Wildlife and Other Non-Target Species

 Download Wildlife and Other Non-Target Species (74KB PDF)

Chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-containing products are toxic to fish and wildlife. Laboratory studies indicate moderate to very high toxicity to birds, fish, and terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates. Incorporation of granular formulations into soil mitigates risk to terrestrial organisms by reducing exposure and to aquatic organisms by reducing runoff. Care must be taken when using sprayable formulations to avoid inadvertent contamination of aquatic and off-site terrestrial habitats. The following is a summary of the ecotoxicological properties of chlorpyrifos. The qualitative statements characterizing toxicity are standard United States Environmental Protection Agency terminology.

Birds
Technical chlorpyrifos is moderately toxic to the mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos), house sparrow (Passer domesticus) and starling (Sturnus vulgaris), highly toxic to the red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) and bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) and very highly toxic to the ringed-neck pheasant (Phasianus colchius) when administered as a single oral dose. Chlorpyrifos is moderately to highly toxic when fed to birds in their diet.

Aquatic Organisms
Technical chlorpyrifos is very highly toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates. Acute LC₅₀ values range from less than 1 mg/L to greater than 200 mg/L. Therefore, Best Management Practices (BMP) should be followed to prevent the movement of chlorpyrifos into aquatic systems.

Non-Target Insects
As an insecticide, it is not unexpected that chlorpyrifos is toxic to non-target insects. Applications procedures should be used that will mitigate exposure.

Earthworms
Chlorpyrifos presents a low risk to earthworms. At typical application rates, chlorpyrifos should have little impact on earthworms.

Microorganisms
Chlorpyrifos exhibits little or no toxicity to microorganisms.

Terrestrial Plants
As an insecticide, chlorpyrifos is not expected to exhibit herbicidal activity.