- This article is about pesticides that kill mites. For drugs to treat roundworm infections, see ascaricides.
Acaricides are pesticides that kill members of the Acari group, which includes ticks and mites.
Acaricides are used both in medicine and agriculture, although the desired selective toxicity differs between the two fields.
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Terminology
There are more specific words sometimes used depending upon the targeted group:
- "Ixodicides" are substances that kill ticks.[1]
- "Miticides" are substances that kill mites.
As a practical matter, though, mites are a paraphyletic grouping, and mites and ticks are usually treated as a single group.
The term scabicide is more narrow, and refers to agents specifically targeting Sarcoptes.
The term "arachnicide" is more general, and refers to agents that target arachnids. This term is used much more rarely, but occasionally appears in informal writing.
Examples
Examples include:
- permethrin can be applied as a spray. The effects are not limited to mites: lice, cockroaches, fleas, mosquitos, & other insects will be affected. Permethrin, however, is not known to seriously harm most mammals or birds, as it has a low mammalian toxicity and is poorly absorbed by skin.
- Ivermectin can be prescribed by a medical doctor to rid humans of mite and lice infestations and there are agricultural formulations for birds and rodents that are infested.
- Antibiotic miticides
- carbamate miticides
- formamidine miticides
- organochlorine
- organophosphate miticides
- Diatomaceous earth will also kill mites by disrupting the cuticle, which dries out the mite.
- Dicofol, a compound structurally related to the insecticide DDT is a miticide that is effective against the red spider mite Tetranychus urticae.
See also
- Ascaricides, drugs to treat roundworm infections
References
- ^ Gary R. Mullen; Gary Mullen; Lance Durden (15 May 2009). Medical and Veterinary Entomology. Academic Press. pp. 525–. ISBN 978-0-12-372500-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=6R1v9o-uaI4C&pg=PA525. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
External links
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