Pesticides & Alternatives IPM

More Information

In Pennsylvania, pesticides are regulated by the PA Department of Agriculture as dictated by the Pesticide Control Act of 1973. The regulations created by the Department of Ag as a result of the act are listed under Pesticide Regulations Title 7 Chapter 128. For any spcific clarifications of the regulations, contact Dave Scott at PDA at (717) 772-5214.

Pesticides & other Chemicals in/around the Home
Pesticides are poisonous and must be chosen carefully, used as specifically explained on the label and stored carefully away from children, and kept out of fire risk, spill-prone areas. Pesticides should never be re-bottled in unmarked containers. There are several good informations tools available for residents about safer use, handling and storage of pesticides and other chemicals in the home, in both English and Spanish.

Why not just use pesticides
The short answer:
Pesticides are toxic, we use lots of them, we are exposed to many different kinds and we do not know much about their long-term health effects, especially in combination with each other and other chemical exposures. We should minimize our use of pesticides to err on the side of caution. Home and garden applications account for more pesticide use on a per acre basis than agriculture. In the United States, non-farmers use over 163 million pounds of pesticide active ingredient, spending over $2.1 billion per year ($7.50 for every woman, man and child). Ask yourself, do I really need a chemical to solve this pest problem? If so, which is the least-toxic choice?

The long answer:
Pesticides are, by design, toxic to living organisms and by their very use, are spread into the environment by people. In so doing, people are unavoidably exposed, pesticide residues get into the food chain, leach into groundwater and run off into our streams and rivers.

There are roughly 900 different kinds of chemicals that are used as "active ingredients" (toxic component) in virtually thousands of commercial products. As a nation, we disperse about 1.2 billion pounds of pesticide active ingredient into the environment each year. This is over 4 pounds of active ingredient for every man, woman and child. The active ingredient is usually a small part (1-5%) of the entire pesticide formulation, which includes other chemicals such as synergists, propellants and so-called "inert ingredients". Many inerts also have toxic characteristics, but the identity of inerts in a given product is considered "proprietary information" and so not listed on the pesticide label.

Home and garden applications account for more pesticide use on a per acre basis than agriculture. In the United States, non-farmers use over 163 million pounds of pesticide active ingredient, spending over $2.1 billion per year ($7.50 for every woman, man and child). Ask yourself, do I really need a chemical to solve this pest problem? If so, which is the least-toxic choice?

Pesticide sales and usage data can be found at http://www.epa.gov/oppbead1/pestsales/

Pesticides are substances that kill or physiologically inhibit pests, be they insects, weeds, vertebrates such as rats, mice and certain birds, disease-causing organisms, molds or other living "pests". Consequently, pesticides include a large array of chemical types that exhibit many different biological effects (modes of action). By their nature, pesticides are designed to negatively impact various life processes. How toxic a pesticide is to humans is a complicated determination that must include several immediate "acute effects" and multiple long-term "chronic effects". Due to the difficulty of actually identifying and quantifying these effects, it is a good idea to limit exposure to pesticides of all kinds. There are 3 main ways to limit exposure:

1. Use alternatives to pesticides
2. If you use pesticides, choose less toxic products
3. Always read the entire label and follow all instructions exactly (see the Pesticide Education Program)

Less toxic strategies include:

Preventing pests and making the home harder to invade and less desirable for indoor pests by caulking cracks & holes, removing water sources (leaky faucets, etc), and keeping surfaces clean
Selecting the best plant for the best location and maintaining plant health
Tolerating low levels of pest infestation instead of treating every small nuisance
Using the least toxic product that will only kill the targeted pest

How to choose a least toxic product:

1. Packaging and formulation:
- Choose products that are packaged in a child-friendly way. Ant baits are a good example because the poison is enclosed. Be sure products don't look like food or drink and never repackage a pesticide--kids can't tell the difference if it's in an unmarked bottle.
- Limit your exposure by avoiding products in liquid, concentrate and aerosol form. These linger on surfaces and air and might easily be absorbed through the skin or lungs. See the pyramid below for an illustration. Less dangerous formulations are in the green=go level.

2. Active ingredient: Available pesticides come with many different active ingredients (poison component). Read the label and look at active ingredients listed before you buy a product! You can look up pesticide active ingredients on the web to learn their toxicity.

Printable PDF version of pyramid

Less-Toxic Pest Controls

This is a list of some of the product types that are considered less toxic for home and garden pests, however, this is not a complete list and specific brand name product endorsement is not intended. Some of these may not be available in your store. Ask your retailer about adding additional less toxic products to their pest control product selection. With increased consumer interest, new pest control products that trap or repel pests or use environmentally benign active ingredients are becoming available. Saferbrand.com is a supplier of many different least toxic products.

