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Gateway on Pesticide Hazards and Safe Pest Management
How To Find Ingredients in Pesticide Products
Beyond Pesticides offers resources below to evaluate the health and ecological effects of specific chemical exposure from ACTIVE INGREDIENTS in pesticide products, as well as regulatory information and supporting scientific documents. Because various pesticide products can contain more than one active ingredient, it is important to READ the LABEL to determine chemical components.
With 192 different active ingredients and counting, it is essential to establish the connection between the use of these chemicals and their respective hazards.
View the step-by-step guide on how to search for the active ingredient(s) in pesticide products below:
- Go to U.S. EPA's Pesticide Product and Label System and enter the product name. The generic product name may vary.
- After searching, click on the chemical ingredients tab or the link for the most recent label to find Active Ingredients.
Chemical List Label List
If one selects the chemical ingredients tab, skip to Step 4 . If not, proceed to step number 3 - To find the active ingredient(s) on the label, search for the page in the document containing the date of registration. Usually, the active ingredients section occurs within the first few pages of the label document.
- Return to the Beyond Pesticides Gateway and search for the active ingredient name in the yellow box to the right or from the list below.
Abamectin/Avermectin B1
General Information
- Fact Sheet: Abamectin.pdf
- Product Names:
- Chemical Class: Macrocyclic lactone compounds
- Uses: Insecticide, miticide, nematicide for use on various agrucultural uses: fruits, vegetables, legumes, herbs, cotton, tree nuts; and non-agricultural uses: forestry, ornamentals, lawns, turf, transportation facilities, food/feed processing,distribution facilities, dairy cattle,
- Alternatives: Organic Agriculture
- Beyond Pesticides rating: Toxic
Health and Environmental Effects
- Cancer: Not documented
- Endocrine Disruption: Not documented
- Reproductive Effects: Yes (4)
- Neurotoxicity: Yes (4)
- Kidney/Liver Damage: Not documented
- Sensitizer/ Irritant: Not documented
- Birth/Developmental: Yes (11, 21)
- Detected in Groundwater: Not documented
- Potential Leacher: Not documented
- Toxic to Birds: Not documented
- Toxic to Fish/Aquatic Organisms: Yes (4, 8)
- Toxic to Bees: Yes (4, 8)
Residential Uses as Found in the ManageSafe™ Database
Additional Information
- Regulatory Status:
- Supporting information:
- Extoxnet Abamectin Factsheet (Extension Toxicology Network)
- PAN Pesticides Database: Abamectin (Pesticide Action Network)
- Studies:
- Immune response of Brazilian farmers exposed to multiple pesticides . Jacobsen-Pereira, C.H. et al. (2020) ‘Immune response of Brazilian farmers exposed to multiple pesticides’, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 202, p. 110912. doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.110912.
- A Th2-type immune response and low-grade systemic inflammatory reaction as potential immunotoxic effects in intensive agriculture farmers exposed to pesticides . Lozano-Paniagua, D. et al. (2024) ‘A th2-type immune response and low-grade systemic inflammatory reaction as potential immunotoxic effects in intensive agriculture farmers exposed to pesticides’, Science of The Total Environment, 938, p. 173545. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173545.
- Transport mechanisms of pesticide mixtures impairing intestinal barrier function in mice. Liu, Z. et al. (2025) Transport mechanisms of pesticide mixtures impairing intestinal barrier function in mice, Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048357525000690.
- ROS generation and DNA damage contribute to abamectin-induced cytotoxicity in mouse macrophage cells. Liang, Y., Dong, B., Pang, N., & Hu, J. (2019). ROS generation and DNA damage contribute to abamectin-induced cytotoxicity in mouse macrophage cells. Chemosphere, 234, 328–337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.06.031
- Assessment of genetic damage levels in agricultural workers exposed to pesticides in Paraíba, Brazil. Carvalho-Gonçalves, L. et al. (2025) Assessment of genetic damage levels in agricultural workers exposed to pesticides in Paraíba, Brazil, Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1382668925000900.