Natural Insecticide?

Question

After years of research and testing, EcoSMART has developed a revolutionary natural insecticide that kills pests amazingly fast — yet is unbelievably safe for use around children and pets!

...

These specifically formulated, patented blends of plant oils only harm insects and have no adverse effects on people, pets or the environment!

Is the above an oxymoron? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Mammalian hormones are very different from most pest's hormones and these chemicals are supposed to disrupt only insect hormones.

HOWEVER, what is the bio-accumulative effect of when those insects are eaten by birds, (etc) which are eaten by say, housecats...?  We don't really know how they chemically change as they are processed by the predator.  Sometimes very benign substances become the most vicious toxin/carcinogen after metabolizing inside something's liver!!

To me, this is the main concern that all these chemicals aren't thoroughly tested and now our gov't doesn't allow us to sue these big drug companies.  IT IS all about their profit and no concern for our environment/health.

Things like cinnamon and pepper (capsacin) are chemicals plants make to ward off insects.  But corporations can't patent "cinnamon" to sell to customers, therefore they don't educate people about that....

You are right to question, at least it is not illegal to think - yet.

Answer 2

To say that something which "kills insects" has no adverse affect on the environment is blatantly false. This is advertising spiel designed to make money. It has nothing to do with truth.

Answer 3

Their fake. They just want to make money.

Answer 4

Plants have their own defense systems they have evolved to limit damage from herbivorous insects. These are often found as secreted oils, waxes or in plant latex. They are usually dose dependent so the more that is eaten the greater the effect. Since they exist in every field and garden they are natural so do not come under the same governmental controls as developed chemicals. These are essential oils like peppermint oil or cinnamon oil used in the Ecosmart insecticides because work by disrupting an insect neurotransmitter that is not present in people, pets, or other vertebrates. They have patented their combination of oils and application methods. Some are even EPA cleared for use but not all.

http://www.livingwithbugs.com/botanical_...

http://www.beyondpesticides.org/infoserv...

http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/hgic2...

It is not that they are not toxic to humans but are known to be toxic to insects. Pyrethrins from chrysanthemums have been in commercial use for decades for their low toxicity to humans. Nicotine is another plant toxin to prevent herbivore but this one is very toxic to humans. Botanicals are not always safer just because they are from plants.

http://extoxnet.orst.edu/pips/pyrethri.h...

Ecosmart products each have material safety data sheets (MSDS) that show tested toxicity levels. Rat LD 50 is not noted and neither is chronic exposure or overdose data. Water carried toxicity to fish is also not tested on the product for crawling insects. The individual ingredients in purified form also have no real safety data. Mint has pulegone as its most toxic ingredient to insects. Pulegone MSDS though offers very little about its effect on humans.

http://www.coleparmer.com/catalog/Msds/6...

http://www.ecosmart.com/UploadedFiles/MS...

essential oils (EOs) extracted from the mint species toxicity data for insects include pulegone

http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi...

Pulegone toxicity study on mice & rats data done in 2003 shows most of single dose applications are excreted in 24 hours but with repeated application the is increasing tissue specific concentrations but less in mice than rats. Liver was the primary target organ but lungs and the brain also show accumulations. There are three metabolite pathways involved in breaking the pulegone down and there was evidence gammaglobulin (part of immune & spleen function) was bound by a metabolite in male rats at high doses with repeated exposures.

http://dmd.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content...