, clearance 0.5 ppm at 1400 with calibrated device, placards removed 1410."