EPA Regulation of Bed Bug Pesticides
All pesticides must be registered by EPA before being sold and used in the United States, other than those that rely on a limited set of active ingredients (so-called minimum risk pesticides). For pesticides used against pests that affect public health, such as bed bugs, our primary responsibility is to ensure that the pesticides with public health uses are both safe and effective against the pests on their labels. We review pesticides to ensure they do not pose unacceptable risks when used according to label directions and ensure that every registered pesticide can be shown to work against bed bugs in laboratory tests.
Our efforts to improve management of bed bugs include:
- Working to ensure that pest management professionals and the public have access to the latest information on effective bed bug control tools.
- Encouraging industry and researchers to identify new compounds (or new uses of existing compounds) to control bed bugs, since we realize that certain bed bug populations in communities across the nation are becoming increasingly resistant to some of the existing pesticides.
- Educating the general public, pest management professionals, and public health officials about bed bug biology and IPM, which is critical to long-term bed bug control.