COMPOSITION FOR CONTROL OF PESTS AND METHOD OF USE THEREOF

Abstract

A composition for control of pests contains zinc oxide which is in the form of tetrapodal crystals, polyvinylpyrrolidone in the following amounts: zinc oxide: 0.5-5 wt %, polyvinylpyrrolidone: 40-65 wt %, water: balance.

Claims

1. A pest control agent, comprising the following composition in the following amounts: zinc oxide: 0.5-5 wt %; polyvinylpyrrolidone: 40-65 wt %; water: the rest; wherein zinc oxide exists in the form of tetrapod-shaped crystals.

2. The pest control agent according to claim 1 for control of bark beetles, snails, termites, oak processionary moths and ants.

3. The pest control agent according to claim 1, wherein a diameter of a circumscribed sphere of the tetrapod-shaped zinc oxide crystals is between 1 and 100 nanometers in size.

4. The pest control agent according to claim 1, wherein the agent contains a natural and/or a synthetic resin.

5. A method for killing of ants and termites, comprising mixing the pest control agent according to claim 1 into a sugar solution and then, in a vicinity of the ants or termites, providing the sugar solution and pest control agent mixture to the ants or termites.

6. A method for protection of trees and of wood from termites and bark beetles, comprising coating the trees or woods with the pest control agent according to claim 1.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the agent is mixed with natural or synthetic resin shortly before application.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the trees or woods comprise spruce and fir.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed as an illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention.

[0038] In the drawings,

[0039] FIG. 1 shows the zinc oxide tetrapods in an electron microscope photograph.

Example 1: Termite Control for Residential Buildings

[0040] The wood construction widely used for the carcass structure of buildings in the countries of North America, for example, leads annually to considerable and expensive damage.

[0041] In this example, the agent contains resin. The construction woods used are coated over their full surface with the agent prior to their assembly.

[0042] The coating may be applied in the pressure-injection method or manually with a painting implement.

[0043] The construction woods may be installed after a drying time of 2 to 4 hours.

[0044] The agent may also be applied subsequently on already built-in materials.

[0045] The agent may also be combined with conventional wood preservatives; where it is also necessary, the woods may be protected from moisture penetration.

[0046] In this example, the agent is usually colorless and has low viscosity.

[0047] During processing, the usual industrial safety measures are to be respected.

[0048] For an average building of the size of a single-family dwelling of wood construction, approximately 40 m.sup.3 of wood is processed. This coating would require approximately 100 liters of the agent.

[0049] After the treatment, the woods are protected from being eaten by termites.

Example 2: Defense Against Bark Beetles and Control of Caterpillars or Snails

[0050] In spruce forests, increasing havoc is being wreaked due to feeding by bark beetles. The culprit is above all the eight-toothed European spruce bark beetle; since the drought of 2003, the much smaller six-toothed spruce bark beetle has also contributed substantially to the death of larger stands of spruce trees. The eight-toothed European spruce bark beetle is the most dangerous bark beetle and forest pest in temperate latitudes. The starting points for mass reproduction are calamities such as windstorms, snow breakage or drought.

[0051] For mechanical defense, ring traps are now being attached. A ring trap is a circular container that surrounds an object. The filler, which is introduced into the trap, may be a liquid or a dry powder.

[0052] The agent is mixed with an insect food and the ring trap is then loaded with it.

[0053] The ring trap forms a barrier that the walking insects must cross to continue on their way. While crossing the trap, they become wetted with the agent.

[0054] It is also even possible to mix the liquid agent additionally with a natural or synthetic resin and then to use it. For the application to vertical objects, a part of the finished agent is mixed with three parts of natural or synthetic resin and filled into a container.

[0055] Instead of using a ring trap, it is possible to combine the agent shortly before use with a natural or synthetic resin and then to spray or paint it over the entire surface of a tree trunk to be protected.

[0056] The finished agent bonds only temporarily with natural or synthetic resins. These are used to apply the agent in weatherproof and adhering condition on a vertical object (such as a tree).

[0057] Since small nano zinc oxide tetrapods are now present on the surface of the tree bark, forming blade-like patterns with four blade-like legs, the tree pests (bark beetles) are killed while trying to bore into the bark in order to lay eggs there.

Example 3

[0058] The agent, which in this case contains no natural or synthetic resin, contains PVP in order to bond the zinc oxide tetrapods. In water, the zinc oxide tetrapods would clump together without addition of PVP. PVP is a largely safe substance and may be absorbed by organisms.

[0059] The agent was mixed into a sugar solution, which was then presented to an ant group of 15 to 20 insects, for which any liquid intake had been made impossible for two days long beforehand in a sterile environment.

[0060] After 24 hours, a distinct decline in movement was apparent.

[0061] After 48 hours, the group was almost completely immobile, even relative to external stimulus.

[0062] The death occurred after 60 to 84 hours.

[0063] The same series of tests was likewise carried out on a termite group of 15 to 20 insects after 2 days of liquid deprivation. The results were almost identical.

Example 4

[0064] An untreated cube of spruce wood measuring 50 mm×50 mm was placed in a container of a termite group after three days of isolation. As expected, the insects began to process the wooden cube with their biting apparatus.

[0065] The test was repeated, but this time the cube of spruce wood was coated with the agent, which contained no resin. Here also, the termites began to process the wooden cube. After 24 hours, the intensity of the processing decreased significantly. After a further 12 hours, the cube was no longer being attacked.

[0066] Similar results were achieved respectively when the agent was mixed with natural or synthetic resin and the wooden cube was then coated with the agent.

Example 5

[0067] A bark beetle group received exclusively spruce and fir wood as food in an isolated environment. After three weeks, there was no change of the population.

[0068] In this example, the agent contains natural and synthetic resin. A comparison group likewise consisting of bark beetles likewise received spruce and fir wood as food, but this time it had been coated respectively with the agent. Individual insects were dead after 1-2 weeks and the entire group was dead after three weeks.

[0069] It is to be assumed that similar effects will also be found for other pests, such as, for example, snails, oak processionary moths, etc.

Further Advantages

[0070] Further advantages of pest control with the agent are even longer control intervals, which may be limited to as few as one application per year.

[0071] A further advantage is the long durability of the applied agent. The agent is not rapidly flushed into the soil by wet weather.

[0072] In the case of use in the dry indoors area, a single application is sufficient for decades. A follow-up pest control is no longer necessary.