Surfactant-Enhanced Release of Permethrin from a Cellulosic Granular Carrier

A study was conducted to determine whether the efficacy of pyrethroid insecticides, formulated with Biodac2 (an inert carrier granule derived from paper recycling waste) could be enhanced through the addition of surfactants. Thus, a series of formulations of permethrin on Biodac was prepared so that the effect of several nonionic surfactants on granule efficacy could be studied. To compare the efficacy of the formulations, the granules were tested on imported red fire ants, Solenopsis invicta, under laboratory conditions. Formulations with surfactant outperformed the control formulation (no surfactant) by a wide margin.