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Rotenone
Insecticide
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A natural insecticde from roots
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Summary: Rotenone
is a natural insecticide extracted from the roots
of certain tropical plants. It is a broad
spectrum, relatively low toxicity insecticide for
use in gardens but it is also highly
toxic to fish and is sometimes used to
eliminate unwanted fish from lakes.
Jack DeAngelis, PhD
OSU Ext. Entomologist
(ret.)
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What is rotenone?
Rotenone is a natural insecticide
that is extracted from the roots of several
different plants that grow in the tropics. While
rotenone exhibits moderate to low toxicity as a
garden insecticide it is highly toxic to fish
and invertebrates and, in fact, was
originally used by indigenous people to help
capture fish. Today it is widely used by gardeners
as a natural insecticide and by fish managers to
kill unwanted, non-native fish from lakes.
Therefore when used by home gardeners take care to
avoid application to any body of water such
as ponds, fountains, or streams that are home to
fish.
other common names: derris
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chemical structrure of rotenone;
drawing from wikipedia
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Rotenone breaks down rapidly in
sunlight so is generally less damaging to
beneficial insect species than are synthetic
pesticides that are more persistent. While most
rotenone formulations are only moderately toxic to
mammals, including us, some concentrated, liquid
formulations are highly toxic. Rotenone is available
as a powder (dust) and concentrated liquid,
sometimes in combination with other insecticides.
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Rotenone is a broad spectrum insecticide
and is therefore used for a variety of garden and
landscape pests. One of the more useful, and least
toxic, products combines low concentration liquid
rotenone with pyrethrum (see specimen label below).
Do not
use rotenone-containing products on dogs or cats
for flea and tick control. We believe there are safer alternatives now
available for controlling fleas on your pets.
Rotenone is rapidly broken down by sunlight
which is both an advantage and disadvantage. Because
it breaks down rapidly it does not accumulate in the
environment and harm non-target organisms. However,
it must be re-applied at short intervals (see label
below) and is usually applied in the evening.
Download this specimen label for an example
of a product that contains rotenone and pyrethrin
(pyrethrum). Please note: specimen labels can
vary between products; follow the instructions for
the actual product you are using.
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