How does the insect's body shut down to the point of death?
2007-07-02 08:21:36 · 6 answers · asked by L.B. of D.C. 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
At the core level, an insecticide is just a poison. And like other poisons they have many, many different ways of causing death. Probably just about any way you can think of.
Imidacloprid is generally considered to be the best-selling insecticide. It is essentially a variant of nicotine that acts on a receptor (it is a competitive inhibitor that resists biological deactivation) that is much more common in insects than most other animals (which is why it's popular). These receptors can be found in a lot of nerve and muscle tissue. Symptoms of poisoning are fatigue, twitching, cramps, and eventually asphyxiation.
Deltamethrin is one of the more common poisons used against cockroaches. It is a pyrethroid esther (a common type of insecticide). Pyrethroids work by locking open sodium channels in nervous tissue. The affected cells end up firing repeatedly and eventually expiring - symptoms typically include a kind of major, full-body seizure called 'writhing syndrome' or a 'rolling convulsion'.
If you're interested in some other specific toxin, let us know and we'll look it up!
2007-07-02 11:58:28 · answer #1 · answered by Doctor Why 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Really depends on the actual insecticide.
The most common include:
- Enzyme inhibition, prevents respiratory or other crucial life process enzymes from working, by outcompeting the actual substrates, and bind permanently to the enzyme.
- Electron transport chain disruption, some insecticides bind to the cytochromes involved in the electron transport chain for oxidative phosphorylation, hence the insect cannot respire and dies.
- Nerve disruption, binding of the insecticides to the neurotransmitter receptors, causing paralysis and brain death
2007-07-02 15:29:42 · answer #2 · answered by Tsumego 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Most work on the nervous system and shut down the body functions.
2007-07-02 15:25:11 · answer #3 · answered by physandchemteach 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most common insecticides are organic phosphate nerve toxins.
2007-07-02 19:36:58 · answer #4 · answered by Irv S 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
what I know is the insecticide attacks the nerves
2007-07-02 15:33:54 · answer #5 · answered by Psygnosis 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It messes with their nerves.
2007-07-02 15:28:08 · answer #6 · answered by anotherhumanmale 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