How the Active Ingredients Work
Imidacloprid is a pesticide that was created to mimic nicotine in insects and disrupts normal nerve functioning, shutting down the nervous system. Pyriproxyfen acts like a hormone in insects and disrupts their growth. It’s an insect growth regulator that affects mostly young insects and the eggs.
Pyrethrins are a blend of six chemicals that are highly toxic to insects. They are found naturally in some chrysanthemum flowers. Pyrethroids are a type of man-made pesticides comparable to the natural pesticide pyrethrum or pyrethrins.
Etofenprox is a man-made pyrethroid which that disrupts nerve impulses in insect nerve axons and was proven highly effective even in tropical environments.
Piperonyl butoxide is a man-made pesticide that alone does nothing but works with other insecticides to increase their effectiveness. Piperonyl butoxide is nearly non-toxic to humans, birds, and other mammals. However, once it is combined with other pesticides like pyrethrins or pyrethroids is makes a strong insect killer.
Cedar oil blocks octopamine, which is needed to regulate heart rate and metabolism in ectoparasites like fleas and ticks. A mosquito study conducted in Thailand found that lemongrass essential oil at 10 percent concentration killed 100 percent of these three types of species of mosquitoes within 24 hours of exposure. Citral is considered the primary component of lemongrass with biological effects on insects.