Pesticide Devices: A Guide for Consumers
This guide for consumers explains key facts about pesticidal devices (called devices in this document) and how they differ from registered pesticide products. Device producers and those seeking more information may also wish to consult the Pesticide Registration Manual - Chapter 13 - Devices.
On this page:What is a Device?
Devices are instruments or contrivances intended to control pests, often through physical or mechanical means like filtration, UV light, or electricity. According to FIFRA, a device is:
“any instrument or contrivance (other than a firearm) [that] is intended for trapping, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest . . . .”
This definition excludes equipment used for applying pesticides when sold separately from the pesticides themselves. Generally, a device is not considered a pesticide when the pesticidal substance and the device are sold separately. Pesticides are substances or mixtures of substances that are intended to prevent, destroy, repel, or mitigate pests, such as insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides, antimicrobials (e.g., disinfectants), herbicides, and many pest repellents and attractants. (Pesticides can also be plant regulators or nitrogen stabilizers.) Application equipment is an article used for the application of pesticides. Such equipment may be part of a pesticide product if sold or distributed with a pesticide. For Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and regulatory definitions, see FIFRA §§ 2(h), 2(u), 40 C.F.R. § 152.3 (“pesticide product”), and 41 Fed. Reg. 51,065 (Nov. 19, 1976).
Under FIFRA, EPA regulates both pesticides and devices. How a particular product is regulated depends on whether it is a pesticide or a device; the product's specific claims, intended use, design, and function; and whether the product is used or sold/distributed with a pesticide or a precursor substance.
The Differences Between How Devices and Pesticides Work and How They Are Regulated
To better understand the key differences between devices, pesticides, and application equipment, below is a general discussion of how each type of product is regulated.
Pesticides and Pesticide Products
Key Feature: A substance or mixture of substances that is intended to destroy, repel, prevent, or mitigate a pest.
Examples: Insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides, antimicrobials (e.g., disinfectants), herbicides, and many pest repellants and attractants (e.g., substances that attract pests to lessen their impact, such as by attracting pests to a trap).
- For more information on the types of products that may be pesticides, please see Types of Pesticide Ingredients.
How EPA Regulates: “Registration” (FIFRA § 3)—a premarket review of the product.
- It is generally unlawful to sell or distribute a pesticide that is not registered by EPA. Therefore, most pesticide products must be registered by EPA unless they qualify for an exemption (see, e.g., 40 C.F.R. § 152.25). Please see the Pesticide Registration Manual for more information.
Devices
Key Feature: an instrument or contrivance, generally working by physical means (e.g., electricity, light, or other mechanical or physical means) and not containing a substance or mixture of substances, that is intended to trap, destroy, repel, or mitigate a pest.
Examples: UV lights, water and air filters not treated with a pesticidal substance, ultrasonic devices, replacement parts (e.g., bulbs) for devices that are themselves intended for pesticidal purposes.
Pesticides v. Devices: Some products commonly mistaken for devices that are actually pesticides include:
- Pesticide products in liquid, dust, or coating form are generally pesticides and not devices because they are not an “instrument or contrivance.”
- For pesticidal coating products, EPA considers cleaning as physically removing dirt and organic matter from surfaces primarily using soap or detergents. While most cleaning products do not need to be registered with EPA, registration is required for any cleaning product that claims to kill viruses or bacteria that cause human illness. Additionally, products that are impregnated with ingredients that claim to be “self-cleaning” are generally not exempt from EPA regulation.
- Pesticide products for controlling microorganisms that generate metal ions, such as silver, are generally pesticides and not devices because they contain a pesticidal substance.
- An apparatus sold with a substance (e.g., salt) that is used to generate a pesticide are generally pesticides, not devices.
Pesticidal Devices v. Medical Devices: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates medical “devices” intended, among other things, for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in man or other animals. However, there are products that may meet both the FIFRA definition of device (regulated by EPA) and the device definition under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) (regulated by FDA) and are dually regulated by FDA and EPA (e.g., ventilator filters, devices used to treat Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) accessories, air purifiers, or UV light devices used in FDA-regulated healthcare settings).
How EPA Regulates: “Misbranding” (FIFRA § 2(q), 40 C.F.R. pt. 156), which generally means that the label or labeling is deficient in some way.
- For products regulated as devices, there is no required premarket review. Unlike pesticides, FIFRA does not require registration of devices. However, EPA does still regulate these products with some limited exceptions including devices that depend more upon the performance of the user than the performance of the device itself to be effective (such as flyswatters); and devices that trap vertebrate animals (such as mouse snap traps, raccoon cages, and bear traps).
