GB2176109A

GB2176109A - Controlling termites using propetamphos

Info

Publication number: GB2176109A
Application number: GB08613948A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kinya Futakuchi
Original assignee: Sandoz AG
Current assignee: Sandoz AG
Priority date: 1985-06-12
Filing date: 1986-06-09
Publication date: 1986-12-17
Also published as: GB8514853D0; CN86103914A; GB8613948D0; AU5848886A; BR8602733A; JPH0759485B2; JPS625907A; ZA864414B

Abstract

Termites are controlled and wooden materials are protected against termite attacks using propetamphos.

Description

SPECIFICATION Method of controlling termites The control of termites and of damages caused by them in many countries of the world. Though various methods have been used or suggested with varying degree of success, the need exists for development of improved methods, allowing an effective and long-lasting control of termites with products which are relatively unproblematic from the toxicological and ecological viewpoint.

It has now been found that (E)-0-2-isopropoxycarbonyl-1-methylvinyl 0-methyl ethylphosphoramidothioate, known under the common name propetamphos, is particularly appropriate for use in termites control, and allows an effective protection of wooden materials against termites attacks.

The invention accordingly relates to a method of controlling termites, which comprises applying to their locus a termites-controlling amount of propetamphos.

To secure optimal control, propetamphos will conveniently be used in insecticidal composition form in assocation with agriculturally acceptable diluents. Such compositions may be employed in either solid or liquid forms, e.g. in microencapsulated form or in the form of an oil or emulsion concentrate formulation, incorporating conventional diluents. Said compositions may be produced in conventional manner, e.g. by mixing the active ingredient with a diluent and optionally other formulating ingredients such as surfactants.

For reasons of convenience, reference to propetamphos will hereinafter embrace the active ingredient in unformulated and formulated forms.

The term diluents as used herein means liquid or solid, agriculturally acceptable material, which may be added to the active agent to bring it into an appropriate application or commercial form, resp to dilute the active agent in order to achieve an appropriate biological effect.

Propetamphos is particularly suitable for the protection of wood against termites attacks. In view of its surprisingly favourable soil stability, it is especially appropriate for protection of upper- and under-ground wooden basement parts of houses.

The protection of wood can be effected directly or indirectly using a termites-controlling amount of propetamphos. Direct protection of wood can, for example, be achieved by impregnation, spray or perforation application; indirect protection, for example, by application of propetamphos to the termites infested area surrounding the wood to be protected. When the wood to be protected is a wooden basement, the indirect protection can be achieved by incorporating propetamphos into resp.

applying propetamphos onto the soil surrounding the basement parts.

In general, the application form for direct as well as indirect wood protection, will conveniently be a diluted form comprising from 0.1 to 10%, more preferably from 0.3 to 3.0% e.g. 1% by weight of propetamphos.

For direct protection of the wood, the application form will be suitably an oil formulation, for indirect protection the application form is suitably a diluted emulsion concentrate. The amount to be applied will depend on various factors such as method and conditions of application, and can be easily established by routine experiments by persons skilled in the art.

Where protection is intended by direct spray application of propetamphos onto the wood surface, satisfactory protection will, in general, be obtained by applying from 0.5 to 5.09 propetamphos (a.i.) e.g. 100 to 200 ml of a 1% by weight oil application form thereof, per square metre of wood surface.

Such spray application may be repeated whenever necessary. Where the compound is applied by the so-called perforation technique, involving the injection of a suitable formulation under (preferably high) pressure through the small holes of wood perforated for that particular purpose, the amount to be applied will conveniently be in the range of 500 to 600 litres of 1% by weight propetamphos application form, i.e. 5.0 to 6.0 kg of propetamphos per m3 of wood. Impregnation of the wood for protective purposes can be effected using appropriate liquid application forms in known impregnation techniques.

Where indirect wood protection is desired, propetamphos can for example be incorporated into the soil at both sides of the basement frame.

This, for example, can be done by digging small ditches, e.g. of 15-30 cm breadth and 20-30 cm depth, along the basement frame, admixing said removed soil with a suitable amount of propetamphos, filling the ditches with the treated soil and applying where desired an additional amount of propetamphos onto the surface of the filled ditches.Where a 1% weight application form of propetamphos is used, satisfactory results will, in general, be obtained by admixing 1 to 5 litres of said application form with the amount of soil (0.03 to 0.1 m3) dugged up per running metre of the above-mentioned ditches (i.e. 100 to 1500 g propetamphos per m3 of soil). A suitable additional amount of propetamphos conveniently applied onto the surface of the ditches filled with treated soil is for example 0.5 to 1 litre of a 1% application form of propetamphos per square metre of removed soil surface.

In case digging ditches is not feasible, the amount of the 1% by weight application form to be applied will conveniently exceed 4 to 5 litres per square metre of the ground surface surrounded by the basement frame, and/or exceed 1 litre per running metre of basement for soil treatments at the outer side of the basement frame.

It will be appreciated, that for application forms comprising more or less than 1% by weight of active ingredient the volume to be applied should be adapted accordingly.

The method of the invention is particularly effective against termites damaging wooden material, such as reticulitermes speratus (Kolbe), coptotermes formosanus (Shiraki), cryptotermes domesticus (Haviland), incisitermes minor (hagen), odontotermes formosanus (Shiraki).

The invention is illustrated by the following example.

Example Aformulation of 10 g propetamphos in 1 litre kerosene is sprayed onto wooden basement parts at a rate of 200 ml/per square metre.

The thus treated wooden basement material shows a long lasting resistance against reticulitermes speratus (Kolbe) and coptotermes formosanus (Shiraki) attacks.

Claims

1. Method of controlling termites, which comprises applying to their locus a termites-controlling amount of propetamphos.

2. Method of protecting wood against termites, which comprises applying to the wood or to the termite infested area surrounding the wood to be protected a termites-controlling amount of propetamphos.

3. Method of Claim 2, wherein the application is directly on the wood.

4. Method of Claim 3, wherein the direct application is by impregnation, spray application or perforation.

5. Method of Claims 3- or 4, wherein the propetamphos is in oil form.

6. Method of Claim 2, wherein the application is on the termites infested area surrounding the wood to be protected.

7. Method of Claim 2, wherein the wood is a wooden basement and the propetamphos is incorporated into or applied onto the soil surrounding the basement.

8. Method of Claim 7, wherein the propetamphos is in diluted emulsifiable concentrate form.

9. Method of Claims 5 or 8 wherein the application form comprises 0.1 to 10 % by weight of propetamphos.