Laboratory Evaluation of Toxicity of Insecticide Formulations from Different Classes against American Cockroach (Dictyoptera: Blattidae)

BACKGROUND The present study was designed to investigate the insecticidal efficacy of four different classes of insecticides: pyrethroids, organophosphates, phenyl-pyrazoles and neo-nicotenoids. One representative chemical from each class was selected to compare the toxicity: deltamethrin from pyrethroids, Dichlorovinyl Dimethyl Phosphate (DDVP) from organophosphates, fipronil from phenyl-pyrazoles and imidacloprid from neo-nicotenoids. The objective of this study was to determine which of these insecticides were most effective against American cockroach. METHODS These insecticides were tested for their LC50 values against Periplaneta americana under topical bioassay method, using different concentrations for each chemical. RESULTS Fipronil 2.5% EC was highly effective at all concentrations applied, while DDVP 50% EC was least toxic amongst all. One way analysis of variance confirmed significant differences between mortality of P. americana and different concentrations applied (P< 0.05). CONCLUSION Locality differentiation is an important factor in determining the range of resistance between various localities, as all three localities behaved differently in terms of their levels of resistance.