Active ingredients are the chemicals in pesticide products that kill, control, or repel pests. For example, the active ingredients in an herbicide are the ingredient(s) that kill weeds. Often, the active ingredients make up a small portion of the whole product.

• A product label includes the name of each active ingredient and its concentration in the product.
• A single active ingredient may be found in hundreds of pesticide products with different names.
• Products with similar brand names may have different active ingredients with varying concentrations.
• Some active ingredients work on a broad spectrum of pests. Others are more targeted, killing only certain things.
• There are families of active ingredients that work in the same basic way. Using active ingredients from different chemical families can slow the development of pesticide resistance.

More information:

Icons courtesy of iconmonstr.com

Additional Resources:

• Pesticide Chemical Search Tool - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Identify Active Ingredients (video) - eHow Home
• Understanding Pesticide Labels (video) - Ohio State University PSEP

If you have questions about this, or any pesticide-related topic, please call NPIC at 800-858-7378 or email us at npic@oregonstate.edu.