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Insecticides from plants

Until recently the availability of plant-based insecticides was limited to a few products like neem oil and pyrethrum. While these products are effective and exhibit very low environmental impact they have a limited range of uses.

To be a truly effective alternative to conventional insecticides, however, "botanicals" must be available in a range of formulations that can be used in a variety of pest control situations. A pesticide formulation is simply the physical "form" of the product and the way in which it is applied. Dust, aerosol, liquid concentrate, and especially wettable powder formulations are all useful in different specific situations.

Best types of botanicals (see table below)

Aerosol sprays** can be used when the area to be treated is relatively small such as crack and crevice treatments for cockroaches. Aerosols are very convenient but are expensive on a per application basis. Dusts must be kept dry but exhibit very good residual activity. Dust formulations can be used for cockroach and ant control as well as bed bug and firebrat control. Liquid concentrates are somewhat less expensive but are generally only available in larger package sizes thus making them more useful in garden and landscape applications where larger amounts are typically used.

The most important change in recent years has been that some botanical insecticides are now available as wettable powders. Wettable powders are made to be mixed with water and applied with some type of pump sprayer. They are much less expensive per application than aerosols and exhibit the good residual activity of a dust. They are also economical because you can mix up only the amount of "spray" that you need.

What are Different Pesticide Formulations?

**While I generally don't recommend aerosol insecticides because they are expensive and the pressurized spray can be a disposal problem, the aerosol jet formulation of EcoPCO Jet or EcoEXEMPT Jet (below) have obvious advantages when dealing with an angry wasp nest because they allow you to treat the nest from a safe distance.

EcoSMART™ plant oil-based pesticides

One company, EcoSMART Technologies, now manufactures pesticides from natural plant oils, and other plant chemicals, for homeowners and the pest control industry. I believe these insecticides are a very important addition to the homeowner and PCO markets because they are the first, that I'm aware of, that provide a relatively low toxicity and effective alternative to conventional pesticides in a variety of useful types.

I am particularly interested in EcoPCO Jet aerosol (near right) as an alternative for treating troublesome wasp nests and EcoPCO WPX wettable powder (far right) because it can be economically applied with a small garden sprayer both indoors and outdoors for problems as diverse as bed bugs, black vine weevils, boxelder bugs and carpenter bees.

Use the table below for an overview of EcoSMART insecticides, for information about individual products see Botanical Insecticides at the 'Bugs Store powered Amazon.

aerosol stream (jet) spray; yellowjacket and paper wasp nests; exempt from EPA registration

aerosol spray; ants, bed bugs, carpet beetles, centipedes, general household insect pests, clover mites, crickets, drug store beetles, earwigs, elm leaf beetles, millipedes, pillbugs, scorpions, silverfish, spiders; exempt from EPA registration

dust; useful for dusting in/under cabinets, behind furniture, etc.; ants, centipedes, crickets, earwigs, silverfish, sowbugs, spiders; can be combined with borate insecticide to extend residual activity; exempt from EPA registration

1 gallon concentrate; intended for application by sprayer; indoor/outdoor use; food processing facilities; schools, etc.; fire ant mounds; broadly effective for crawling and flying pests; exempt from EPA registration

aerosol spray; similar use to EcoEXEMPT KO except EcoPCO ACU contains petroleum distillate as inert ingredient; EPA registered

aerosol spray; contains pyrethrins + plant oils; a "stronger" version of EcoPCO ACU; contains petroleum distillate as inert ingredient; EPA registered

dust; contains pyrethrins + plant oils; bed bugs, cockroaches, centipedes, firebrats, spiders; can be combined with borate insecticide to extend residual activity; EPA registered

wettable powder; EPA registered; contains pyrethrins + plant oils; intended for application by sprayer; indoor/outdoor use; broadly effective for indoor/outdoor and landscape pests; a good alternative to pyrethroids for boxelder bugs

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