Contact insecticides are chemical products that are destructive, harmful, or deadly to a specific insect once they are absorbed via contact.
These pesticides may be inorganic, organic, or just natural insecticides that leave a poisonous residue behind.
Contact Insecticide Types
Popular products incorporate mostly Aerosols and Foggers. They can be distinguished through toxicological activity, method of infiltration, and chemistry.
Some of the main contact insecticides are;
- Acephate (Orthene)
- Carbaryl (Sevin)
- Fipronil
- Pyrethrins
- Pyrethroids
- Bifenthrin
- Cyfluthrin
- Cypermethrin
- Deltamethrin
- Lambda-cyhalothrin
- Permethrin
- Es-fenvalerate
- Tefluthrin / tralomethrin
- Liquid fipronil/spinosad
The natural Pyrethrins ingredient eliminates an ant within minutes. Carbaryl and Acephate may take a couple of days (more or less) while the Granular fipronil takes a month or more to wipe out colonies. Whereas heated water, D-limonene treatments, and Pyrethrins possess very little durability.
Carbaryl and Acephate dissolve fast while the Pyrethroids can persevere for several weeks to months. Fipronil does last, as it could persist for months, even up to a year.
Spray using a contact insecticide that has a lasting residual activity are; fipronil, permethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, or bifenthrin.
REVIEW: Comparing Permethrin With Bifenthrin
The following is a list of contact insecticides recommended for home-use and are accessible in retail shops, farms, garden centers, and ranch supply shops;
- Acramite (bifenazate): This is a foliar spray used to control mites on eggplants, peppers, tomatoes, cucurbits, beans and peas, and several other herbs.
- Asana (esfenvalerate): This is also a foliar spray that is used to control different types of pests. It can be very toxic to animals living in the water if it gets into the waterways. It is used on beans, sweet potatoes, cucurbits, corn, vegetables, roots, etc.
- Aztec (beta-cyfluthrin + tebuprimphos): This is used to combat corn rootworms, seedcorn maggot, white grubs, seedcorn beetle, and cutworms. It is a combination of pyrethroid and organophosphate that can be applied to sweet corn and popcorn.
- Baythroid* (beta-cyfluthrin): This insecticide can be used on cucurbits, sweetcorn, dry beans, corms, fruiting vegetables, brassicas, and other tuber crops. It exterminates flea, stink bug, caterpillars, and several other pests. It is also highly toxic to aquatic animals.
- Brigade* (bifenthrin): This is a pyrethroid insecticide used to exterminate flea beetle, caterpillars, aphids, leafhoppers, and a lot of other pests. It is also being used as a foliar spray on all kinds of food crops but is extremely dangerous to fish and bees.
- Captiva (capsicum oleoresin extract + garlic oil): This is a more natural type of contact insecticide made from plant extracts. It is a foliar spray that works on all kinds of food crops and vegetables. It helps in getting rid of all kinds of insects and their eggs.
- Declare (gamma-cyhalothrin): This insecticide is used to get rid of different types of pests. It is very toxic to bees and to animals that live in water. It can be used on crops like sweet corn and vegetables like onions, lettuce, tuberous vegetables, etc.
- Delta Gold (deltamethrin): This is useful for food crops like corn, cucurbits, and vegetables like corn vegetables. It is an insecticide to ward of different species of insects and other kinds of pests. It is very toxic to bees and fishes, including other animals that live in water.
- Diazinon: This is an organophosphate used for soil sprays, applied before planting. It is used mainly on vegetables like tomatoes, melons, and specific brassicas. It can be used to control cutworms, crop mole crickets, wireworms, or root maggots. It is highly toxic to bees and is not meant to be used in greenhouses.
- Distance IGR (pyriproxyfen): This combats insects by stopping the development of the embryo in the egg. It also inhibits the metamorphosis of nymphs, larvae, and pupae before ever maturing to be an insect. It is used as a foliar spray and used on vegetables to repel Silverleaf, sweet potato whitefly, and even shore flies and gnat.
- Ecotrol PlusOG (rosemary oil + peppermint oil + geraniol): This insecticide works effectively to control insects like beetles, mites, aphids, plant bugs, and the early stages of a caterpillar. It is a foliar spray and can be applied to different crops.
- Ecotrol G2OG (rosemary oil + peppermint oil): This is a more natural formula that is used to get rid of wireworms, symphylans, roots maggots, and cutworms. It can be used on different types of crops.
