Salama Elham M
Department of Entomology, Faculty of Science, Benha University, P.O. Box 13518, Egypt.
J Econ Entomol. 2015 Dec;108(6):2620-9. doi: 10.1093/jee/tov239. Epub 2015 Aug 12.
In this work, we present our results on the use of potassium alum as an environmentally friendly insecticide. This compound has the potential to rid our homes, schools, hotels, restaurants, and ships of cockroach infestations. This compound is environmentally friendly and has no hazardous effects on plant, animal, or human ecosystems. Alum was approved for medical use a long time ago. In our laboratory, we developed a novel method using potassium alum as an environmentally friendly insecticide to kill the most common cockroach in the subtropical region, Periplaneta americana (L.). Adult and nymph-staged cockroaches were left to feed on potassium alum per individual insect after a period of food deprivation. The mortality was recorded as LT50. The younger nymphs the third and early fourth instars died within 4 d of feeding after consuming an average of 0.3 mg per individual insect. Gravid females were highly susceptible to alum toxicity and experienced a higher mortality rate, with an average of 3 mg per individual female. The oothecae of the normal untreated females were 8.1 mm long and 4.13 mm wide and weighed 94 mg. The eggs laid by the treated gravid females were underweight and exhibited a dwarfism shape, and these eggs did not hatched if the females consumed the potassium alum before laying eggs. The results revealed that the adult male and female cockroaches have to consume 1 mg and 2.7 mg, respectively, of potassium alum to kill 100% of them after 1 month of ingestion. The potassium alum had to be ingested by the cockroaches to affect mortality. The effect of potassium alum was attributed to chronic toxicity and not acute toxicity. The potential applications of this novel technique will be discussed.
在这项工作中，我们展示了使用明矾钾作为一种环保杀虫剂的研究结果。这种化合物有潜力消除我们家中、学校、酒店、餐馆和船只中的蟑螂侵扰。该化合物对环境友好，对植物、动物或人类生态系统没有有害影响。明矾很久以前就被批准用于医学用途。在我们的实验室中，我们开发了一种使用明矾钾作为环保杀虫剂的新方法，以杀死亚热带地区最常见的蟑螂——美洲大蠊（L.）。在禁食一段时间后，让成年和若虫阶段的蟑螂每只单独取食明矾钾。将死亡率记录为半数致死时间（LT50）。较年轻的若虫，即第三龄和第四龄早期，在每只昆虫平均消耗0.3毫克后，取食4天内死亡。怀孕雌虫对明矾毒性高度敏感，死亡率更高，每只雌虫平均消耗3毫克。正常未处理雌虫的卵鞘长8.1毫米，宽4.13毫米，重94毫克。经处理的怀孕雌虫产下的卵重量不足，呈侏儒形状，如果雌虫在产卵前食用了明矾钾，这些卵就不会孵化。结果显示，成年雄蟑螂和雌蟑螂在摄入明矾钾1个月后，分别必须消耗1毫克和2.7毫克才能将其100%杀死。蟑螂必须摄入明矾钾才能影响死亡率。明矾钾的作用归因于慢性毒性而非急性毒性。将讨论这项新技术的潜在应用。
