Effects of Mortein

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artemisclark
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Effects of Mortein

Post by artemisclark »

How harmful are products such as Mortein for aquatic and marine life and biodiversity? Does is it affect fishes and even algae the same way it affects mosquitoes? And if it is harmful what can be done to ensure that products like Mortein only affect mosquitoes and not the aquatic life when added to water?
JacquelineK
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Re: Effects of Mortein

Post by JacquelineK »

Greetings!
Mortein consists of two active ingredients that fall into the category of pyrethroid neuro-toxins. There have been many studies done in both mammals and aquatic organisms on the hazards that occur when exposed to these types of toxins. Specifically, several studies have documented the sensitivity of fish towards these pesticides. Unlike most mammals, fish are not able to produce the enzymes that break down the insecticides.

If you are curious, here is an article from PubMed that goes into detail about agricultural run-off and the effects on different species of fish.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8300353/

Unfortunately, there is no real way to ensure that these types of pesticides only affect a specific organism. You would need to create a highly specific compound that works with the biology of the mosquito. Even then, animals like bats, dragonflies and hummingbirds depend on mosquitoes for food. So by ingesting mosquitos that have been exposed to the pesticide, those animals could be affected as well. Hope this helps!
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