Reduce Your Child's Chances of Pesticide Poisoning

Información relacionada disponible en español

Keep these common household pesticides out of children’s reach:

• Bath and kitchen disinfectants and sanitizers, including bleach.
• Products used to kill mold or mildew.
• Roach sprays and baits.
• Insect repellents.
• Rat and other rodent poisons.
• Weed killers.
• Flea and tick shampoos, powders and dips for pets.
• Swimming pool chemicals.

Use these tips to help you poison-proof your home:

Child-proofing

• Lock up all pesticides and harmful products in a cabinet, out of a child’s reach.
• Install safety latches on cabinets.
• Crawl around on your hands and knees to see if you've missed any potential dangers from your child's viewpoint.

Pesticide labels

• Read the label first.
• Follow the directions as they are written on the label before using a product.

Pesticide containers

• Use child-resistant packaging correctly by tightly sealing the container after every use.
• Re-close a pesticide package if ever interrupted during application (e.g., phone call, doorbell, etc.).
• Make sure the container is completely out of children's reach while you're absent.
• Keep pesticides in their original containers.
• Never put poisonous products in containers that could be mistaken for food or drinks.

Other tips

• Alert all caregivers about the potential dangers of pesticides and share these tips with them.
• Teach children that “pesticides are poisons” and not to be touched.
• Pesticides you use to control fleas and ticks on your pets can be transferred to your children. Protect your pets and children by carefully following the label directions and precautions. 
• Post the Poison Control Centers national hotline phone number, 1(800)222-1222, near every telephone in your home and program it into your cell phone.

Additional Resources:

• Play It Safe: Reduce Your Child's Chances of Pesticide Poisoning
  • En español: Reduzca la probabilidad de que sus hijos se envenenen con pesticidas (PDF) (8 pp, 366k, About PDF)​
• Ten Tips to Protect Children from Pesticide and Lead Poisonings -- provides simple tips to save children from pesticide and lead poisoning around the home
  • En español: Diez medidas para proteger a sus niños de los pesticidas y del envenamiento debodo al plomo
• Poison-Proof Your Home One Room at a Time (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) (2 pp, 160k, About PDF)
• Protecting Children in Schools from Pests and Pesticides
• More on Children's Health Protection
• Audio public service announcements (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)
• 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.
• Safe pesticide storage
• Disposing of pesticides
• Learn about EPA’s Safer Choice label
• Learn how to prevent lead poisoning

See also:

• Protecting pets