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On December 5, 2000 Syngenta, the manufacturers of diazinon insecticide products for use on home lawns and gardens, announced they would phase out their product line over the next four years. The company cited children’s health issues and economic reasons for the phase out. As part of the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996, the EPA has been reviewing diazinon and other organophosphate insecticides to determine whether it was safe for general use. Other manufacturers of diazinon for agricultural uses will continue to sell their products after 2004 but Syngenta will phase out the product completely. The four year phase-out will allow for a smooth transition from the market and will allow users to transition to some of the newer, less toxic products as they become available to control those insects currently controlled with diazinon. The fact that the EPA agreed with the 4 year phase-out shows that the product is safe when used properly and poses no unreasonable risk to people or the environment.
According to the EPA Office of Pesticide Programs, all indoor uses of diazinon, whether residential or non-residential will be canceled and the manufacturing of such products will be prohibited as of March 2001. Retailers must stop all sales of diazinon for indoor use at the end of 2002. Production of outdoor, non-agricultural products of diazinon for use on home lawns and gardens will stop in June 2003 with sales to retailers being discontinued in August 2003. Beginning December 31, 2004, registrants will buy back existing products from retailers. All product registrations will be canceled on December 31, 2004. Homeowners who have diazinon can continue to use the product until their supply is exhausted. If they choose not to continue use of the product because of their concern over health risks, they should be advised to bring their products to their local Clean Sweep location. Contact your county extension office for the nearest Clean Sweep location.
The EPA and the manufacturers of diazinon products for agricultural uses have agreed to remove about one third of those uses as well. All remaining products will be classified as "Restricted Use" pesticides for use only by certified pesticide applicators. Some of the agricultural uses for which future cancellation has been proposed include alfalfa, celery, cucumbers, forage grasses, parsley, parsnips, potatoes, soybeans, strawberries, Swiss chard, tomatoes, and turnips.
Diazinon is a broad-spectrum insecticide that has been used by both home owners and commercial pesticide applicators for the last 40 years. Some of the turf insects diazinon controls include chinch bugs and white grubs. Available alternatives that provide good grub control include imidacloprid (Merit) and halofenozide (Mach-2). For chinch bugs, cyfluthrin (Tempo). On landscape plants diazinon controls aphids, European pine shoot moths, leafhoppers, leafminers, plant bugs, sawflies, and scales. Acephate (Orthene), and permethrin may be used as alternatives but acephate is currently under review by EPA and may also lose its registration for some uses in the future.
Vegetable insects controlled with diazinon include seed corn maggots, cabbage maggots, onion maggots, cutworms, leafminers, aphids, and flea beetles. At this time, there is no effective control of maggots other than crop rotation as carbaryl (Sevin) and malathion aren’t very effective in controlling maggots although they are registered. Diazinon is also registered as a restricted use product for use on strawberries to control soil insects and for aphid and scale control on apples.
Diazinon also provides effective control for a variety of structural and nuisance insects such as cockroaches, spiders, fleas, ticks, and ants.
For more information on the specifics of the change in diazinon’s registration status, go to http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/op/diazinon/agreement.pdf
