Qcide® A Natural Insecticide For Control Of Flying Insects

Qcide is a natural plant extract from a chemotype of Eucalyptus cloeziana that is being developed as an
insecticide for a number of applications including control of flying insect pests. The primary active compound
tasmanone, is a member of the beta-triketone class of compounds that occur in a number of Myrtaceous plant
species. Initial testing suggests that beta-triketones have a novel mode of insecticidal action with potential to address the increasing problem of resistance to existing insecticide classes. Qcide has been initially formulated as an oil-in-water emulsion (EW), alone and in combination with pyrethrins, primarily for control of flying insects in a range of public health and consumer product applications. Qcide has been tested as a direct spray in small chamber studies against Aedes aegypti and Musca domestica to determine knockdown (KD) and mortality. Other groups have also shown that Qcide is active against a resistant strain of Aedes aegypti. Qcide is a novel natural insecticide which has the potential for use in resistance management programs for control of public health pests. Qcide used alone against Ae. aegypti achieved 100% mortality at 24 hours after treatment at rates as low as 12.5mg/mL with KD50 and KD90 of approximately 600 and 1080 seconds. KD50 and KD90 at the highest rate of 100mg/mL were 225 and 420 seconds respectively confirming good knockdown activity against this important mosquito species. The activity of Qcide against the larger insect M. domestica was understandably less with Qcide rates of up to 200mg/mL required to achieve consistent 100% mortality at 24 hours. Qcide/pyrethrins/PBO combinations demonstrated that control of M.
domestica could be significantly improved. In particular, noticeable reductions in both KD50 and KD90 were obtained when Qcide at 50g/L and 100g/L concentrations were combined with pyrethrins/PBO indicating that Qcide may significantly improve the performance of existing products as well as allow reduction in required rates of pyrethrins/PBO while still maintaining high levels of control.