In the fight against various insects, including cockroaches, Dichlorvos has been used for a long time: the drug has shown itself to be an effective fast-acting remedy.
Flies, mosquitoes, wasps, fleas and many other types of pests die under its influence within a short time.
- 4.1 How long does Dichlorvos work against cockroaches?
- 13.1 Symptoms
Types of Dichlorvos
Modern Dichlorvos is an innovative universal product for exterminating pests. The industry produces different types of the drug. Their active components are similar, but the composition is significantly different.
Kinds
This allows you to select the version of Dichlorvos that is intended to destroy a specific type of pest. Currently popular:
- Dichlorvos is universal. Due to the presence of several active components, the drug can be used to kill many types of insects. The difference between universal Dichlorvos and other products with the same name is the duration of action and the presence of a specific odor.
- station wagon. To improve the characteristics of the drug, toxic impurities were introduced into its composition. Thanks to this, Dichlorvos can destroy insects not only in apartments, but also in the open air, which makes it one of the best drugs for fighting cockroaches. It is perfect for use in large rooms. The disadvantage of the drug is a strong pungent odor that does not dissipate for a long time and is easily absorbed by some things.
- Dichlorvos "Neo". Aerosols of this brand are available in both odorless and flavored versions. The drug is distinguished by both its duration of action (about 14 days) and its versatility - it is suitable for the destruction of flying and crawling pests.
Dichlorvos brands are no less in demand - Varan, Eco, Extra and others.
Reviews about the use of Dichlorvos
Evgenia, 34 years old, Bryansk
I use monitor lizard against cockroaches as soon as I see the first pest. I begin treating the surfaces where it was found. After these manipulations I no longer see cockroaches in the apartment
Anna, 38 years old, Ufa
I often use a universal remedy for cockroaches and ants - there are a lot of living creatures in a private house. The drug of this brand helps little against these insects, because it is important to first find the nest. But Dichlorvos greatly reduces the pest population. For this reason, I use it at the same time as others.
Control of insects in the apartment and house
The desired effect in pest control can only be ensured by proper treatment of premises. For each type of insect there are some subtleties of using Dichlorvos in an apartment, since the mechanism of action of the aerosol on them has some differences.
Cockroaches
To achieve the greatest success in exterminating cockroaches, you need to know how to properly use Dichlorvos in the fight against them. It is impossible to use an aerosol to treat food or make it into a bait that pests love to eat.
Accordingly, preference should be given to treating with Dichlorvos those surfaces where cockroaches like to be. For the poison to take effect, it is necessary to provide direct contact with the pests. To do this, you need to remove the dishes and food, and then process the following in the apartment:
- walls inside cabinets and rear outer walls;
- floors near sinks, pipes, toilets;
- baseboards in areas where cockroaches have been observed;
- cracks, ventilation grilles.
Then you need to close the room and leave it. After 2.5 hours, the room should be ventilated and wet cleaned.
Chemical composition of the product
The first "Dichlorvos" appeared on store shelves more than 30 years ago, and its basis was dimethyl dichlorovinyl phosphate. It did an excellent job of killing insect pests, but the toxic effect on humans and pets was too significant.
This made its use in residential premises a very dangerous undertaking, and the stinking smell after it had to be aired out for quite a long time.
Modern insecticides produced under this brand are no worse at poisoning cockroaches, but thanks to completely different active substances, their toxicity is several times less. Almost all of them are based on the action of synthetic pyrethroids - artificially created analogues of natural pyrethrins.
Often in the composition of modern products you can also find inexpensive and effective cypermethrin, piperonyl butoxide, permethrin, flavors, stabilizers, preservatives and various fragrances.
Important: despite the fact that many types of Dichlorvos are now produced either completely odorless or with a pleasant aroma, remember - this is achieved by adding fragrances, and not reducing the insecticide, and you should behave with extreme caution with them.
How does Dichlorvos act on cockroaches?
Pyrethroids are components of Dichlorvos that have a nerve-paralytic effect. After direct contact with the sprayed aerosol, the substances enter the body of insects. They penetrate the chitinous cover or the respiratory system, causing paralysis.
Baiting cockroaches
The advantage of pyrethroids is their long-lasting effects. It is enough to apply Dichlorvos in the apartment once, and it will remain on surfaces for a long time (at least 2 weeks), maintaining its properties. During this period, the aerosol will kill cockroaches, gradually reducing their population.
How long does Dichlorvos work against cockroaches?
After spraying, the drug continues to act for 15 days. If cockroaches still remain in the apartment, the treatment must be repeated.
Bedbugs
Instructions for using Dichlorvos to kill bedbugs have their own characteristics. The aerosol must be used to treat those places with which they come into contact, and these are upholstered furniture, bedding, beds, books, peeling wallpaper, electrical sockets and switches.
