5 pesticide myths, debunked

Yes, everyone should be concerned about their exposure to pesticides. No, reading the label won’t save you (but you should do it anyway).

When you get tired of ripping weeds out of the cracks in your driveway by hand, you might reach for a bottle of Roundup. But hold up.

Roundup isn’t just an ordinary household product. It’s also a pesticide. Dr. Jennifer Kay, a toxicologist at Silent Spring Institute, says we’re often unwittingly exposed to pesticides in our everyday lives—and that their chemical formulas aren’t adequately tested for safety. Dr. Kay is the lead author of a study analyzing more than 900 chemicals that her team identified as connected to breast cancer. One of her biggest discoveries? More than half of those chemicals (485, to be exact) are ingredients in pesticides. Big yikes.

It’s time to bust some common pesticide myths.

Myth 1: “Pesticides are made to kill pests, like bugs and weeds. I’m human, so it’s chill.”

We’re not as different from bugs as we’d like to believe. “In reality, we share quite a bit of our biology with insects,” Kay says. Pesticides that target insect neurotransmitters are a good example, she adds: Some have been linked to Parkinson’s disease in people.

We might also believe that when a chemical causes cancer in animal trials, the finding doesn’t necessarily extend to humans. In fact, there’s a good chance it does. That’s why both EPA and the Food and Drug Administration use animal-trial data to determine how dangerous chemicals might be to people.

So, no need to go all “kumbaya” and start adopting cockroaches as your personal pets, but do keep in mind that what hurts them can hurt you too. (Also, it’s pretty hard to get a roach to chase a frisbee.)

Myth 2: “Why do I need to worry about pesticides? I’m not a farmer.”

“The amount of a pesticide on a single piece of food might be very low,” Kay says, “but those little exposures add up.” Regulators overlook this cumulative effect. “Each pesticide is regulated as if you’re only eating food with that one pesticide on it,” she explains. “But there are 1,060 active registered pesticides in the U.S. A single crop can have multiple pesticides, and ideally people are eating a wide variety of produce.”

Plus, it’s time to check your definition of a pesticide. They’re not just for 500-acre fields of corn. Weedkillers, rat poison, roach sprays, ant baits, and other common household products are all pesticides. “When people think about pesticides, they often don’t think about the roach killer they’re spraying on floors where children are crawling around,” Kay says.

Then there are those parks, lawns, and golf courses that look like otherworldly emerald carpets where unicorns and rainbow ponies might graze. “Why do those spaces look so clean and manicured? Part of the reason is pesticides,” Kay says. “When kids are playing on the playground or in their backyard, their parents might think about the dirt, but not necessarily about the chemicals in those spaces.”

TL;DR: Even if we don’t work on a farm, we should be concerned about pesticides. But also, we should be concerned about farmworkers! They have the highest exposures. Since working for Silent Spring, Kay has moved to eating more organic produce—not just for her own health, but also to support workers on organic farms. “I want to promote those jobs,” she says.

Myth 3: “Knowledge is power. As long as I read the label on my weedkiller, I’ll be fine.”

Wild fact: EPA only requires the “active” ingredient—the one that kills the pests—to be listed on the label, with a few exceptions. As for the rest (sometimes called the “inert” ingredients)… good luck finding out what those are. What is this madness?! you might wonder. Well, it’s something called the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. Basically, it says any ingredients that don’t actively target pests are considered “trade secrets,” and companies don’t have to list them. (We’ll learn more about FIFRA in a minute.)

That said, if you are going to use that weedkiller, you shouldn’t ignore the label altogether. “People assume that if a pesticide has been approved for use, any use of it is fine,” Kay says. “But it’s only fine if you follow the fine print.” So if the label says to mask up while using a pesticide, or to apply only a small amount, make sure to follow those instructions.

Myth 4: “All ingredients in pesticides are tested for safety. I’m going swimming in a pool full of Raid!”

Please don’t. Remember those “inert” ingredients we talked about? EPA doesn’t require the same level of safety testing for those ingredients as it does for active ingredients, even though there are multiple studies demonstrating that complete pesticide formulas can be more toxic than the pest-targeting chemical alone.

Take Roundup. The active ingredient, glyphosate, isn’t on Kay’s list of chemicals tied to breast cancer. But the inert ingredients could be—we simply don’t know, because the manufacturer has opted not to reveal what they are. Kay has found that hundreds of chemicals on her list are known inert ingredients in pesticides. Thanks to the dirty “trade secret” loophole, “all of these inert ingredients are flying under the radar,” Kay says.

Myth 5: “Okay, but other ways of killing pests don’t actually work. What am I supposed to do? TBH, I do want a perfect lawn for those aforementioned rainbow ponies.”

Hot tip: Stop attracting pests in the first place. In the fall, seed your lawn with endophytic or other pest-resistant varieties of grass. What you plant in the spring has an impact too. Try companion planting in your garden—marigolds protect vegetables from nematodes, and sunflowers attract insect-eating birds. In the summer, let your grass grow a little taller before mowing (so extra sunlight doesn’t encourage weeds to sprout).

Inside your house, you can take the same preventative approach. Storing food in airtight containers, covering trash, and keeping the stove and countertops clean sends a strong message to pests: This buffet is permanently closed. Fixing leaks and caulking up holes helps too.

If pests show up despite your best efforts, don’t panic. There are effective natural products you can use, like diatomaceous earth, borax, and sticky traps. Check out Beyond Pesticides or visit your local cooperative extension to learn more. You can also check out Silent Spring’s app, Detox Me, for more healthy living tips.

Maybe the biggest myth of all is that we can trust chemical corporations to keep us safe. Make sure to vote for candidates who support stronger environmental health regulations—even the ponies (real or imagined) will thank you.