Category: Guides

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Babies and toddlers crawl on floors, put everything in their mouths and weigh very little. All of that makes them more exposed to whatever lands on floors and surfaces. That doesn’t mean you have to live with bugs. It means choosing targeted methods and putting every product out of reach.

Prevention that cuts most problems

• Seal entry points: door sweeps, window screens and caulk around pipes.
• Keep food contained: snack crumbs under high chairs and car seats are the classic ant magnet.
• Fix moisture: leaks attract roaches, silverfish and more.
• Vacuum often, especially where kids eat and play.

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Room by room

Kitchen

Ants and roaches are the main problems. Use enclosed bait stations placed behind appliances or inside cabinets with child locks, not on open floors. Clean up crumbs before bed. See our ant guide and roach guide.

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Living areas and nursery

Avoid spraying floors, rugs and play mats. If fleas come in with a pet, treat the pet with a vet-recommended product and vacuum daily rather than spraying the whole room. If you do use a home spray, keep children out until it’s completely dry and follow the label’s re-entry directions. Never use foggers.

Bathroom and laundry

Silverfish and roaches love damp spaces. Run the exhaust fan, fix drips, and put any dust treatment only inside wall voids or behind panels, never on open surfaces.

Yard and play areas

For mosquitoes, empty standing water weekly (toys, kiddie pools, buckets) and use Bti dunks in water you can’t empty. Skip broadcast yard sprays near sandboxes and play sets. See our mosquito guide. For bug repellent on kids, use an EPA-registered product and follow age limits on the label. Oil of lemon eucalyptus, for example, isn’t for children under 3.

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Storage rules

• Lock pesticides up, high and out of sight.
• Keep them in their original labeled containers. Never pour them into drink bottles.
• Close child-resistant caps fully, every time.
• Remove kids, toys and pacifiers from an area before treating it.

If you hire a pest control company

Ask for an integrated pest management (IPM) approach: inspection, sealing, baiting and targeted crack-and-crevice treatment rather than routine spraying. Ask which products they’ll use, what the re-entry time is, and tell them you have an infant.

If a child swallows or touches a pesticide, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222, or 911 if the child is having trouble breathing, is unconscious or is having a seizure. Always follow product labels.

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If you’re trying to choose a gentler insecticide, the label is your best tool, but only if you know how to read it. This guide explains the federal “minimum risk” category, what an EPA registration number means, and why no legitimate pesticide label will ever tell you a product is “safe.”

Two kinds of products on the shelf

1. EPA-registered pesticides

Most insecticides, including many natural ones like spinosad, Bt and borax baits, are registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. You’ll see an “EPA Reg. No.” on the label. Registration means the EPA reviewed data on the product’s effects and approved the label directions.

2. “Minimum risk” (FIFRA 25(b)) products

Under section 25(b) of the federal pesticide law (FIFRA), certain products are exempt from EPA registration if they contain only active ingredients from an EPA list, such as cedar oil, cinnamon oil, citric acid, clove oil, peppermint oil, garlic, rosemary oil and others, and only approved inert ingredients, and meet labeling conditions. In November 2022 the EPA added chitosan to the list.

Key things to know about 25(b) products:

• The EPA does not review them for effectiveness. Results vary widely.
• Most states still require registration before they’re sold.
• They must list all ingredients, active and inert, on the label.
• “Minimum risk” refers to the ingredient list, not a promise that a product is harmless. Many 25(b) oils are hazardous to cats, for example (see our cat guide).

Why you won’t see “safe” on a real label

Federal rules (40 CFR 156.10) treat safety claims such as “safe,” “nonpoisonous,” “harmless” or “nontoxic to humans and pets” as false or misleading on pesticide labeling, even with “when used as directed” attached. If a bug product’s label or ads promise it’s “100% safe,” treat that as a red flag.

How to read a label, section by section

1. Active ingredient(s) and percentage. This tells you what actually does the work. Look it up on the National Pesticide Information Center (npic.orst.edu), which has plain-language fact sheets.
2. Signal word. “Caution” is the lowest toxicity category, then “Warning,” then “Danger.” Many lower-toxicity products carry “Caution” or no signal word.
3. Precautionary statements. Hazards to people, pets, fish, bees and other wildlife. Read these first if you have pets or a pond.
4. Directions for use. Which pests, which sites (indoor, outdoor, food plants), how much and how often. “The label is the law”: using a product contrary to its label is illegal.
5. Re-entry and pre-harvest intervals. How long to stay out of treated areas and wait before harvesting food.
6. Storage and disposal. Never pour leftovers down a drain.

A simple way to compare products

• Pick the product whose label lists your specific pest and site.
• Prefer targeted products such as baits, larvicides and spot treatments over broadcast sprays.
• Check precautions against your household: cats, fish tanks, bees in the garden, small kids.
• Use the smallest amount that works, and combine it with non-chemical steps like sealing, cleaning and removing water.

This article is general information, not legal or regulatory advice. Rules can change; check the EPA and your state pesticide agency for current requirements.

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Diatomaceous earth (DE) is one of the most popular non-chemical bug killers. It’s a fine powder made from the fossilized shells of tiny algae called diatoms. It works mechanically rather than chemically, but “natural” doesn’t mean “use it carelessly.” Here’s how to buy the right kind and use it well.

How DE kills insects

Under a microscope, DE particles are sharp and highly absorbent. When an insect crawls through it, the powder damages and strips the waxy outer coating that keeps the insect from drying out, and the insect dehydrates over hours to days. Because it’s a physical action, insects don’t develop resistance to it the way they can to chemical insecticides.

Food grade vs. pool grade: the critical difference

Calcining turns much of the silica into its crystalline form, which can cause serious lung disease when inhaled. Pool-grade DE belongs only in a pool filter. The color won’t tell you which is which; the label will.

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What DE works on

• Ants, along travel paths and in wall voids
• Cockroaches, behind and under appliances
• Fleas, worked lightly into carpet, then vacuumed after a few days
• Silverfish, earwigs and crickets
• Garden pests like slugs, when dry. It can also harm beneficial insects, so don’t dust flowers bees visit.

A note on bed bugs: the EPA advises that if you use a desiccant dust for bed bugs, it should be one registered by the EPA and labeled for bed bug control. Food-grade and pool-grade products aren’t intended for that use. See our bed bug guide.

How to apply DE the right way

1. Wear a dust mask and keep kids and pets out of the room.
2. Use a bulb duster to puff a barely visible film. Insects walk around thick piles but straight through thin dust.
3. Target hidden, dry spots: cracks, baseboard gaps, behind the fridge and stove, under sinks, wall voids and outlets (with the cover off and power off).
4. Let it work for several days. DE is slower than sprays.
5. Clean up visible dust from open floors with a vacuum (a shop vac with a fine filter is best), and reapply in hidden areas as needed.
6. Reapply outdoors after rain or watering. DE stops working when wet.

Common mistakes

• Dumping thick piles on the floor
• Applying it in damp areas like under a leaky sink, where it clumps and stops working
• Puffing it into the air in an occupied room
• Buying pool grade because it was cheaper

Follow product label directions. Products sold specifically to kill insects must carry pesticide labeling; follow it.