You've Got Questions... We've Got Answers.


Permethrin is an insecticide in the pyrethroid family. Pyrethroids are synthetic chemicals that act like natural extracts from the chrysanthemum flower. Permethrin is used in a number of ways to control insects. Products containing permethrin may be used in public health mosquito control programs. They may be used on food and feed crops, on ornamental lawns, on livestock and pets, in structures and buildings, and on clothing. Permethrin may also be used in places where food is handled, such as restaurants. Permethrin was first registered with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) in 1979, and was re-registered in 2006.


Permethrin can affect insects if they eat it or touch it. Permethrin affects the nervous system in insects, causing muscle spasms, paralysis and death. Permethrin is more toxic to insects than it is to people and dogs. This is because insects can't break it down as quickly as people and dogs. Cats are more sensitive to permethrin than dogs or people because it takes their bodies a long time to break it down.


Less than 1% of the permethrin put on the skin of people was taken into the body. If permethrin is eaten, most of it is quickly absorbed. The pyrethroids easily pass through the lungs into the body if inhaled, but no specific data on permethrin was found.
Once permethrin is absorbed, it quickly moves throughout the body. The greatest amounts of permethrin have been found 3 to 4 hours after it was eaten. Permethrin leaves the body mainly in the urine, but may also be in the feces. In laboratory tests in rats, half of the permethrin was gone from the animals' bodies within a day.


Perimeter Insect Guard is registered for use in all 50 states of the US.


While children may be especially sensitive to pesticides compared to adults, there are currently no data to suggest that children have increased sensitivity specifically to permethrin.


Perimeter Insect Guard's permethrin treatment has been extensively studied by the State of California and found to have no harmful effects on the environment.


For more detailed information call the National Pesticide Information Center, Monday - Friday, between 8:00am - 12:00pm Pacific Time (11:00am - 3:00pm Eastern Time) at 1-800-858-7378 or visit http://npic.orst.edu. NPIC provides objective, science-based answers to questions about pesticides.