Home & Garden Pesticide Sprays

DIY insecticides and weed killers.

42Moderate burden · out of 100

Cleaner swapPhysical controls; targeted, minimal use

How this score is built

100Start
72.4Chemical hazard 6 × 4.6−27.6
55.4Everyday exposure 5 × 3.4−17
42Persistence 5 × 2.6−13, then rounded to 42
ModerateThe band42 sits in 40–59.

What each input rests on

The three ratings behind the score, and the studies each rests on
Input	Rating	Evidence
Chemical hazard	6/10	A meta-analysis of 16 observational studies found childhood exposure to indoor, but not outdoor, residential insecticides associated with childhood leukaemia (OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.26-1.72) and lymphoma (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.15-1.78). Residential Exposure to Pesticide During Childhood and Childhood Cancers: A Meta-Analysis · Pediatrics 2015 DOI 10.1542/peds.2015-0006 · PMID 26371195 · Abstract, Results · read 2026-10-12
Everyday exposure	5/10	unsourced input
Persistence	5/10	unsourced input

Ratings are editorial. A study listed here supports the rating; it did not compute it. How the index is built

What this means for you

The chemical-hazard rating is what drives the score down. Consumer pesticides drift indoors and settle into dust. Prefer traps, barriers and spot-treatment over broadcast spraying.

Evidence strength: moderate

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Lower-exposure choices

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