Volcanic glass spray shows promise in controlling mosquitoes:
The volcanic glass material used in this new intervention is perlite, an industrial mineral most frequently used in building materials and in gardens as a soil additive. The tested insecticide created from perlite, called Imergard WP, can be applied to interior walls and ceilings -- and perhaps even inside roofs -- as an indoor residual spray. The spray contains no additional chemicals, is not toxic to mammals and will be cost effective. Early results show that mosquitoes do not appear to have resistance to the perlite spray.
In the study, North Carolina State University entomologists worked with the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC) based at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Imerys Filtration Minerals Inc. to test Imergard WP. Researchers used the spray in experimental huts in the Republic of Benin (West Africa) to test the effects of the spray on both wild and more susceptible strains of Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, the primary malaria vector in sub-Saharan Africa.
[...] Results showed mortality rates of mosquitoes alighting on Imergard WP-treated walls were greater than 80% up to five months after treatments, and 78% at six months.
[...] "The statically transferred perlite particles essentially dehydrate the mosquito," said Mike Roe, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Entomology at NC State and the corresponding author of the paper. "Many die within a few hours of contact with the treated surface. Mosquitoes are not repelled from a treated surface because there is no olfactory mechanism to smell rock."
Journal Reference:
Deguenon, Jean M., Azondekon, Roseric, Agossa, Fiacre R., et al. ImergardTMWP: A Non-Chemical Alternative for an Indoor Residual Spray, Effective against Pyrethroid-Resistant Anopheles gambiae (s.l.) in Africa, Insects (DOI: 10.3390/insects11050322)
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 15 2020, @07:01AM (6 children)
Basically it's like Diatomaceous earth(DE) on steroids...
The obvious question, what damage do these particles have on your lungs when you breathe them in? Having used DE as an insect control and having gotten a nasty lungful of that dust (accidental container spill, no mask...) I'd suspect that micro shards of volcanic glass are a bit nastier, especially long term..
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 15 2020, @07:40AM (2 children)
Shh, it works. Who cares.
Make sure you get some of this new fire proof stuff for your ceiling while you are at it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 15 2020, @08:08AM
Are we doing "as best as" we can?
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 15 2020, @09:34AM
FTFY
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday June 15 2020, @09:40AM
Even more, how frequent will one need to apply it?
'Cause I can't imagine the dust is tuned to hydrate using only the water in mosquitoes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 4, Interesting) by VLM on Monday June 15 2020, @01:17PM (1 child)
I use DE for insect control and looked into this topic before using it.
Being tiny little shells DE particle size is 10 to 100 uM and thats large enough to be ideal at killing bugs.
Your lungs have strange non-linear response to particle size. They haven't evolved to really understand how to clear (cough out) nanoparticles, which sucks if you inhale nanoparticles, but DE and even crushed DE is like 3 orders of magnitude larger. Its like being worried about being hit by a tennis ball instead of a car (must have bad SN automobile analogy in all posts...)
Asbestos fibers will cause cancer but there's something weird about the shape has to be long and fiber like to stick in the lungs and cause cancer, and they're about two orders of magnitude smaller than DE anyways.
Basically DE is too big by orders of magnitude to cause chronic lung problems.
When I google for this new trade secret insecticide, I find nothing about particle size. However, this is not rocket surgery. Put DE under a microscope and it looks cool. Simply put a drop of the magic new insecticide under a microscope and see how it compares to DE particle size. My guess, is seeing as it works the same way as DE, its gotta be about the same size as DE, and DE is of a harmless size, so ...
Put another way pollen is in between the sizes of smaller toxic nanoparticles and larger DE. If you can survive pollen season, you'll survive a little DE. Or if you "overdose" on DE, long before you die you'll feel like a dude with a pollen allergy. So it seems inherently safe to dose as people will avoid the area naturally if overdosed. Its not like organophospates where you discover an overdose because you stop breathing and die.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday June 16 2020, @11:06AM
This doesn't mean particulate matter can't create other troubles. E.g. hardwood dust can cause cancer to sinuses and throat [ccohs.ca].
DE is not risk free [orst.edu]
Better not get Covid19 when forced to inhale DE for 2 years, then (grin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 4, Touché) by coolgopher on Monday June 15 2020, @07:52AM
"rock on!"
(Score: 3, Funny) by KritonK on Monday June 15 2020, @09:16AM (1 child)
So this product kills 80,01 to 89,99% of the mosquito population. (The article would have said 90%, greater than 90%, or 100%, if it were otherwise.) This means that the next generation of mosquitoes, descended from the remaining 10,01 to 19,99%, will be immune to it. Great!
(Score: 4, Informative) by c0lo on Monday June 15 2020, @09:38AM
It's unlikely to breed a mosquito resistant to dehydration. Especially when this pixie-dust will be applied only inside the homes (it doesn't make sense to apply it outside, will hydrate and lose the effect).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 4, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Monday June 15 2020, @11:59AM
Boric acid powder has a similar effect on roaches and ants - except there is a chemical action between the acid and the thicker waxy coating on those insect's exoskeletons.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/06/24/7408365/
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 15 2020, @05:39PM (3 children)
This is an interesting discovery in theory, but how the hell am I supposed to fit a volcano into my house?
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Monday June 15 2020, @09:43PM
I've got a couple of bonsai ones you could borrow.
Just until you see if they're what you're looking for.
(Score: 1) by UncleBen on Monday June 15 2020, @09:59PM
Silly question. Obviously, we're supposed to build our houses ON the volcanoes.
as some of us "may have" already done.
Muhuwahahahahaha.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 17 2020, @02:49AM
Just move to Hawaii.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 16 2020, @02:23AM
This looks similar to what Aerogel does?
(About 6 minutes in)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcdB5bFwio4 [youtube.com]