Improving Air Quality in Your Community
Indoor Air: Pesticides in the Home
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.Additional Information
You can help pesticide users reduce emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) that may affect employees, residents, and the community by conducting these activities:
- Sponsor awareness activities
- Encourage use of non-chemical pest controls
- Assist homeowners
- Provide training for pest control companies
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Sponsor Awareness Activities
How?- Use brochures, pamphlets, or other materials on pesticides in the home that have been developed by EPA.
- Create your own brochures, pamphlets, or other materials to tailor them to issues within your area.
- Sponsor booths at state and county fairs or athletic events, or hold a health fair related to pesticides in the home.
- Maintain a Pesticides in the Home awareness booth or table at public places such as libraries, community centers, or schools.
- Designate a month to be Pesticides in the Home Awareness Month and use that month for health fairs and other events.
- Offer a Pesticides in the Home awareness seminar to homeowners at events such as school functions or homeowner association meetings.
- Increasing awareness of risk from pesticides in the home can lead to risk reduction actions when appropriate.
- Many pamphlets, videos, videos, posters, and booklets are available at no cost from EPA and other organizations.
- Costs to put together booths or customized materials.
- Costs associated with the preparation of seminar materials as well as with bringing in experts to speak.
- EPA's Citizen's Guide to Pest Control and Pesticide Safety (PDF) (54 pp, 2.4 MB)
- EPA's Read the Label First campaign.
- Pesticide in Indoor Air of Homes (PDF) (6 pp, 169 KB) fact sheet from the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC).
- EPA has supplied good background information that can be used in a seminar.
- EPA description of how to properly read a pesticide label.
- Additional fact sheets by EPA.
Encourage Use of Non-chemical Pest Controls
How?- Use awareness activities to encourage the use of biological controls (e.g., beneficial predators, parasitoids, microscopic pathogens, biochemical pesticides) or manual methods (e.g., flyswatters and traps) instead of chemical pesticides.
- Incorporate information on how to prevent pests from entering the home into your awareness activities.
- Encourage the use of manual controls such as flyswatters and traps.
- Provide information about the practice of integrated pest management (IPM).
- Make information about IPM an integral part of your pesticides in the home awareness campaign.
- Provide an award to homeowners who control pests by practicing IPM.
- Develop and implement a certification process for pest control companies that actively practice IPM.
- Reduces exposure of residents to pesticides.
- Increases the number of extermination companies who practice integrated pest management (IPM).
- Costs associated with providing awards and certifying extermination companies.
- EPA fact sheet on IPM.
- Specific information related to IPM in households.
- National Foundation for IPM Education (NFIE)
- Learn about the NFIE's Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program.
Assist Homeowners
How?- Compile a directory of reputable local pest control companies. You can make this directory available at awareness events. Also, keep a copy of it in your office for people who call or come by.
- Provide funding to assist low-income homeowners or tenants. The funds can be used to provide them with any needed pest control measures or for them to hire a pest control company.
- Reduces exposure to pesticides and pests for homeowners and tenants.
- Costs of compiling a pest control company directory.
- Costs of providing funding for use by low-income homeowners and tenants.
- EPA has several grant opportunities available.
- Grant tools in various EPA Regions.
- How to develop partnerships with EPA.
Provide Training for Pest Control Companies
How?- Coordinate with local pest control companies to provide training and certification for new employees.
- Offer refresher training and certification for local pest control company employees.
- Provide funding for local pest control companies to use for training and certification purposes.
- Allows for proper training and certification for employees of local pest control companies.
- Reduces exposure to pest control company employees, homeowners, and/or tenants.
- Costs associated with sponsoring training and certification courses.
- Costs associated with funding to be used by local pest control companies for training and certification purposes.
- See above funding sources for funding opportunities.
- Certification and Training of Pesticide Applicators.
- The Pesticide Safety Program promotes safety through education.
- Standards of worker protection for pesticide applicators.