- Fastac (alpha-cypermethrin): This is used as a foliar spray and it can be applied on brassicas, fruiting vegetables, sweetcorn, and legumes to eradicate pests. It has high toxicity to animals living in the water.
- Floramite (bifenazate): This is used specifically against mites and can be used on tomatoes- the greenhouse or field. It has low toxicity and is relatively safe.
- Force (tefluthrin): This is used to combat wireworms, maggots, and other soil pests. It can be used on sweetcorn and popcorn.
- Fulfill (pymetrozine): This is used as a foliar spray to control aphids. It can be used mainly on tubers and root crops like potatoes, corn, cucurbits, and some other vegetables. It has is not toxic on bees, but it is advised not to be used on bees that are foraging.
- Golden Pest Spray OilOG (soybean oil): This also is a bio contact insecticide made from soybean oil. It is used to combat soft-bodied insects like fall worms, rootworms, and earworms. It can be used on corn and a wide range of vegetable crops.
- Knack (pyriproxyfen): This insecticide is used against the infestation of whiteflies, thrips, armyworms, cabbage looper, tobacco hornworm, onion thrips to control bulb vegetables and other pests. It is a foliar spray, and it is used on tomatoes, dry legumes, brassicas, and other root and tuber crops. Although it is not targeted at eradicating adult insects, it impedes the development of larvae and pupas. It, therefore, reduces the population of pest granular till the species is wipe out.
- Malathion (malathion): This is used to get rid of a variety of insects and all kinds of pests. It is an organophosphate insecticide that is used on a wide range of vegetable crops
- M-PedeOG (potassium salts): This is a soap, an insecticidal soap that works against insects, fungi, and mites. It is being used as a foliar spray and it is active against mildew and also exterminates a wide range of insects. It can be applied to a wide range of vegetables. This insecticide can be phytotoxic and so must not be applied when the plants appear stressed
- Mycotrol ESO (Beauveria bassiana): This is a bioinsecticide that works on contact. Mycotrol is a fungus that kills an adult or larvae of an insect. It gets into the cuticle and grows inside the insect and eventually kills it. It is used on a wide variety of vegetable crops to get rid of aphids, caterpillars, grasshoppers, Colorado potato beetle, leaf- feeders(beetle), etc.
- Portal (fenpyroximate): This insecticide combats pests by way of disrupting their ability to generate energy. It is being used as a foliar spray on food crops and vegetables like melons, cucumbers, corn, fruiting vegetables, etc. It is not very toxic to bees and mammal, but to animals in the water, it is highly toxic.
- PyganicOG (pyrethrins): This insecticide can be used to get rid of a wide range of insects. It is very active and fast killing botanical pyrethrum. It can be used in the greenhouse and the field and can be used on all kinds of food crops.
- Pylon Miticide (chlorfenapyr): This insecticide also prevents pests from generating energy. It is being used as a foliar spray and can be used in a greenhouse to combat mites, caterpillars, and thrips. It can be used on peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes.
- Equiem (Chenopodium ambrosioides extract): This is a herbicide that helps to get rid of thrip, whiteflies, and leafminers. It is gotten from chenopodium ambrosioides, a herb that combats mites and has very low toxicity. It is being used as a foliar spray on the bulb, fruiting, roots, corm vegetables, and brassicas.
- TrilogyOG (clarified hydrophobic extract of neem oil): This contains oil extracts gotten from the seeds of the neem tree. It is used to get rid of mites and fungi. It works for different kinds of crops.
- VenerateOG (Heat-killed Burkholderia spp.): This is a bioinsecticide that contains fermented solids of Burkholderia spp. and dead cells. This works on a wide range of insects by interfering with their molting and disrupting their exoskeletons. This insecticide is used as a foliar spray on a wide range of vegetables.
In conclusion
Contact insecticides are powerful insect and bugs exterminators. They are active in getting rid of unwanted pests but must be applied with caution.
LIST: Examples Of Systemic Insecticides
Sometimes, these contact insecticides can be toxic to other mammals, stimulating allergic reactions like breathing problems, asthma, skin irritation, etc. on humans.
They may also cause chronic poisoning for individuals who come in contact with them. More so, the runoff of the insecticide contaminates underground water sources and poses a danger to animals around.
Anyone applying a contact insecticide must be ready to follow the users’ guidelines to avoid contamination of any type.