The National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) is a service that provides
science-based information about pesticides and pesticide-related topics.
- NPIC operates a hotline from 8:00am to 12:00pm Pacific Time, Monday – Friday.
- The phone number is 800-858-7378. This hotline is staffed by trained Pesticide Specialists.
- If a caller calls outside of these hours, NPIC will return their message within one business day.
- Email us at npic@ace.orst.edu and someone will reply to your email within one business day.
- Find information about pesticide topics on NPIC's website: npic.orst.edu
Who does NPIC serve?
Most of NPIC's callers are the general public, but NPIC also answers questions from doctors, veterinarians, pest control
companies, and pesticide manufacturers.
Foreign Language Capability: NPIC can assist people in over 240 different languages through an over-the-phone
language service.
Poison Control Center operators can refer non-emergency pesticide questions to NPIC.
What kind of questions can NPIC answer?
- Risks to people: short- and long-term health effects, risks for children and pregnant women, non-emergency information for health care providers
- Risks to pets: short- and long-term health effects
- Environmental effects: how pesticides move in the environment, effects on wildlife, effects on bees and other pollinators
- Pesticide regulation: laws and regulation of pesticides, food safety, farmworker safety
- Documenting incidents: when a caller wants to report something such as a workplace exposure or a bad reaction to a pesticide by a person or animal
- Proper storage and disposal: how to store, transport, or dispose of a pesticide
What are questions NPIC cannot answer?
- NPIC specialists are not medically trained and cannot provide medical advice (with the exception of some veterinary medical information).
- NPIC cannot provide immediate reporting to CDC or other health agencies.
- NPIC has no regulatory authority and cannot conduct investigations.
- NPIC does not make pesticide product recommendations.
Do you know what a pesticide is?
You may know them as:
- herbicides, including Weed & Feed
- insecticides, including bug repellents
- pet flea collars and most flea drops
- fungicides and mold control
- antimicrobials and disinfectants, including sanitizers used in hospitals
- rodenticides
- wood preservatives and more.
NPIC has health information about all of these types of products.
NPIC maintains a database of all pesticide products registered with the EPA.
How do you read a pesticide label?
The label on a pesticide package lists the active ingredient(s), signal word, directions for use, first aid instructions, hazards to humans, pets and wildlife, environmental hazards, and more.
Date Published: February 14, 2020