Products Commonly Mistaken as Devices
Combination products: Where a product that would otherwise be a device also incorporates a pesticidal substance, it may be considered a pesticide product. For example, a filter that physically traps microbial pests (generally a device) would be an antimicrobial pesticide product if it also incorporated a pesticidal substance that kills those pests to improve the efficacy of the entire system.
Firearms: FIFRA excludes firearms from the device definition. For example, a rifle used to control feral hogs is not a device. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) (not EPA) regulates firearms.
Pesticide Application Equipment: Equipment used to apply a pesticide is often sold separately from or packaged with a pesticide. Such equipment serves as a delivery mechanism for the pesticide. Application equipment is not a device. Application equipment that is sold or distributed with the pesticide is generally registered along with the pesticide as part of the pesticide product, per 40 C.F.R. § 152.3. For example, a sprayer for a lawn herbicide that is sold with a registered herbicide (e.g., a full-size container, a sample) must be included in the herbicide registration. Pesticide application equipment that is sold and distributed separately from the pesticide itself is neither a device nor part of a pesticide product. For example, if the same sprayer for a lawn herbicide were sold and distributed separately from the registered herbicide, it would not be regulated by EPA.
Recognizing a Device by Reading the Label
Devices are regulated by EPA. A compliant EPA-regulated device will include an EPA Establishment Number on the label (associated with the location where the device is produced). It will not include an EPA Registration Number, which would only be found on registered pesticide products. Registered pesticide products will include an EPA Establishment Number and an EPA Registration Number. Pesticide products undergo a thorough review of data supporting the registration, including product performance (efficacy) studies.
| Device | Pesticide |
|---|---|
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Understanding What EPA Has Reviewed on a Device Label and Advertising
As noted above, FIFRA does not require devices to undergo premarket review and registration before being sold and distributed, as it does for pesticides. Generally, device manufacturers, sellers, and distributors do not submit their claims or efficacy and safety data to EPA (for approval or otherwise) before selling or distributing a device.
However, EPA does regulate devices and may find that some devices are misbranded (FIFRA § 2(q), 40 C.F.R. pt. 156) upon review at import or in the marketplace. Misbranding issues with device labels and labeling may include:
- Missing Establishment Number: Devices must be produced in an EPA-registered establishment and the final establishment number must be visible on the outer packaging of the device. An EPA establishment number on device packaging does NOT indicate that the product has been reviewed for safety or efficacy by EPA, nor does it imply EPA product approval, registration, certification, or endorsement.
- Missing Directions for Use: Devices must include directions for use, allowing the user to properly operate the product.
- False or Misleading Claims: Devices may not include “false or misleading claims” on their labels or labeling. A claim about the effectiveness or safety of devices that cannot be supported by the company’s scientific data could be an example of a false or misleading claim. Device manufacturers, sellers, and/or distributors are responsible for maintaining records and data to support their claims.
Consumers can report a device that appears misbranded on EPA’s website for all environmental violations.
Related Information
EPA recommends that consumers use devices consistent with any precautionary language and directions for use. In addition, EPA recommends that consumers should contact the manufacturer or seller of the device directly with any questions regarding the proper use of the product
Examples of Regulated Devices
| Devices EPA Regulates with Examples of Uses | |
|---|---|
| Ultraviolet Light Units |
Claim to kill, inactivate, or suppress growth of microorganisms such as fungi, bacteria or viruses. They may also be used to attract insects or kill plant pathogens (e.g., powdery mildew on strawberries).
|
| Air Purifiers, Filters or Air Treatment Devices |
Claim to reduce microorganisms, unqualified organic contaminants, unqualified allergens or purify the air. These products may filter the air, generate substances, or both.
Products that create ions from the air are generally regulated as devices, unless they contain or are sold with a pesticidal substance or have a pesticidal coating or film causing the pesticidal effect. Air treatment products that do not claim to purify the air or kill pests are regulated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Note: HEPA filters that limit claims to particle size and do not claim to purify the air or mitigate microorganisms are generally not regulated under FIFRA. |
| Hypochlorous Acid Generators (including electrolyzed water) |
Claim to kill, inactivate, or suppress growth of microorganisms, including fungi, algae, bacteria, or viruses. Generally, EPA considers these generators to be devices. However, if the generator is sold or distributed (e.g.¸ transported to another location for use) with a substance (e.g., salt) or the output solutions, the generator may be part of a pesticide product. On September 14, 2022, EPA issued an exemption for residues of the antimicrobial pesticide ingredient hypochlorous acid from the requirement of a tolerance when used on or applied to food-contact surfaces in public eating places. |
| Water Purifiers or Water Treatment Units |
Claim to kill, inactivate, or suppress growth of fungi, algae, bacteria, viruses, or cysts.
