Hobbies And Interests

Common Toxic Agents in Fly Bait

Fly baits are often made with a combination of a chemical that attracts flies and a chemical that poisons the flies. There are three insecticides as well as one fermentation by-product that are commonly used as the active ingredients or the toxic agents in the majority of fly baits, due to their abilities to cause nervous system dysfunction and toxicity in flies and other insects. These chemicals are methomyl, azamethiphos, and imidacloprid, and spinosad.
  1. Methomyl

    • Available to the public since 1966, methomyl is a broad spectrum insecticide that is also used as an acaricide (ticks and spiders). It is commonly used to treat cotton, vegetable, fruit and field crops and commercial ornamentals, and within any surrounding poultry houses and dairies. Another common use is fly bait. Methomyl kills insects upon direct contact. It can also cause overall systemic poisoning in insects, following absorption by the pests that ingest it. It can be absorbed by plants but is not "phytotoxic," or damaging to the plant itself. Methomyl is from a class of chemicals called carbamates which inhibit cholinesterase, a vital enzyme for the nervous system to function properly. Methomyl is moderately to highly toxic to various animals as well as humans, especially upon ingestion.

    Azamethiphos

    • Azamethiphos is an organophosphorus-based, broad-spectrum insecticide, which works by interfering with the transmission of nerve impulses. Azamethiphos is a colorless to gray crystalline powder or orange yellow granules. When applied in spray form, it controls insects including cockroaches and flies in various buildings and farming installations. It is sometimes used in fish farming to treat and prevent external parasites such as sea lice on Atlantic Salmon. Azamethiphos is moderately toxic to mammals and very toxic to birds and aquatic species when it is ingested.

    Imidacloprid

    • Imidacloprid is a chloro-nicotinyl insecticide used upon soil, foliar, and seeds to control sucking insects including aphids, whiteflies, thrips, termites, soil insects, turf insects, and certain beetles. It is frequently applied to rice, cereal, potatoes, hops, vegetables, fruit, cotton, and turf, and is especially efficient when used to treat soil and seeds. Imidacloprid interferes with the transmission of stimuli in the nervous systems of insects. The creates a blockage in a kind of neuronal pathway (nicotinergic) that is more commonplace amongst insects and less so amongst warm-blooded animals. This in turn leads to a build-up of acetylcholine levels, an important neurotransmitter, resulting in paralysis, then death. It's effective when ingested or on contact. If misused, Imidacloprid can be phytotoxic.

    Spinosad

    • Spinosad is a natural metabolite made during the aerobic fermentation of S. spinosa on nutrient media. This metabolite is extracted and processed to make a concentrated aqueous suspension for easy use. Spinosad is quickly contacted and ingested by insects. When absorbed, it excites the insect's nervous system, leading to uncontrolled muscle contractions, prostration, tremors, and finally paralysis. Though the manner in which spinosad acts upon an insect's nervous system is extremely similar to how other common insecticides do, the mode of action for spinosad is unique because spinosad acts upon a different site than other common insecticides.


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