To find bedbug nests, you need to move cabinets, dismantle beds, and take out books. Having discovered a nest, it should also be treated with an aerosol, spraying Dichlorvos and around it at a distance of about 25 cm. Repeated treatment is carried out after a week.
Fleas
Dichlorvos can only be used to remove fleas when treating pet bedding, carpets, and furniture, but it should not be applied to the pets themselves.
Flea
It is necessary to spray the aerosol on the walls to a height of up to 1 m (the height of an insect's jump). After 10-12 days, the treated items must be washed in the hottest possible water, and the walls and furniture must be thoroughly washed with detergents.
Instructions for use
If you decide to use Dichlorvos against bedbugs as an elimination agent, be sure to read the instructions on the package and take precautions. Compliance with them will preserve the health of those who live with you, including pets.
- Short term move. One person should poison bedbugs with Dichlorvos. Everyone else is required to leave the premises: not a specific room, but an apartment, taking their pets with them. Just three to four hours after disinfestation, household members will be able to safely return home.
- Workwear. Wearing protective clothing is a must when performing any manipulation of this kind. A gas mask can be neglected, but a respirator will come in handy. You will also need a protective robe or any other clothing so that after treatment you can remove the “ammunition” that has been exposed to the poison and immediately put it in the wash.
- Latex gloves. It is equally important that the poison does not get on the skin. The hands are most susceptible to damage. You can protect them with household rubber gloves.
If it was not possible to protect your skin or eyes from contact with the product, you should immediately rinse the affected area with tap water.
Preparatory stage
Preparation for baiting insects includes four stages.
- Informing neighbors. Report that you intend to treat your home for bedbugs. Perhaps your neighbors will decide to join you, thereby increasing the efficiency of the process.
- Pre-cleaning. Place items that can absorb spray vapors in a safe place or cover with plastic.
- Providing access. Move sofas, beds, armchairs and cabinets away from the walls. These are the favorite places of bedbugs, where they usually locate their nests. Provide yourself with unhindered access to the most inaccessible places in the house.
- Ventilation of rooms. Open the windows wide to avoid fumes. The air circulating inside the room will become your companion. It will spread particles of poison to places where you will not be able to reach.
Processing Features
The simple process of baiting bedbugs consists of four steps.
- Preparing the balloon. Shake the bottle so that the contents separated in it are mixed into a single substance.
- Detection of the "enemy". Point the sprayer at the location where bedbugs are or have been previously noticed and pull the trigger.
- Surface treatment. Apply the composition to the back of paintings that hang on the walls, to the backs of furniture (especially large cabinets that are pushed against the wall). Treat the space under the window sills, in the area of all baseboards. Pay special attention to the niche under the kitchen sink and the location of the trash can.
- Waiting for results. Leave the windows open and leave the apartment for a couple of hours.
Security measures
In Soviet times, the question of whether Dichlorvos is harmful to humans was not on the agenda. Everyone understood that it was really harmful. Nowadays, thanks to the changed formula, it is not so dangerous to health, but nevertheless it is necessary to remember that Dichlorvos is a rather aggressive drug, so it should not be allowed to get into the mouth, nose, or eyes.
The drug is also dangerous when it gets on hygiene items. Therefore, soap, personal belongings, and food must be removed before treatment with Dichlorvos.
In addition, you must wear protective equipment:
- clothes with long sleeves;
- scarf or hat;
- gloves:
- glasses.
Means of protection
People and animals are also first removed from the house. A few hours after treatment, the premises are ventilated and wet cleaning is carried out.
Dichlorvos poisoning
Although modern preparations do not contain highly poisonous and toxic components, Dichlorvos can still cause harm to humans if it gets on the mucous membranes, in the digestive tract or in the respiratory tract. Often the aerosol becomes the cause of allergies. Important! If Dichlorvos causes poisoning, you must immediately call a doctor.
Symptoms
If safety requirements were not met when working with Dichlorvos, a person may become poisoned. The signs of this are as follows:
- vomit;
- nausea;
- dizziness;
- cough;
- Diarrhea;
- temperature increase;
- headache;
- lack of coordination;
- conjunctivitis;
- pressure changes;
- skin itching;
- convulsions;
- loss of consciousness.
On a note . For allergy sufferers, even the smell of Dichlorvos can cause an attack of illness.
Treatment
First aid to the victim is provided by ambulance doctors. If for some reason it is not possible to get medical help, you must take the following measures yourself:
- Change into clean clothes.
- Wash and rinse off the aerosol from those areas of the body that it could get into. It is better, if your condition allows, to take a shower.
- Get out into the fresh air.
- Induce vomiting.
- Take activated carbon. You need to drink at least 10 tablets at a time.
- Drink 1.0-1.5 liters of liquid.
