Crash Course · @crash_course
203 followers · 378 posts · Server todon.eu
The European Network · @TheEuropeanNetwork
2659 followers · 2077 posts · Server mstdn.social

Health authorities in Paris have started fumigating areas for the first time to kill disease-carrying tiger mosquitoes, whose rapid advance through northern Europe is thought to have been accelerated by climate change.

People were asked to stay in their homes during the early hours yesterday morning as pest control contractors sprayed insecticide in trees, green spaces and other mosquito-breeding areas.

rte.ie/news/europe/2023/0831/1

#ClimateChange #insecticide #mosquitoes #Paris #France

Last updated 1 year ago

CellBioNews · @cellbionews
105 followers · 1806 posts · Server scientificnetwork.de
Poetry News · @haikubot
892 followers · 9346 posts · Server mastodon.cloud

Fine young cannibals: study could lead to better
Discovery of ‘anti-cannibalism’ raises possibility of spraying with similar chemical as non-toxic
Or “you could get the locusts to behave more cannibalistically and potentially control themselves in that way,” said Bill Hansson, the director of the Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology at the Max Planck Institute and senior author of the research.
theguardian.com/environment/20

#locust #pestcontrol #pheromone #crops #insecticide

Last updated 1 year ago

Krapuul · @Krapuul
140 followers · 226 posts · Server mas.to

Insectenapocalyps in het Antropoceen, deel 4

Hoe genetische manipulatie en onkruidverdelgers de aanval van het kapitalisme op het insectenleven versnellen.

krapuul.nl/insectenapocalyps-i

#onkruidverdelgers #planeet #gm #kapitalisme #insecticide

Last updated 1 year ago

Peacefulrebel · @peacefulrebel
7 followers · 51 posts · Server mastodon.nl
Matt Cartwright · @MattPCart
9 followers · 329 posts · Server mas.to

So, that was my first flight out from somewhere where the cabin crew sprayed an insecticide into the cabin bays to ensure we don't bring home something that should stay there.

They only sprayed the bays, though. Not us... What about my hair or clothes?!

#newonetome #insecticide

Last updated 2 years ago

Paul Peace · @paulpeace
478 followers · 42 posts · Server earthstream.social

Here comes one of our blue-tongued lizard regulars to dine in the veg patch.

#veganic #gardening #insecticide #homegrown

Last updated 2 years ago

Dezene Huber 🌻 · @dezene
737 followers · 762 posts · Server ecoevo.social

Important new paper on pesticide effects on (and likely other non-target ).

Title: Expression of subunits of an target receptor varies across tissues, life stages, castes, and species of social

One-size-fits-all safety testing is likely inadequate because receptor structure is variable within individuals, between individuals of the same species, and between species.

Link: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/fu

A good explainer: buglife.org.uk/news/new-resear

🌸🐝🌼

#pollinators #insects #insecticide #bees #pesticide

Last updated 2 years ago

Alexander J. Stein · @AJStein_de
23 followers · 128 posts · Server mastodon.world

Over the last 25 years, insect-resistant crops improved pest management & reduced use. Only in one third of cases by some has been documented. Factors favoring susceptibility include refuge areas & multi-toxin Bt crops: doi.org/10.1093/jee/toac183

#gmo #insecticide #resistance #pests

Last updated 2 years ago

BC Info Bot · @bcinfo
278 followers · 7383 posts · Server mastodon.roitsystems.ca
Ash · @fraxinus
141 followers · 619 posts · Server kolektiva.social

tobacco evolved nicotine as a defence against insects. you can also use it as a defence against insects!

first, a few caveats: do not use this on any member of the nightshade family (tomatoes, potatoes, etc.); they are susceptible to tobacco mosaic virus. do not use on any plants that flower. do not use this on anything you intend to eat. do not use on any plants that are going outside in the next six weeks; this is basically just for houseplants. do not use if you have pets. do not dispose of any leftovers by pouring down the drain, etc. (nicotine is an insecticide, and bees are insects, so this will kill them too.) wear thick rubber gloves when you do this.

fatal nicotine poisoning from this is very, very unlikely, but not impossible. it’s much more likely you’d just have a very uncomfortable afternoon, but trust me, nicotine poisoning is uncomfortable enough that you want to avoid it!!! yes, nicotine is pretty toxic, but so are all insecticides more or less, and this one you can do without taking your plants outside to spray, so i think just on that basis alone, it’s probably better for the environment than spraying pyrethrins everywhere. i am not a biochemist or a pest control expert; i claim no special knowledge; this is just what works for me.

