Pesticides: Health and Safety

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On this page:

• What’s the danger?
• What chemical-containing products are in your home?
• What can you do to prevent poisonings?
• Poison prevention resources

What’s the danger?

Poison centers answer more than 4 million calls each year. That’s one call every eight seconds. According to the American Association of Poison Centers, children younger than 6 years old account for about half of the calls placed to poison centers. What’s more, poison center data reported over 150,000 calls made to poison centers with concerns about exposure to common household pesticides. These figures show the need for everyone to lock up pesticides and household chemicals out of children’s reach – preferably in a high cabinet.

EPA observes National Poison Prevention Week each year to increase awareness of the danger to children of poisonings from pesticides and household products.

What chemical-containing products are in your home?

Household products should be kept in a locked cabinet and out of children’s reach. Common products that could seriously harm a child if ingested include:

• bath and kitchen disinfectants and sanitizers, including bleach
• household cleaning or maintenance products, such as drain cleaner, paints, or glues
• automotive products stored around the home, such as anti-freeze or windshield washer fluid
• health or beauty care products such as medicines, hair and nail products
• roach sprays and baits
• insect repellents
• rat and other rodent poisons
• weed killers
• products used to kill mold or mildew
• flea and tick shampoos, powders, and dips for pets
• swimming pool chemicals

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What can you do to prevent poisonings?

Poisoning incidents can be prevented if parents and caregivers remember to lock up products that could potentially harm children. Yet, an EPA study found that among households with children under the age of five, nearly half stored pesticides in an unlocked cabinet, within reach of children. Poisoning incidents are preventable.

Simple steps you can take to prevent poisonings from occurring in your home:

• Always store pesticides and other household chemical products in a locked cabinet or garden shed away from both children and pets.
• Read the product label first and follow the directions to the letter.
• Use the safest possible cleaning products.  Look for the Design for the Environment (DfE) label on products.
• Never leave pesticides and other household chemical products unattended when you are using them.
• Re-close pesticides and other household chemical products if interrupted during application (e.g., phone call, doorbell, etc.).
• Use child-resistant packaging properly by closing the container tightly after use.
• Never transfer pesticides and other household chemical products to containers that may be mistaken for food or drink.
• Remove children, pets, toys, bottles and pacifiers before applying pesticides (inside or outside the home). Follow label directions to determine when children and pets can return to the area that has been treated.
• To protect children and pets from exposure to mouse and rat poison, use products with a tamper-resistant bait station.
• Never use illegal pesticides (e.g., Tres Pasitos, unregistered Insecticidal Chalk). These products have not been reviewed by EPA and their use may pose a danger to public health. Always look for an EPA Registration ID number on the label. (Example: EPA Reg. No. 500-123456)
• Get your home and child tested for lead.
• Have a working carbon monoxide detector in your home.
• Program the Poison Help number, 1-800-222-1222, in your phone. When accidents happen with pesticides, chemicals, medicine or household products, call Poison Help and get help right away from a local poison expert.

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Poison prevention resources

To raise awareness of how to prevent poisonings and exposures to household cleaners and pesticides, the following free poison prevention resources are available:

Protect your children

• Play It Safe: Reduce Your Child's Chances of Pesticide Poisoning provides information on children's exposure to pesticides and ways to prevent poisonings. (Brochure in PDF) (8 pp, 366 KB, About PDF)
  • En español: Vida Sana: Reduzca la probabilidad de que sus hijos se envenenen con pesticidas
    (Brochure in PDF) (8 pp, 366 KB, About PDF)
• Ten Tips to Protect Children from Pesticide and Lead Poisonings provides simple steps to save children from pesticide and lead poisonings around the home.
  • En español: Diez Medidas Para Proteger a Sus Niños de los Pesticidas y del Envenenamiento Debido al Plomo.
• Poison-Proof Your Home One Room at a Time (PDF) (2 pp, 160k, About PDF) a checklist which provides a list of activities and action steps that can help parents and caregivers identify sources of pesticide and other household product dangers at home.
  • En español: Haga de su hogar un lugar de prueba de venenos: Una habitación a la vez (PDF)

Protect farm worker families

• Aunque Cerca Sano (Living Healthy Close to the Fields) is a booklet that educates farm worker on steps they can take to protect their families from pesticide exposures. To order copies call (703) 305-5017.

Educate your local community

• Poison Prevention: Read the Label First! is a community action kit that includes training materials for communities to use to heighten awareness about preventable poisonings caused by improper use and storage of household products. To order copies call (703) 305-5017.
• Poison Prevention Week Planner provides ideas for organizing events and partnering with your local poison center to promote your events through media and community outreach.
• Poison Help widgets and badges are online tools about poison prevention designed to add an interactive feature to your Web site, personal blog, Facebook or Twitter page. To get the widget on your site, visit http://poisonhelp.hrsa.gov/what-can-you-do/badges-and-widgets/.
• Poison Help videos, audio messages, ringtone, tips sheets, magnets and other resources are available at http://poisonhelp.hrsa.gov/resources/index.html, or call your local poison center at1-800-222-1222 and ask for an educator.
• Free audio public service announcemnts (PSA), produced in spanish (español), on cockroaches and other pests, illegal pesticides and storing pesticides safely, are available. (Transcripts in english/español, audio in español)

Don't buy illegal pesticides

• Protect Your Family: Know the Dangers of Illegal Pesticides is a brochure that alerts parents to the dangers of illegal pesticides. Available in English, Chinese, Portuguese, and Spanish. To order copies, call (703) 305-5017.
• Illegal Pesticide Products such as mothballs, insecticidal chalk, pet products, and antibacterial products may be sold on the street or in small neighborhood stores.
  • En español: Los productos pesticidas ilegales, tales como naftalina, tiza insecticida, productos para mascotas y productos antibacterianos pueden aparecer a la venta en la calle o en pequeños almacenes del barrio.

Read household product labels

• Read the Label First! Protect Your Kids (PDF) (2 pp, 1.0 MB, About PDF) is a brochure that provides information on preventing children from being exposed to pesticides and household cleaners by reading and following product label instructions and precautions.
• Read the Label First: Protect Your Pets. Many common household products such as cleaners and pesticides could hurt a pet if not used and stored correctly.
• Use the Safest Cleaning Products Possible.  Look for the DfE label on products.  The label indicates that the product uses the safest possible – but effective – cleaning chemicals.

Store household products safely

• Safe Storage and Disposal Web site contains information on proper storage and disposal of household products.
• Lock It Up poster (PDF) (1 pg, 110 KB, About PDF) urges parents and caregivers to lock household products away from children. Call to order copies from the National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP) at 1-800-490-9198.

Check your home to prevent poisonings

• Poison-proof Your Home:  One Room at a Time is a room-by-room poison prevention checklist that helps parents and caregivers to identify sources of pesticides and other household product dangers at home. (Brochure in PDF) (2 pp, 163 KB, About PDF)
  • En español: Haga de su hogar un lugar a prueba de venenos: Una habitación a la vez: Lista para la prevención del envenenamiento por pesticidas (Brochure in PDF) (2 pp, 163 KB, About PDF)
• Learn About Chemicals Around Your House is an interactive Web site designed to teach children and parents about household products, including pesticides that may contain harmful chemicals.
• Get your home and child tested for lead. For more information, visit http://www.epa.gov/lead/
• Have a working carbon monoxide detector (CO) in your home. For more information, visit http://www.epa.gov/iaq/co.html
• Up and Away is an educational program to remind families of the importance of safe medicine storage. http://www.upandaway.org/

For more information on Poison Prevention Week, visit Poisonprevention.org

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