Document And Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Feb. 10, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2011
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Entity Registrant Name	IDEXX LABORATORIES INC /DE
Entity Central Index Key	0000874716
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		55,054,045
Entity Public Float			$ 4,365,391,151