question: What happens to pest insects physiologically after having been sprayed with Raid or Black Flag, etc.?
comment: Depends on the pesticide, but most of them are neurologically toxic and/or are desiccants. For the neurological pesticides, think nerve gas for bugs. For the desiccants, think rapid mummification.
passages: The aerial spray flight also is now able to operate during the night with NVG's, which increases the flight's best case spray capacity from approximately 60 thousand acres per day to approximately 190 thousand acres per day. Spray missions are normally conducted at dusk and nighttime hours when pest insects are most active, the U.S. Air Force Reserve reports.
  
  Section::::Operational history.:Civilian firefighting.
   BULLET::::- Indie band Ruet Caelum have a song entitled 'Showing Signs of Cholinesterase Inhibition"
  
  BULLET::::- In the book "The Penultimate Truth" by Philip K. Dick, members of underground tank divisions are banned from surfacing with the fear that they will be subject to a cholinesterase-destroying nerve gas attack.
  
  Section::::External links.
  
  BULLET::::- ATSDR Case Studies in Environmental Medicine: Cholinesterase Inhibitors, Including Insecticides and Chemical Warfare Nerve Agents U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  
  BULLET::::- Movies at weizmann.ac.il showing the structure of acetylcholinesterase and interactions with various inhibitors.
   TFM toxicity has not been thoroughly investigated for humans, but is considered an irritant, respiratory irritant, and toxic by the manufacturer. Toxicity studies of other mammals have generally found it to be non-toxic at concentrations expected to be found in treated areas . Impact on other fish species may be controlled by selective application during the larvae season for lampreys and other management of its concentration. TFM does not accumulate, since it breaks down within several days. 
   In addition to identifying, classifying, and tabulating pesticide poisoning cases, the states periodically investigate pesticide-related events and develop interventions aimed at particular industries or pesticide hazards.
  
  Section::::Impact.
  
  Federal and state-level scientists and researchers with SENSOR-Pesticides have published articles on pesticide exposure events and trends using program data. These articles include MMWR publications and articles in peer-reviewed journals on exposures such as acute pesticide-related illness in youth, agricultural workers, retail workers, migrant farm workers, and flight attendants. Several articles have attracted media attention and motivated legislative or other governmental action.
  
  Section::::Impact.:Florida Medfly Eradication Program.
   BULLET::::- Hydrolysates are held and tested to ensure agent destruction before proceeding to secondary treatment.
  
  BULLET::::- The agent and energetic hydrolysates are fed to the SCWO units to destroy the organic materials. SCWO subjects the hydrolysate to very high temperatures and pressures, breaking them down into carbon dioxide, water and salts.
  
  BULLET::::- Metal parts are thermally decontaminated by heating them to for a minimum of 15 minutes. The metal parts can then be safely recycled.
   Contact insecticides are toxic to insects upon direct contact. These can be inorganic insecticides, which are metals and include the commonly used sulfur, and the less commonly used arsenates, copper and fluorine compounds. Contact insecticides can also be organic insecticides, i.e. organic chemical compounds, synthetically produced, and comprising the largest numbers of pesticides used today. Or they can be natural compounds like pyrethrum, neem oil etc.
  
  Contact insecticides usually have no residual activity.
  
  Efficacy can be related to the quality of pesticide application, with small droplets, such as aerosols often improving performance.
  
