Gateway on Pesticide Hazards and Safe Pest Management

Beyond Pesticides offers resources below to evaluate the health and ecological effects of specific chemical exposure from ACTIVE INGREDIENTS in pesticide products, as well as regulatory information and supporting scientific documents. Because various pesticide products can contain more than one active ingredient, it is important to READ the LABEL to determine chemical components.

With 192 different active ingredients and counting, it is essential to establish the connection between the use of these chemicals and their respective hazards.

View the step-by-step guide on how to search for the active ingredient(s) in pesticide products below:

1. Go to U.S. EPA's Pesticide Product and Label System and enter the product name. The generic product name may vary.
   
2. After searching, click on the chemical ingredients tab or the link for the most recent label to find Active Ingredients.
                Chemical List                                            Label List 
   
   If one selects the chemical ingredients tab, skip to Step 4 . If not, proceed to step number 3
   
   
3. To find the active ingredient(s) on the label, search for the page in the document containing the date of registration. Usually, the active ingredients section occurs within the first few pages of the label document.
   
   
4. Return to the Beyond Pesticides Gateway and search for the active ingredient name in the yellow box to the right or from the list below. 
   
   

Tetramethrin

General Information

• Fact Sheet: Synthetic Pyrethroids.pdf
• Product Names:

  Enforcer Wasp & Yellow Jacket Foam (Enforcer Products), formulated with Sumithrin
  Deep 6 Wasp and Hornet Killer (Speer Products), formulated with Piperonyl butoxide, Permethrin
  Champion Fire Ant Killer (Chase Products), formulated with Piperonyl butoxide, Permethrin
  Hot Shot Indoor Fogger 3 with Odor Neutralizer (Spectrum Brands), formulated with Permethrin 
  Mosquito B Gon Area Repellent (Ortho Group), formulated with Permethrin 
  Raid Flea Killer Plus (SC Johnson), formulated with Piperonyl butoxide, N-Octyl bicycloheptene dicarboximide (MGK 264), Pyrethrins, Sodium nitrite, d-Methoprene

• Chemical Class: Synthetic pyrethroid insecticide
• Uses: Targets insects such as wasps, hornets, roaches, ants, fleas, and mosquitoes in residential and industrial settings and rights-of-way
• Alternatives: Least-toxic Rights-of-way managment, Least-toxic mosquito control
• Beyond Pesticides rating: Toxic

Health and Environmental Effects

• Cancer: Possible (10)
• Endocrine Disruption: Not documented
• Reproductive Effects: Not documented
• Neurotoxicity: Yes (11)
• Kidney/Liver Damage: Not documented
• Sensitizer/ Irritant: Not documented
• Birth/Developmental: Not documented
• Detected in Groundwater: Not documented
• Potential Leacher: Not documented
• Toxic to Birds: Not documented
• Toxic to Fish/Aquatic Organisms: Yes (20)
• Toxic to Bees: Yes (57)

Residential Uses as Found in the ManageSafe™ Database

• Cockroaches
• Fleas
• Wasps and Yellowjackets
• Chiggers

Additional Information

• Studies:
• Exposure to pesticides, persistent and non − persistent pollutants in French 3.5-year-old children: Findings from comprehensive hair analysis in the ELFE national birth cohort. Macheka, L. et al. (2024) Exposure to pesticides, persistent and non − persistent pollutants in French 3.5-year-old children: Findings from comprehensive hair analysis in the ELFE national birth cohort, Environment International. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024004677.
• Subacute oral toxicity of combinations of selected synthetic pyrethroids, piperonyl butoxide, and tetramethrin in rats. Yavuz O, Aksoy A, Das YK, et al. (2013). Subacute oral toxicity of combinations of selected synthetic pyrethroids, piperonyl butoxide, and tetramethrin in rats. Toxicology and Industrial Health. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0748233712469651