- If you have an allergy, take medicine.
In case of mild poisoning, the person will be healthy within 2-3 days; in the worst case, he will have to stay in the hospital.
Pros and cons of the product
The list of the main advantages of the chemical is:
- Practical and convenient uniform packaging;
- Ease of use;
- Low level of toxicity;
- Moderate cost. It is impossible to say unambiguously how much dichlorvos costs, since it depends on the brand and manufacturer. However, the price is always much lower than a number of other alternatives.
- Faint smell.
- There are a large number of places where you can buy the product in the right quantity and have it delivered to your home.
Regarding the negative side of the coin, the situation is as follows:
- Without the use of special devices, dichlorvos does not penetrate into hard-to-reach places.
- The treatment must be repeated at regular intervals.
- Not every brand can cope with bed bugs for a long time.
- Ineffective compared to other means.
Advantages and disadvantages
The positive qualities of Dichlorvos include:
- After the end of its service life, the components of the drug decompose. This prevents the generation of toxic waste.
- Versatility. The drug can be used to destroy various types of pests.
- The aerosol can remain on treated surfaces for up to 30 days, maintaining its properties.
- Quick effect on insects.
- Ease of use.
- Moderate aggressiveness for a person. If you take all protective measures, the drug will not have a negative effect.
- Can be used near plants - the product is harmless to them.
Cons of Dichlorvos:
- The need to process several times.
- It takes a long time to weather.
- With prolonged contact it can harm a person.
- May cause allergies.
Description of the drug
The earlier version of Dichlorvos was more toxic. The composition included a substance from a group of organophosphorus compounds called dimethyl-dichlorovinylphosphate. It is distinguished by its aggressive effect on the human body. For this reason, Dichlorvos was no longer used. For marketing purposes, the name of the product has not been changed. The modern version of the drug contains various pyrethroids. This is a multi-component product, due to which it has an effect on different insects. There is no risk of harm to humans (provided the instructions for use are followed).
Chemical composition
Dichlorvos Neo, Varan and other varieties differ in composition. At the same time, the minor components differ, in most cases the active substances are the same:
- Cypermethrin is a second generation pyrethroid, the substance has a mild odor, is poorly soluble in water, which should be taken into account when using Dichlorvos against cockroaches and other insects, there are different types of this substance, they differ in isomeric composition (alpha-cypermethrin, beta-cypermethrin, etc.). d.);
- tetramethrin is another insecticide of the pyrethroid class; when treating a room, the destruction of insects occurs under the condition of direct contact, this substance does not withstand the influence of solar radiation and begins to deteriorate;
- permethrin is a type of pyrethroid, it is a direct analogue of the natural insecticide pyrethrum, this substance can be used to treat ectoparasites;
- piperonyl butoxide is an auxiliary component of insecticide-based preparations; the substance enhances the effect of the toxic components listed above; its function is to inhibit the mechanisms in the body of insects that are aimed at destroying pyrethroids.
Additionally, the drug contains components that do not exhibit insecticidal activity: ethyl alcohol, fragrances, preservatives, stabilizers.
How does Dichlorvos work?
The principle of operation of the drug is based on the properties of various insecticides. For this reason, the level of effectiveness and mechanism of action of different types of products differs. Cypermethrin is a contact substance. This means that this compound provokes the rapid death of pests, but provided that this component gets on the chitinous covers of insects. This disrupts the functioning of the nervous system. Pests gradually lose their motor activity, resulting in paralysis and death soon after.
Cypermethrin is resistant to ultraviolet radiation. In comparison, tetramethrin breaks down in the sun. However, this substance retains its properties when heated. Tetramethrin enters the pest's body through inhalation, along with food. The mechanism of action is similar to how cypermethrin works. This similarity is due to the fact that these substances belong to the same group of insecticides.
Permethrin destroys the nervous system of parasites. This substance most effectively eliminates ectoparasites (insects that live on the human body), however, as part of Dichlorvos, it is used less frequently for treatment against lice and ticks. Piperonyl butoxide enhances the effect of insecticides.
Pros and cons of the product
Positive traits:
- speed of action, which is due to the release form (produced in the form of an aerosol);
- complex effect on pests: insecticides can enter the body of insects through inhalation, along with food and through direct contact - through chitinous covers;
- moderately aggressive effect on humans; in comparison, dimethyl dichlorovinyl phosphate is more toxic and may pose a health hazard;
- the components in the product decompose at the end of their service life, without generating toxic waste, which makes the product safer for the environment;
- it is permissible to use the product near plants without harm to them;
- Dichlorvos is an innovative, universal drug that helps destroy various pests;
- long period of action of active components: insecticides remain on surfaces after treatment of the room for 1 month.
Minuses:
- the product takes a long time to erode;
- treatment must be carried out several times to get rid of insects.
