During pesticide application, what should you do if you pause for any reason?

• A. Turn equipment off
• B. Increase rate to finish sooner
• C. Leave equipment running while you pause
• D. Move to a treated area to check problems

Answer: (A)

When you pause, stop the spray by turning the equipment off. This immediately halts application, reduces drift and exposure risk, and prevents more product from flowing while you’re not actively managing the operation. If you were to keep the system running or try to finish faster by increasing the rate, you’d continue applying pesticide unintentionally, which can lead to over-application, greater drift, and higher exposure. Moving into a treated area to check problems while the sprayer is on is unsafe, since you’d be in contact with residues and potential drift. After turning off, step back to a safe area and address the issue according to your safety procedures, then restart only when it’s safe and properly recalibrated.