Gateway Pesticide Index

Health/Environmental Effects Chart

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DEET

General Information

• Beyond Pesticides DEET ChemWatch Factsheet
• Pesticide product names
• Chemical Class: Aromatic amide insecticide
• Uses: Households/Domestic Dwellings, Human body/clothing while being worn (insect repellent), Cats
  (adults/kittens), Dogs/canines (adults/puppies), Horses, Pet living/sleeping quarters; targets Biting flies, biting midges, black flies, chiggers (redbugs), deer flies, fleas, gnats, horse flies, mosquitoes, no-see-ums, sand flies, small flying insects, stable flies and ticks
• Alternatives: Insect Repellent
• Beyond Pesticides rating: Toxic

Health and Environmental Effects

• Cancer: Not documented
• Endocrine Disruption: Not documented
• Reproductive Effects: Not documented
• Neurotoxicity: Yes (7)
• Kidney/ Liver Damage:Yes (4)
• Sensitizer/ Irritant: Yes (7)
• Birth/ Developmental Defects: Yes (6)
• Detected in Groundwater: Yes (6)
• Potential Leacher: Yes (7)
• Toxic to Birds: Not documented
• Toxic to Fish/ Aquatic Organisms: Not documented
• Toxic to Bees: Not documented

Additional Information

• Regulatory Status:
  • EPA Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) signed (9/1998)
• Supporting information:
  • Daily News Blog entries (Beyond Pesticides)
  • NCAP DEET Factsheet (Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides)
  • Extoxnet DEET Factsheet (Extension Toxicology Network)
  • PAN Pesticides Database: DEET (Pesticide Action Network
  • Synergy: the Big Unknowns of Pesticide Exposure (Beyond Pesticides 2004)
  • The Truth About West Nile Virus (Beyond Pesticides 2003)
  • West Nile Virus/Mosquito Management (Beyond Pesticides program page)
• Key Studies:
  • DEET and Permithrin Syntax Study Experimental Neurology (2001)