For Chemical Pesticide Makers, A Fly in the (Organic) Ointment

The makers of such insecticides as Raid and Off are taking a swat at what they consider a new nuisance in the neighborhood: nontoxic, botanical pesticides that are ratcheting up competition in the war on bugs.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently extended until mid-January the comment period on a petition by an industry trade group seeking to end a legal exemption from testing for the natural ingredients in "minimal risk pesticides."

The Consumer Specialty Products Association claims some of the all-natural products are being marketed as able to control pests that cause West Nile virus and Lyme disease, though the makers have not proven they work.

Americans spend $12 billion a year on pesticides, for both home and garden and agricultural uses. The market for organic versions is minuscule by comparison -- about $50 million a year. Yet it is growing because some of the same consumers who buy organic foods are looking for nontoxic ways to control pests and protect the environment.

The Washington-based specialty products group represents a variety of conventional-pesticide manufacturers, including S.C. Johnson & Son of Racine, Wis., which makes Raid and Off, and Spectrum Brands of Atlanta, the manufacturer of Cutter mosquito repellent.

The association's petition said the Internet is "bristling" with chemical-free products that claim to be as good as DEET in controlling mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus. DEET is a widely used chemical ingredient in insect repellents that the EPA says is safe if used as directed.

"These untested pesticides often misleadingly and falsely claim to control public health pests, with the result that consumers mistakenly and detrimentally rely upon these pesticides to protect their health," the petition says.

"Consequently, the innocent consumer becomes the unwitting test subject for weeding out minimum-risk pesticides that do not work."

Since 1996, the EPA has provided an exemption from pesticide-registration requirements, which are costly and time-consuming, for 31 active ingredients such as castor oil, clove oil, garlic, sesame and soybean oil. Makers of preparations containing these ingredients do not have to prove they work before they are marketed.

The agency made clear that such products could not carry claims about controlling public health problems. For example, the label can say the product controls ticks, but not that it controls ticks that carry Lyme disease.

Stephen Kellner, senior vice president and general counsel of the association, said his group wants organic makers to undergo abbreviated testing that would cover products claiming to control disease-carrying pests such as mosquitoes, rodents, ticks and cockroaches.

"We are not doing this to give anyone a hard time or for them not to be able to do business," Kellner said. "Our people may want to compete in this segment."