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Pyrethrins

SNAP does not consider synthetic pyrethrins as green or reduced-risk products.

Pyrethrins and pyrethroids

Pyrethrins are one class of insecticides commonly used in consumer products such as Raid and many others. It is up to you to read the labels. They are often marketed as "natural" and as "coming from the pyrethrum daisy". This is false. Pyrethrum is the chemical extracted from the pyrethrum daisy. It is not effective for very long. To make this class of pesticides more effective and last longer, the pesticide industry has chemically produced synthetic pyrethrins, also called pyrethroids. All are toxic to the nervous system. They are known to trigger allergies. Several (alllethrin, bigenthrin, cypermethrin, lambda-cyalothrin, permethrin, resmethrin,) have been recognized by the scientific community as endocrine-disruptors. They also accumulate in sediments of streams and water bodies, often at levels that kill all insects and other invertebrates living in sediments.

Exposure

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Pyrethroid Pesticides Found in Homes and Daycare Centers (Beyond Pesticides, November 3, 2008)

Health Effects

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75% of non-organic spinach contaminated with a neurotoxic bug killer that is banned in Europe (NaturalHealth365) (USDA most recen tests) The most common contaminant is permethrin as well as 3 fungicides. This article also deals with the widespread food contamination with permethrin as well as new research indicating a likely link to ADHD. ( with links). 415 pesticide products containing permethrin are registered in Canada as of 2 July 2018. Domestic products include flea and tick sprays for dogs and cats, horse sprays and house and garden insecticides. Pyrethrins (general name for a number of related chemicals) are also found in insect sprays like 'Raid'. Permethrin may be present in 2 brands of mosquito coils (21 registered Canadian products) indicating active ingredients as 'pyrethrins", which is a mixture. Most other mosquito coils contain another type of pyrethrin called D-CIS,TRANS-ALLETHRIN and 1 contains METOFLUTHRIN (Off). Two products contain the least toxic non-pyrethrin citronella but check the ingredients to ensure they don't also contain allethrin or other pyrethrins. Allethrin seems to be the most commonly registered pyrethrin in Canada. (121 labels) Also filed under pesticides in food

Centers for Disease Control Reports Illness and Death Linked to Bed Bug Pesticides (Beyond Pesticides, September 26, 2011) On September 23, 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a study in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report linking pesticides sprayed in attempts to control bed bugs to poisoning incidents and death. Pyrethroids, pyrethrins, or both were implicated in 99 (89%) of the cases, including the fatality. The most common factors contributing to illness were excessive insecticide application, failure to wash or change pesticide-treated bedding, and inadequate notification of pesticide application. Because bed bugs do not transmit disease and can be controlled without pesticides, this ...

Research Shows Commonly Used Pesticides Produce Greater Toxic Effect When Mixed (Beyond Pesticides, August 11, 2011) A combination of eleven different kinds of commonly used pyrethroids were tested on mice in a new study which found that, at real-world exposure levels, the insecticides can produce heightened toxicity that is equal to the sum of each insecticide’s individual effect. The mixture of similar-acting insecticides works by over-stimulating ... Bifenthrin, Cyfluthrin, Deltamethrin, Permethrin, cypermethrin, esfenvalerate, λ-cyhalothrin, tefluthrin, fenpropathrin, resmethrin and S-bioallethrin.

Report Documents Poisonings from New Generation Pesticides (Beyond Pesticides, August 4, 2008) Pyrethrins and pyrethroids were responsible for more than 26 percent of all major and moderate human incidents involving pesticides in the United States in 2007, up from just 15 percent in 1998 — a 67% increase.

Pyrethroid Pesticide Affects Puberty at Low Levels (Beyond Pesticides, September 22, 2008)