Natural Pest Control: A Closer Look at Bioinsecticides

Natural Pest Control: A Closer Look at Bioinsecticides
By Zen Earth Corp Pest Management March 11, 2017

At Zen Earth, we are proud of the fact that our products contain all natural active ingredients, eliminating unnecessary waste and contamination to our waterways, earth and atmosphere. Our Pest and Bed Bug Control products are no exception. Bioinsecticides, pesticides that are derived from natural materials, are considered to be the best effective pesticides (Grainge et al, 1985). Our Pest and Bed Bug Control products are made up of a long list of ingredients including garlic oil, thyme oil, geroniol, peppermint, and lemongrass. Each of these ingredients compliments our proprietary surfactant made of coconut and palm oil.

The main insect repellent in these products is Garlic Oil. The bulb of garlic has long been reported to possess insect controlling properties with repellant, antifeedant and bactericidal action that kill aphids and other soft bodied insects (Grainge et al, 1985), and is known to repel boring insects, fleas, ticks and thrips (Osipitan & Mohammed, 2008). Volatile garlic extract contains active sulfide compounds that repel beetles (Rahman & Motoyama, 2000) and sirinol, a type of garlic emulsion, has been reported to be highly toxic to larval insects (Amiri, 2009).

Thyme oil is added to our product to act as an anti-parasitic. The essential oils obtained from garden thyme have the ability to kill both larvae and adult insects efficiently (Regnault-Roger et al, 1993, Isman et al. 2001, Knio et al. 2008).  In addition to actively eliminating both adult and larval insects, thyme oil has been found to work with garlic oil to repel insects (Mann et. al, 2010).

Geroniol is a primary constituent of citronella oil- a well known repellant, which is why we have added it to our pest control product. In addition, when geroniol is used in combination with garlic oil, it has been found to increase the effectiveness of garlic oil to repel and kill insects (Safergro Laboratories Inc.).

Peppermint and lemongrass also play important roles in our pest control and bed bug products. Peppermint inhibits insect reproduction (Tiroesele et. al, 2014) and lemongrass chemicals have selective high toxicity to target insects (Zhang et. al, 2016).

All of these natural ingredients (and more!) work together to provide our customers with an effective, fully biodegradable and non-hazardous product to actively eliminate bed bugs and other pests, including mites, flies, mosquitos, termites, and fire ants. Eradicate household pests the environmentally responsible way with Zen Earth products today!

 

 

 

References:
  1. Graigne M, Ahmed S, Mitchell WC, Hylin JW (1985). Plant species reportedly possessing pest-controll properties – An E.W.C/UH database. Resource Systems Institute, East-West Center, Honolulu, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Res. Univ. Hawaii. p. 291.
  2. Osipitan AA, Mohammed IG (2008). Evaluation of the potential of garlic (Allium sativum L.) for the management of the Larger Grain BorerProstephanus truncates (Horn) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) in Maize (Zea mays L.). Asset. Int. J. 8: 51-60.
  3. Rahman GKMM, Motoyama N (2000). Repellent effect of garlic against stored products pests. J. Pesticide Sci. 25: 247-252.
  4. Amiri Besheli B (2009). Toxicity evaluation of Tracer, Palizin, Sirinol, Runner and Tondexir with and without mineral oils on Phylocnistis citrella Stainton. Afr. J. Biotechnol. 8: 3382-3386.
  5. Regnault-Roger C, Hamraoui A, Holeman M, Theron E, Pinel R (1993) Insecti- cidal effect of essential oils from mediterranean plants uponAcanthoscelides Obtectus Say (Coleoptera, Bruchidae), a pest of kidney bean (Phaseolus vul- garis L.). J Chem Ecol. 1993 Jun. 19 (6): 1233–1244.
  6. Hummelbrunner LA and Isman MB, Acute, sublethal, antifeedant, and synergistic effects of monoterpenoid essential oil compounds on the tobacco cutworm, Spodoptera litura (Lep., Noctuidae). J Agric Food Chem 49:715-720 (2001).
  7. KNIO, K., USTA, J., DAGHER, S., ZOURNAJIAN, H., & KREYDIYYEH, S. (2008). Larvicidal activity of essential oils extracted from commonly used herbs in Lebanon against the seaside mosquito, Ochlerotatus caspius. Bioresource Technology, 99(4), 763-768.
  8. Mann, R., Tiwari, S., Smoot, J., Rouseff, R., & Stelinski, L. (2010). Repellency and toxicity of plant-based essential oils and their constituents against Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae). Journal Of Applied Entomology, 136(1-2), 87-96.
  9. Safer Gro Laboratories, Inc.,. (2001). Natural Pesticide. USA.
  10. Tiroesele, Bamphitlhi, Kesegofetse Thomas, and Seipati Seketeme. “Control Of Cowpea Weevil, Callosobruchus Maculatus (F.) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae), Using Natural Plant Products”. Insects 6.1 (2014): 77-84. Web.
  11. Zhang, Chao, Lui, R., He, J., Ma, Z., Zhang, X. Chemical compositions of Ligusticum chuanxiong Oil and Lemongrass Oil and Their Joint Action against Aphis citricola Van Der Goot (Hemiptera: Aphididae). Molecules, 21(10): 1359.