Gateway on Pesticide Hazards and Safe Pest Management
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Dicamba
General Information
- Fact Sheet: Dicamba.pdf
- Product Names:
Scotts LawnPro Step 2 Weed Control Plus Fertilizer 29-3-3 (Scotts Company), formulated with 2,4-D
Virgoro Ultra Turf Weed & Feed (Spectrum Brands), formulated with 2,4-D, Mecoprop-p
Spectracide Pro Broadleaf Weed (Spectrum Brands), formulated with 2,4-D, Mecoprop-p
Scotts Weed and Feed 22-3-3 (Scotts Company), formulated with 2,4-D, Mecoprop-p
Bonide Brushkil Poison Oak & Ivy Killer (Bonide Products), formulated with 2,4-D
- Chemical Class: Benzoic acid herbicide
- Uses: Agricultural, industrial, and residential settings. Different forms of dicamba (acid and salts) have registered uses on rights-of-way areas, asparagus, barley, corn , grasses grown in pasture and rangeland, oats, proso millet, rye, sorghum, soybeans, sugarcane, and wheat, golf courses
and lawns. - Alternatives: Organic agriculture, Organic lawns care
- Beyond Pesticides rating:
Health and Environmental Effects
- Cancer: Suggestive (, )
- Endocrine Disruption: Not documented
- Reproductive Effects: Yes ()
- Neurotoxicity: Yes ()
- Kidney/Liver Damage: Yes ()
- Sensitizer/ Irritant: Yes ()
- Birth/Developmental: Yes ()
- Detected in Groundwater: Yes ()
- Potential Leacher: Yes ()
- Toxic to Birds: Yes (, )
- Toxic to Fish/Aquatic Organisms: Yes ()
- Toxic to Bees: Not documented
Residential Uses as Found in the ManageSafe™ Database
Additional Information
- Regulatory Status:
- Supporting information:
- Studies:
- Dicamba drift affects non-target plants and pollinators (Penn State, 2015)
- Comparison of pesticide levels in carpet dust and self-reported pest treatment practices in four US sites. Colt, Joanne et. al.2004. Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology 14, 74–83.
- Do Pesticides Affect Learning Behavior? Porter, Warren. 2004. Pesticides and You (Beyond Pesticides).
- Dicamba use and cancer incidence in the agricultural health study: an updated analysis. Lerro, C.C., Hofmann, J.N., Andreotti, G., Koutros, S., Parks, C.G., Blair, A., Albert, P.S., Lubin, J.H., Sandler, D.P. and Beane Freeman, L.E., 2020. International Journal of Epidemiology.
- Cancer incidence among pesticide applicators exposed to dicamba in the Agricultural Health Study. Samanic, C., et al. 2006. Environ Health Perspect 114(10):1521-1526.
- Developmental Toxicity of a Commercial Herbicide Mixture in Mice: I. Effects on Embryo Implantation and Litter Size. Cavieres, M., et al. 2002. Environ Health Perspect 110:1081-1085
- Amine Volatilization from Herbicide Salts: Implications for Herbicide Formulations and Atmospheric Chemistry. Sharkey, S.M., Hartig, A.M., Dang, A.J., Chatterjee, A., Williams, B.J. and Parker, K.M., 2022. Environmental Science & Technology.
- Exposure to pesticides and risk of Hodgkin lymphoma in an international consortium of agricultural cohorts (AGRICOH). Kim, J., Leon, M.E., Schinasi, L.H., Baldi, I., Lebailly, P., Freeman, L.E.B., Nordby, K.C., Ferro, G., Monnereau, A., Brouwer, M. and Kjaerheim, K., 2023. Cancer Causes & Control, pp.1-9.
- Dicamba and 2,4-D in the Urine of Pregnant Women in the Midwest: Comparison of Two Cohorts (2010–2012 vs. 2020–2022). Daggy, J.K. et al. (2024) Dicamba and 2,4-D in the urine of pregnant women in the Midwest: Comparison of two cohorts (2010–2012 vs. 2020–2022), Agrochemicals. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2813-3145/3/1/5.
- Proximity to residential and workplace pesticides application and the risk of progression of Parkinson's diseases in Central California. Li, S. et al. (2022) Proximity to residential and workplace pesticides application and the risk of progression of parkinson’s diseases in Central California, Science of The Total Environment. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969722079542.
- Persistence of triclopyr, dicamba, and picloram in the environment following aerial spraying for control of dense pine invasion. Rolando, C.A. et al. (2023) Persistence of Triclopyr, dicamba, and Picloram in the environment following aerial spraying for control of dense pine invasion, Invasive Plant Science and Management. Available at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/invasive-plant-science-and-management/article/persistence-of-triclopyr-dicamba-and-picloram-in-the-environment-following-aerial-spraying-for-control-of-dense-pine-invasion/EC888894C5B7A927AD5E5A3E0C06CD8D.
- Impact of Endocrine Disrupting Pesticide Use on Obesity: A Systematic Review. Pérez-Bermejo, M. et al. (2024) Impact of Endocrine Disrupting Pesticide Use on Obesity: A Systematic Review, Biomedicines. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/12/12/2677.
- Beyond the field: How pesticide drift endangers biodiversity. Albaseer, S. et al. (2024) Beyond the field: How pesticide drift endangers biodiversity, Environmental Pollution. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749124022437.
- Response of Wine Grape Cultivars to Simulated Drift Rates of 2,4-D, Dicamba, and Glyphosate, and 2,4-D or Dicamba Plus Glyphosate. Mohseni-Moghadam, M. et al. (2017) Response of Wine Grape Cultivars to Simulated Drift Rates of 2,4-D, Dicamba, and Glyphosate, and 2,4-D or Dicamba Plus Glyphosate, Weed Technology. Available at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/weed-technology/article/response-of-wine-grape-cultivars-to-simulated-drift-rates-of-24d-dicamba-and-glyphosate-and-24d-or-dicamba-plus-glyphosate/1BAD9A48DD98F8896E56C6823A2EE4A4.
- Genotoxicity evaluation of 2,4-D, dicamba and glyphosate alone or in combination with cell reporter assays for DNA damage, oxidative stress and unfolded protein response
. Mesnage, R. et al. (2021) ‘Genotoxicity evaluation of 2,4-D, dicamba and glyphosate alone or in combination with cell reporter assays for DNA damage, oxidative stress and unfolded protein response’, Food and Chemical Toxicology, 157, p. 112601. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2021.112601.
- Toxic and histopathological effects induced by exposure to the pesticide dicamba in carp Cyprinus carpio L. Korkmaz, N. Toxic and histopathological effects induced by exposure to the pesticide dicamba in carp Cyprinus carpio L. Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 65790–65803 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-35674-9
- Exploring the Joint Association Between Agrichemical Mixtures and Pediatric Cancer. Taiba, J. et al. (2025) Exploring the Joint Association Between Agrichemical Mixtures and Pediatric Cancer, GeoHealth. Available at: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024GH001236.
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