Safety
Is Geraniol Safe for Cats?
No. Cats lack the enzyme pathway that clears terpenoid compounds, so geraniol and peppermint oil accumulate rather than clear. What exposure looks lik
Crop Science · Knowledge
Safety & Stewardship
Who and what is at risk from each active, how to reduce that risk, and how to read a label — pollinators, pets, aquatic life, applicators and edible crops.
Who and what is at risk from each active, how to reduce that risk, and how to read a label — pollinators, pets, aquatic life, applicators and edible crops.
Six of these pages answer a question about a specific audience — cats, dogs, pollinators, aquatic life, children and edible crops, and applicators. Two are about how to read what you are given: the label, and what the certification marks actually mean.
The ratings use three states and they mean the same thing everywhere they appear. “Ok” is safe when used as directed. “Caution” means there are stated precautions and they matter. “Avoid” means do not use or do not expose, and every avoid rating on this site renders the reason behind it and tells you who to call.
The cat pages exist because the risk is real, specific and widely misunderstood. Cats lack the enzyme pathway that clears terpenoid compounds, so materials that a dog eliminates accumulate in a cat. That is a species difference in metabolism, not a matter of dose, and it is why guidance written for dogs does not transfer.
Nothing here replaces the label or a professional. Where this section and an applicable product label differ, the label governs; where an animal or a person may have been exposed, the referral line on each page tells you who to contact and to do it now rather than waiting for signs.
Pages in this section
Safety
Are Essential-Oil Actives Safe Around Dogs?
Dogs metabolise terpenes more effectively than cats but are not immune. The same avoid-during-application and dry-before-access approach applies. No p
Safety
Pollinator Safety and Spray Timing
For short-persistence contact materials, timing is the main lever, not rate. Avoid application to open bloom and to foraging periods, and prefer late-
Safety
Aquatic Safety: Keeping Actives Out of Water
Monoterpenes and saponins are harmful to aquatic life at low concentrations — tea-seed saponin has a measured HC5 of 0.22 mg/L. Keep applications, spi
Safety
Children, Pre-Harvest Intervals and Edible Crops
Low residue is not no residue. What a pre-harvest interval is for, why re-entry and harvest intervals are different things, and how to store concentra
Safety
Applicator Safety: Handling Concentrate
Natural origin does not remove the need for gloves, eye protection and ventilation. Undiluted geraniol is a skin and eye irritant. Most applicator exp
Stewardship
How to Read a Crop-Input Label
The label is the governing document in every jurisdiction. What the guaranteed analysis, derived-from, dilution rate, re-entry and pre-harvest fields
Stewardship
OMRI, FIFRA 25(b) and EU Organic, Decoded
These three mean different things and none is a safety rating. What each covers, what it attaches to, and why a certification on the active does not t
8 pages in this section.
Product claims, registrations and availability vary by jurisdiction. Always read and follow the applicable product label.