Note: Water filters that limit claims to taste, odor, or sediment and do not claim to purify water or mitigate microorganisms are generally not considered pesticidal devices and thus are not regulated under FIFRA. |
| Insect Devices |
Claim to kill or entrap insects and similar pests through physical means, which can include UV light or ozone.
|
| Gopher and Rodent Control Systems | Claim to control subterranean animals via carbon monoxide generation or subterranean explosion when sold or distributed without a substance. If sold with a substance, registration is required.
|
| Sound, Airwave, and Vibration Generators |
Claim to repel pests such as birds, mice, and underground animals.
|
| Gamma Irradiation Units |
Claim to treat insects, mold, and other microorganisms on raw agricultural commodities and other inanimate objects. These are regulated under FIFRA unless they are otherwise exempt. |
Additional Device Information
UV lights and filters: UV lights or certain filters that make pesticidal claims are examples of EPA-regulated devices, provided that they do not contain or are not sold with a substance intended to elicit the pesticidal effect. Examples of pesticidal substances could include silver, zinc or copper. See EPA’s Compliance Advisory on UV Lights and EPA’s webpage on Consumer Products Treated with Pesticides. See EPA’s research on UV lights.
Devices that generate a substance: Generally, products that generate a substance (through physical means), such as ozone or hypochlorous acid/electrolyzed water generators, are considered devices and do not require EPA registration unless they are sold with or contain a substance. However, if a company provides a service using a device that contains a substance (e.g., hypochlorous acid generator used as part of a sanitization service), this may be considered sale or distribution of a pesticide. Consumers should ask companies who are applying a pesticidal solution generated onsite for the product’s EPA registration number.
Note: An unregistered output solution generated by a device that is a pesticide cannot be sold or distributed without violating FIFRA. An example of distribution would include providing the output substance from the device (with or without payment) to a neighbor or friend.
- Photocatalytic Products: At this time, photocatalytic air and surface treatment products that use materials with photocatalytic properties (e.g., titanium dioxide) to generate reactive oxygen species may be pesticides.
Note: EPA has previously determined that photocatalytic products in liquid, dust, or coating form are pesticides, not devices, because these products contain a substance and are not an instrument or contrivance. These products would likely require a FIFRA Section 3 registration as a pesticide. Please see the Pesticide Registration Manual for more information on pesticide registration.
- Bipolar Ionization Devices: Bipolar ionization (also called needlepoint bipolar ionization) is a technology that can be used in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems or portable air purifiers to generate positively and negatively charged particles. These products may be considered devices unless there is a pesticidal substance integral to the product’s performance sold with and used in the ion generation process.
Bipolar ionization has the potential to generate ozone and other potentially harmful by-products indoors unless specific precautions are taken in the product design and maintenance. To avoid such byproducts from use of bipolar ionization devices, EPA recommends using a device that meets UL 2998 standard certification (Environmental Claim Validation Procedure (ECVP) for Zero Ozone Emissions from Air Cleaners). Please see additional information on Bipolar ionization and COVID-19.
Electromagnetic and/or Electrical Devices: Products claiming to control pests via electromagnetic and/or electrical means (e.g., ultrasonic insect and rodent repellers, hand-held bug zappers, electric flea combs) are devices, provided that that the product is not sold with a pesticidal substance.
Ozone-generating and certain UV light devices may generate unintentional ozone. Claims that ozone generating devices are safe and effective for controlling indoor air pollution—and the potential threat to human health from high concentrations of ozone—prompted EPA and other federal agencies to publicly address the use of such devices. Please see additional information on Ozone Generators that are Sold as Air Cleaners.
State Regulation of Devices
Some states have regulatory requirements for devices in addition to those imposed by FIFRA. Some states require registration of devices, including submission and review of efficacy data and labeling before a device can be sold or distributed in that state. Therefore, compliance with EPA’s FIFRA requirements does not ensure that a device can be legally sold in those states. See the American Association of Pest Control Officials (AAPCO) website for a list of state lead agencies.