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Pesticide Products

What is a "pesticide" and what's not?

According to the law, a pesticide is any substance "intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest...." Many people are surprised to learn that antimicrobials, herbicides and bug repellents are all pesticides. Plant growth regulators, defoliants, and nitrogen stabilizers are also pesticides.

Tips about pesticide products:

• The label is the law. Following the label directions is less risky, too.
• All pesticides have some risk. The amount of risk depends on the amount of exposure and the toxicity of the ingredients.
• Each registered pesticide product has a signal word to communicate its toxicity.
• Pesticides can be formulated as liquids, dusts, gels, baits, etc., and the formulation may affect the risk.
• While NPIC is not able to make product recommendations, our Pesticide Specialists may be able to put you in touch with local experts who can.

To learn more, choose from the following topics:

• Types of Pesticides
• Label and MSDS Databases
• Pesticide Manufacturers
• Selecting Pesticides
• Pesticide Statistics

Additional Resources:

• What is a Pesticide? - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Label Review Manual, Chapter 2: What is a Pesticide? - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• What is a Pesticide? - California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR)

If you have questions about this, or any pesticide-related topic, please call NPIC at 1-800-858-7378 (8:00am - 12:00pm PST), or email us at npic@ace.orst.edu.

Related Topics:

What are pests?

What are pesticides?

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Please read our disclaimer | Contact us | About NPIC | En español

NPIC provides objective, science-based information about pesticides and pesticide-related topics to enable people to make informed decisions. NPIC is a cooperative agreement between Oregon State University and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (cooperative agreement #X8-83560101). The information in this publication does not in any way replace or supersede the restrictions, precautions, directions, or other information on the pesticide label or any other regulatory requirements, nor does it necessarily reflect the position of the U.S. EPA.