The Sale of Pesticides over the Internet
Internet-based pesticide marketing is a new and evolving medium for pesticide sales and distribution. All types of pesticides are sold through the Internet, including agricultural use pesticides and antimicrobial products. The sheer number of Internet sites offering pesticide products--including some questionable or unknowing vendors who may put consumers at risk--and the multi-jurisdictional nature of Internet sales raises significant questions about the applicable law and regulations.
EPA is working extensively with the states through the Association of American Pesticide Control Officials (AAPCO) to develop an informed and nationally consistent approach to pesticide electronic commerce (e-commerce) activities, including agricultural use pesticides. EPA believes the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) does not differ as a legal matter from the sale and use of pesticides for agricultural, or any other, use when such sales or uses occur through e-commerce rather than traditional channels of trade. In addition, states that have begun to actively regulate pesticide-related e-commerce apply their state pesticide laws and regulations to sellers and sales on the Internet in the same manner as to more traditional methods of sale and distribution.