The science behind bio-activation in gel baits
ADVION video education series.
Module 4 of 5: The science behind bio-activation in gel baits.
Meeting the needs of today’s customers isn’t just about eradicating pests. Businesses and residents – especially those in food handling industries, or with small children and pets – also want peace of mind, knowing the products used will not cause harm.
To meet this need, ADVION ant and cockroach gel baits feature bio-activation: a process which differentiates between target insects and non-target organisms, posing minimal risk to the surrounding environment.
How bio-activation works
ADVION contains a non-repellent active ingredient called indoxacarb: a pro-insecticide which is bio-activated into an active insecticide only after it enters the host’s body. Once the gel bait is ingested, the host’s unique metabolic enzymes process the indoxacarb to its active form by removing a small part of its molecule.
Crucially, only target pests (for example, ants and cockroaches) have high enough concentrations of the metabolic enzymes needed for bio-activation to occur. This means non-target organisms such as pets are hardly impacted by the active ingredient. In most cases, they are not affected at all.
Metabolic activation works in four stages:
- The ant/cockroach ingests or comes into direct contact with ADVION gel bait and incorporates indoxacarb into its body.
- The insect’s enzymes, located in its guts and fat bodies, modify the indoxacarb. The resulting molecule is the insecticidal active form.
- The active form binds to the target site in the insect’s nervous system while blocking the insect’s sodium channel.
- This leads to paralysis and death in the target insect.
Bio-activation not only makes ADVION very effective at targeting ants and cockroaches, but also keep the treated area safe for pets, children and wildlife – not to mention your customers happy with your service.
For more information on ADVION, please get in touch with your local Syngenta agent or call 1800 022 035.
Next module: Horizontal Transfer, or "The Domino Effect".
Previous module: Product palatability, or why ADVION is the bait pests prefer.
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