# Are there no safety packaging requirements for bug killer spray? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 15, 2023, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-safety-packaging-requirements-for-bug-killer-spray/984093 "2023-05-15T20:31:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-safety-packaging-requirements-for-bug-killer-spray/984093/1 "2023-05-15T20:31:47Z")
I picked up a bottle of Raid Ant & Roach spray from the grocery store. I brought it home and noticed I simply had to press the button and it sprayed right out. There was no packaging to remove, no pin to pull out, no push and twist cap, etc. Considering the physical gymnastics required to open almost anything packaged, and especially those that could be harmful to kids, I was pretty surprised. I almost had to take Disability from work after trying to get my Mach 3 cartridge out of the package without scissors. For the record, I went back to the supermarket in case I picked up a used or defective bottle, and they are all like that. Are there no regulations, and do Raid or grocery stores not concern themselves with possible lawsuits (let alone social responsibility)? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-safety-packaging-requirements-for-bug-killer-spray/984093/2 "2023-05-15T20:36:38Z")
In my experience there has been a little tab under the nozzle that needs to be removed if it is an aerosol or the nozzle needs to be spun if it a trigger spray bottle. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-safety-packaging-requirements-for-bug-killer-spray/984093/3 "2023-05-15T20:46:07Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Considering the physical gymnastics required to open almost anything packaged, and especially those that could be harmful to kids, I was pretty surprised. I almost had to take Disability from work after trying to get my Mach 3 cartridge out of the package without scissors. I don’t think that’s necessarily for safety, just so people won’t steal the cartridges out of the packaging. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-safety-packaging-requirements-for-bug-killer-spray/984093/4 "2023-05-15T20:49:54Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > I don’t think that’s necessarily for safety, just so people won’t steal the cartridges out of the packaging. Yeah, impenetrable “blister packs” like those are nearly always the result of issues with product “shrinkage” on store shelves. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-safety-packaging-requirements-for-bug-killer-spray/984093/5 "2023-05-16T03:14:46Z")
Yes, true. My point was just that almost everything packaged seems to need some human action formit to be able to be used. Oftentimes, it is to prevent accidental use, especially by children. I’m sure a toddler spraying himself in the face with bug spray he grabbed off the shelf while sitting in the shopping cart , while mom is comparing sponge prices, wouldn’t be a pretty sight. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-safety-packaging-requirements-for-bug-killer-spray/984093/6 "2023-05-19T22:59:10Z")
There are requirements for child-resistant pesticide packaging that depend on toxicity of the product. > **[Child-Resistant Packaging for Pesticides | US EPA](https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/child-resistant-packaging-pesticides)** > > To protect children from poisonings around the home, pesticide law requires that certain household pesticides be in child-resistant packaging. It seems to me that every time I’ve bought a pesticide in an aerosol can, there’s a nozzle lock that has to be turned to the spray position for the push button to work. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-safety-packaging-requirements-for-bug-killer-spray/984093/7 "2023-05-19T23:48:30Z")
If it’s not safety sealed then anyone could come along and replace the contents with Tylenol.