pyrethroids and ants
- Subject: pyrethroids and ants
- From: j* s* s*
- Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 21:57:26 -0600 (CST)
I did some research at the website Pesticide Action Network Pesticide
Database
http://www.pesticideinfo.org
which lists extensive information about pesticides including a database
searchable both by chemical name and by brand name. Each product has
Product ID, Ingredients, Product Uses, Product registration history, and
Manufacturing Company.
Toxicity is listed in one of 4 categories (derived from the
Environmental Protection Agency) with 4 being unlikely to present acute
hazard, 3 slightly hazardous, 2 moderately hazardous, and 1 extremely or
highly hazardous.
Examples of category 1 are Mavrik and sodium hypochlorite.
The synthetic pyrethroids permethrin, tetramethrin, and cypermethrin are
labeled category 3. For comparison, malathion and diazinon are also
category 3.
These synthetic pyrethroids turn out to be the major ingredients in many
insecticidal dog flea sprays and also the active ingredients in the
ubiquitous household insecticide Raid - which may be reassuring or may
be alarming.
John Smolowe