  Section::::Biological pesticides.
   The application of pest control agents is usually carried out by dispersing the chemical in a (often hydrocarbon-based) solvent-surfactant system to give a homogeneous preparation. A virus lethality study performed in 1977 demonstrated that a particular pesticide did not increase the lethality of the virus, however combinations which included some surfactants and the solvent clearly showed that pretreatment with them markedly increased the viral lethality in the test mice.
   Biological pest control efforts using parasitic and predatory insects have been unsuccessful. Early detection of the pest is a priority. Once an infestation is recognized, some methods of chemical control are used. Shipments of logs are fumigated with phosphine, which is a very effective alternative for the ozone-depleting compound methyl bromide. Traps baited with turpentine may also be an option.
   When rats inhaled a lethal dose of EPN they showed muscle twitches (fasciculations) originating from the peripheral nervous system. Furthermore convulsions of the lungs and thorax were observed along with shortness of breath. However when a lethal dose of EPN was administered via the skin to rats, the rats showed excitement additional to the aforementioned effects. When EPN was administered to cats via the skin, similar behavior was observed, although the animals showed signs of paralysis without anesthesia instead of fasciculations. Overall it can be stated that an overdose of EPN, results in convulsions and tremor and eventually causes dead. The period till death after administration of a lethal dose of EPN is, however, not listed.
   For almost two decades, the wing's 757th Airlift Squadron and the U.S. Coast Guard have participated in oil spill cleanup exercises to ensure the U.S. military has a capable response in the event of a national emergency. The 910th Airlift Wings 757th AS, DOD's only fixed Aerial Spray System certified by the EPA to disperse pesticides on DOD property spread oil dispersants onto the "Deepwater Horizon" oil spill in the Gulf Coast in 2010.
   By inhibiting the cholinesterase the insect can no longer break down ACh in the NMJ and so its muscles lock up in a state of tetany (continuous contraction) making flying and respiration impossible, and the insect then dies of asphyxiation.
  
  Section::::Safety.
  
  Fly spray is dangerous to pets as well as fish and should be used with caution.
  
  In the United States, fly sprays often contain the powerful insect toxin dichlorvos which is often targeted by environmental groups as a carcinogenic compound.
   Section::::For the home.
  
  Flea infestation in the home are treated in various ways. A spot-on insecticide kills the fleas on the pet and in turn the pet itself collects and mops up newly hatched fleas. A fogger or spray insecticide containing an insect growth regulator, such as pyriproxyfen or methoprene can kill eggs and pupae, which are quite resistant to insecticides.
   Loss of predator species can also lead to a related phenomenon called secondary pest outbreaks, an increase in problems from species that were not originally a problem due to loss of their predators or parasites. An estimated third of the 300 most damaging insects in the US were originally secondary pests and only became a major problem after the use of pesticides. In both pest resurgence and secondary outbreaks, their natural enemies were more susceptible to the pesticides than the pests themselves, in some cases causing the pest population to be higher than it was before the use of pesticide.
   Geochemical analysis including pH, redox potential and dissolved ions is routinely applied to assess the potential for biotic and abiotic transformations, complicated by any lack of specificity in the targets. Selective probe compounds must be used to detect individual reactive species when a mixture of reactive species is present. Combining probe compounds and scavengers or quenchers increases accuracy. E.g., N,N-dimethylaniline, used as a probe for the carbonate radical reacts very quickly with DOM-excited triplet states and its oxidation is hampered by DOM.
   Researchers and government officials from the SENSOR-Pesticides program have published research articles that highlight findings from the data and their implications for environmental and occupational pesticide issues. These issues include eradication of invasive species, pesticide poisoning in schools, birth defects, and residential use of total release foggers, or "bug bombs," which are devices that release an insecticide mist.
  
  Section::::Background.
   In China, a number of incidents have occurred where state limits were exceeded by large amounts or where the wrong pesticide was used. In August 1994, a serious incident of pesticide poisoning of sweet potato crops occurred in Shandong province, China. Because local farmers were not fully educated in the use of insecticides, they used the highly-toxic pesticide named parathion instead of trichlorphon. It resulted in over 300 cases of poisoning and 3 deaths. Also, there was a case where a large number of students were poisoned and 23 of them were hospitalized because of vegetables that contained excessive pesticide residues.
   Approximately 19.6 million gallons of Agent Blue were used in Vietnam during the war, destroying of crops. From 1965 on the Ansul Chemical Company delivered the herbicide "Phytar 560" with the 26.4% sodium cacodylate and 4.7% cacodylic acid in water.
  
