Health Canada guidance for tank mixes

Pesticide tank mixes are permitted under the Pest Control Products Act if the products labels expressly permit tank-mixing.

As of December 20, 2024, users of pest control products must strictly adhere to the clarifications provided regarding pesticides label instructions for tank mixes.

Permitted tank mixes

For tank-mixing to be permitted, labels must include:

• A statement that specifically allows for tank mixing; OR
• A general statement that tank-mixing is permitted.

The detailed statements can be found in the Section 3.0 of the PMRA Guidance document.

In both cases, all label requirements, including directions for use, warnings, restrictions, environmental precautions and buffer zones for all products in the mix, must be met. Where these requirements differ on the tank mix partner labels, the most restrictive label must be followed.

Specific tank mixes may appear on the label of one or both tank mix partner labels. There is no requirement for the specific tank mix to appear on both tank mix partner labels.

Prohibited or restricted tank mixes

Tank-mixing is prohibited:

• When product labels are both silent with respect to tank mixing.
• When the tank mix partners contain the same active ingredient unless these products are specifically recommended on the label.
• When one product label contains the general statement and the other product is silent with respect to tank mixing.

Some labels contain exclusionary statements that preclude or limit tank mixing, such as:

"Do not mix or apply this product with any other additive, pesticide or fertilizer, unless as specifically recommended on this label."

Table 1 Examples of tank mix permissibility

Using a pesticide contrary to the label directions is a violation of the Pest Control Products Act.

Read and follow 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 verify if a pesticide is registered and 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.