first, how it works: acetylcholine is a chemical that your brain uses to tell your muscles when to fire. when an acetylcholine molecule hits a receptor, the muscle connected to that receptor contracts. (acetylcholine does other things, too, but this is what we care about right now.) too much acetylcholine and the receptors fire uncontrollably; too little acetylcholine and the receptors don’t fire at all. since you need muscles to breathe, both of these situations are bad. insects also have acetylcholine receptors, which is what just about every insecticide targets; although in their case, the receptors are only in their central nervous systems. nicotine is a receptor agonist for nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. (a receptor agonist is a substance that causes a receptor to become activated.) nicotine works by overstimulating receptors to the point where they can no longer respond to acetylcholine and shut down, which results in paralysis and death. this is, obviously, a vast oversimplification. but it’s true enough for our purposes.

now, how to use it as a pesticide: i’ve talked to a lot of different people about how they do this. perhaps unsurprisingly, this was a very common method of pest control amongst grandparents— a lot of people mentioned their grandma boiling cigarette butts, or their grandpa putting two cigarettes in a watering can, etc.

with some trial and error, i’ve cobbled together a method that works pretty well. first, get a pouch of loose (rolling) tobacco. you can probably do this with cigarette butts too, but i don’t know anybody who smokes cigarettes. next, get a gallon jug. do NOT use anything you’re going to put food in later. any container you use for this will become exclusively for this purpose. put a few big pinches of tobacco in the jug and fill it with water. leave it overnight. the next morning, strain the tobacco out and throw it away. i always wrap it up in a few plastic shopping bags and throw it in the trash. you should now have a gallon of tobacco tea! use this to water your plants directly (pour on the soil or bottom water, it makes no difference). your plants will take the nicotine up through their roots and into their stems and leaves, where any insect that feeds by biting/scraping/sucking the plant will get a mouthful and die.

this should provide residual control for 3-6 weeks, but you should combine this method with other methods of pest control: spray the leaves/stems with insecticidal soap and wipe down carefully; hang sticky traps; and put diatomaceous earth on the soil when it’s dry to the touch. give your plants a thorough wipe-down with soap once a week for three weeks; then keep a close eye for insect damage. good luck and happy bug killing 😤

#DIY #houseplants #insecticide #houseplant #houseplanthour

Last updated 2 years ago

« C'est un massacre silencieux. L' est en train de faire disparaître le bruissement de la planète »

« C'est la pire que la planète ait vécue. Nous perdons des espèces à une vitesse que la Terre n'a jamais connue »

- Comment l' a tué les

youtube.com/watch?v=0tAlAwN41i

#glyphosate #pesticides #neonicotinoides #biodiversite #pertedebiodiversite #documentaire #ecocide #insectes #agrochimie #insecticide #extinctiondemasse #industrieagrochimique

Last updated 2 years ago

« C'est un massacre silencieux. L' est en train de faire disparaître le bruissement de la planète »

«C'est la pire que la planète ait vécue. Nous perdons des espèces à une vitesse que la Terre n'a jamais connue »

- Comment l' a tué les

youtube.com/watch?v=0tAlAwN41i

#glyphosate #pesticides #neonicotinoides #biodiversite #pertedebiodiversite #documentaire #ecocide #insectes #agrochimie #insecticide #extinctiondemasse #industrieagrochimique

Last updated 2 years ago

TimNMurph · @GasheadAu
250 followers · 757 posts · Server mas.to

My wife is going to be talking about Rachel Carson’s on the Forum program.

I could not be more proud of Dr Sabine Clarke.

york.ac.uk/yesi/research/envir

#technology #history #insecticide #pesticide #ecology #BBCWorldService #silentspring

Last updated 2 years ago

TimNMurph · @GasheadAu
219 followers · 678 posts · Server mas.to

Bit of a boost for my wife Dr Sabine Clarke. Her project: "The Chemical Empire A new history of synthetic insecticides in Britain and its colonies, c1920–1970"

Part of York Environmental Sustainability Institute.

york.ac.uk/yesi/research/envir

#sustainability #research #insecticide #science

Last updated 2 years ago

· @GuillaumeYacobi
22 followers · 691 posts · Server mastodon.nl
bs2 · @bsmall2
196 followers · 3346 posts · Server mstdn.jp

> .. how toxic pollution works.. into.. human bodies and brings unimaginable pain.. examines.. case studies of that know no boundaries: deaths from .. from copper, zinc, and lead mining; congenital deformities from ,, and lung diseases
.. the archipelago has become over the last two hundred years -- and how people and the environment have suffered..
uwapress.uw.edu/book/978029599

#japan #industrialized #japanese #MethylMercury #poisonings #insecticide #toxins #industrial #BrettWalker #ToxicArchipelago

Last updated 3 years ago