Use of these bait stations is not expected to harm humans or pets. The active ingredients, oxypurinol and xanthine, are formulated into a pellet that is enclosed in a bait station. Oxypurinol is a breakdown product of the human drug allopurinol, which is used to treat gout and certain blood diseases.
Xanthine is a naturally occurring substance found in all living cells.
Acting together, oxypurinol and xanthine interfere with metabolic processes needed for cockroach growth and reproduction. It may take six to ten weeks for numbers of cockroaches to decrease noticeably. The bait may be used anywhere indoors, but is most effective in places where cockroaches hide, such as in dark, warm, damp locations near food and water. Based on tests with this mixture of active ingredients, there is no evidence of mammalian toxicity from amounts much greater than people, including children, would encounter from these bait stations. After considering available information, the Agency concludes that the bait station can be used safely when label precautions are followed.