  Today, large quantities of the chemical named Agent Blue are still used on lawns and crops throughout the USA. Taken from ZNet Ecology: It has been over twelve years since the last herbicide mission that was done. But there is still big controversy going around about the past missions that were sent out.
   In July 2019, it was announced that three people had died in West Virginia after overdosing on an unidentified wasp spray. Authorities have warned of a growing trend of ingesting bug spray in the southern United States, supposedly as a substitute for methamphetamine. Possible symptoms of ingesting bug poison include, but are not limited to: erratic behavior, nauseua, headache, sore throat, extreme inflammation, redness of the hands and feet, convulsions, coma, and death.
   Pesticide residues have been found in other realms. Transport from groundwater may lead to low-level presence in surface waters. Pesticides have been detected in high-altitude regions, demonstrating sufficient persistence to survive transport across hundreds of kilometers in the atmosphere.
   Of the 18, a series of 4 surface trials were conducted with dry B. globigii released from the back of a moving and tracked vehicle, accompanied by the release from contractor-flown aircraft of yellow and green fluorescent particles of zinc cadmium sulfide.
  
  The remaining 14 trials involved the aerial release of B. globigii from the A/B45Y-1 liquid biological spray tank, an ejectable and aerodynamic store meant to disseminate and spray a liquid biological agent. The tank was carried on F-105 or F-100 aircraft, and was also accompanied by the release of fluorescent tracer particles. 
  
  Section::::Controversy and subsequent partial declassification.
   Similar campaigns have been run in other countries, either by dubbing the US cartoons or by producing local versions, including those for Baygon, another S.C. Johnson brand of insecticides.
  
  Section::::Illicit Use.
   In late 1968 the Deseret Test Center conducted a biological warfare experiment at Yeehaw Junction. The experiment was part of Project 112 and was labelled DTC Test 69-75. Stem rust, referred to as "Agent TX", was tested to determine its effectiveness against a wheat crop in time of war. The tests were conducted over a period of one month from October 31 to December 1, 1968. Live agent was sprayed by a U.S. Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom fighter jet on seven different occasions and dead agent, consisting of spores that were killed by a gaseous mixture of ethylene oxide, was sprayed on four occasions.
   Phosphamidon is very highly toxic to mammals and is listed as WHO Hazard Class Ia. A harvester developed symptoms of moderately severe poisoning after working in a field that had been sprayed with the chemical 2 weeks earlier. He collapsed and exhibited significant depression of serum cholinesterase, but recovered completely within 2 days after successful treatment with atropine. International trade of phosphamidon is covered by the Rotterdam Convention.
   Pesticide use and manufacturing have been one of the most prevalently studied contributions to population decline of "M. grisescens". One such study focused on gray bat populations of the Tennessee River area of northern Alabama where scientists and conservators noted a higher than normal gray bat mortality. In this area, since 1947, large amounts of DDTR (DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), DDD, and DDE) flowed through waterways from the DDT manufacturing site located on the Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville, Alabama down to the habitat area of "M. grisescens", where heavy contamination of the local biota has occurred. Lethal chemical concentrations of DDT in the brains of adult bats are about 1.5 times higher than in juveniles. Because "M. grisescens" feed on many types of insects with aquatic larval stages, it is believed that this food source may be the root of the chemical concentrations. Many of the bats tested in different studies were juveniles not able to fly, and thus were likely to have only consumed milk. After concentration through lactation, a few parts per million in prey of the adult gray bat would cause mortality in these juveniles. Under conditions of rapid fat utilization, such as migratory stress or initiation of flight by juveniles, residue mobilization of harmful chemicals may occur, causing mortality. Other pesticides linked with gray bat population decline include dieldrin and dieldrin’s parent compound aldrin, which have also increased mortality in other bat species. Even though the manufacture of DDT ceased in 1970 and the manufacture of dieldrin and aldrin in October 1974, heavy contamination of the biota persisted. Recently, however, guano samples from various habitats indicate a decline in certain detrimental chemicals. For example, guano from Cave Springs cave shows a decline of 41% in DDE (a compound related to DDT) between 1976 and 1985 and guano from Key Cave shows a decline of 67% for the same time period. However, it is unknown how long these chemicals will remain in concentrations that will cause harm to wildlife.
   Coffee borer beetles seem to be unaffected by caffeine, in that their feeding rate did not change when they were given leaves sprayed with caffeine solution. It was concluded that those beetles have adapted to caffeine. This study was further developed by changing the solvent for caffeine. Although aqueous caffeine solutions had indeed no effect on the beetles, oleate emulsions of caffeine "did" inhibit their feeding, suggesting that even if certain insects have adjusted to some caffeine forms, they can be tricked by changing minor details, such as the drug solvent.
  