Traps, Barriers, and Othr Physicl Controls

Pest	Controls
Ants	Sticky barriers
Cockroaches	Sticky trap, or sticky trap with pheromone attractant
Fleas	Flea comb for use on pets, place fleas in soapy water Flea traps Steam clean carpets Strong vacuum (seal vacuum bags and put in freezer before disposing)
Flying Pests	Yellow Sticky Trap
General garden pest control	Floating row cover
Kitchen & Pantry pests	Pantry light trap
Slugs & Snails	Copper barrier, copper flashing Beer/yeast trap - Place a low container on the ground and fill with beer or yeast/water solution. Slugs go in to drink and then drown. Must be emptied each morning. Board - place a board on the ground in the garden, flip over every morning and remove the slugs that have collected there overnight
Weeds	Asphalt crack filler
Yellow jackets	Yellow jacket trap

Less-Toxic Products

Targt Pest	Product Type	Active Ingredient(s)	Brand name examples
Aphids, scales, mites, leafhoppers, hemlock woolly adelgid, mealybugs and powdery mildew	Horticultural oil (dormant oil for winter season, summer oils for growing season)	Highly refined paraffinic oil or petroleum oil	SunSpray
Aphids, ants, scales, mites, mealybugs, small caterpillars, and other soft-bodied insects, weeds	Insecticidal Soaps	Potassium salts of fatty acids	Safer's Soap, Garden Safe
Aphids, whiteflies, mites, extract of black spot, powdery mildew, rust, anthracnose, grubs and more	Neem oil	Clarified hydrophobic neem oil	Safer BioNeem, Azatin, Greenlight brand
Aphids, spider mites, thrips, whiteflies and others	Hot pepper insect repellent	Capsaicin	Hot Pepper Wax Insect Repellent
Ants	1.Arsenic ant baits 2.Sulfluramid ant baits	1.Arsenic trioxide 2.N-ethyl perflourooctanesulfonamide	1.Grants Kills Ants 2.Hot Shot Maxattrax Ant Bait
Ants & Cockroaches	1.Abamectin ant & roach baits 2.Borax 3.Fipronil ant and roach baits 4.Hydramethylnon baits	1.Abamectin 2.Sodium tetrahydrate decahydrate 3.Fipronil 4.Hydramethylnon	1.Advance Bait Station, Avert brand, Raid Max House & Yard Roach Bait 3. Combat Quick Kill Formula 4. Combat
Ants, Cockroaches & Fleas	1.Citrus oil spray 2.Diatomaceous earth, Desicating dust, Insecticidal dust	1.d-Limonene 2.Silicon dioxide	1.Orange Guard, Concern Citrus Home Pest Control 2.Diatomaceous earth
Ants, cockroaches, fleas, silverfish, termites	Boric acid/ borate products	Orthoboric acid	Boric acid Borax laundry detergent
Fleas & ticks (on pets)	1.Fipronil topical or spray 2.Insect growth regulator topical 3.Lufenuron pills	1.Fipronil 2.Methoprene 3.Lefenuron	1.Frontline 2.Frontline Plus (contains both fipronil & methoprene) 3.Program
Fleas (indoors)	1.Insect growth regulator carpet spray (breaks life cycle, larva can't mature) 2.Boric acid-based carpet treatments (best used with steam cleaner)	1.Methoprene 2.Borate	1.Precor 2.Fleanix
Mosquitos, aphids, ants, leafhoppers, thrips, whiteflies	Garlic (Concentrated garlic 'clips' to attach to plants OR Garlic oil sprays)	Garlic	Victor Mosquito Barrier Garlic Barrier Insect Repellent
Mosquitos (kills larvae in standing water for use in ponds, large puddles)	Bt mosquito dunks (Small, doughnut-shaped, floating disks)	Bacillus thuringiensis	Mosquito Dunks (found at home improvement stores)
Powdery mildew, black spot, rust, scab, damping-off virus	Sulfur fungicide	Sulfur	Safer Garden Fungicide, Orthoganics Garden Sulfur
Snails & Slugs	1.Snail & slug bait 2.Snail & slug barrier 3.Diatomaceous earth	1.Iron phosphate 2.Coconut oil soap 3.Silicon dioxide	1.Monterey Sluggo, Escar-go
Weeds	1.Herbicidal (insecticidal) soap 2.Corn gluten meal 3.Vinegar spray 4. Pelargonic acid herbicide	1.Potassium salts of fatty acids 2.Corn gluten 3. 20% Vinegar, put in spray bottle 4.Pelargonic acid	1.Safer Superfast Weed & Grass Killer 2.Concern Weed Prevention Plus, Supressa 3.N/A 4.Quick Weed Killer
White grubs	Imidacloprid Also see Neem above	Imidacloprid
Yellow jackets and other flying insects	Mint oil	Mint oil, sodium lauryl sulfate	Victor Poison-Free Wasp & Hornet Killer Spray