19 - Some Lesser Known Properties and Potential New Uses of Piperonyl Butoxide

Abstract

This chapter discusses the lesser known properties of piperonyl butoxide (PBO) other than an insecticide synergist and control of resistance. The treatments of the snail Lymnaea acuminata with only 0.23% of 40% and 80% of the 48-hour LC50 dose of car- baryl mixed with five times the concentration of PBO induced the same lethal effects as 40% and 80% of the LC50 dose alone. Neither carbaryl nor PBO by themselves caused any major changes in the tissues of the snails when applied in the concentrations used in the carbaryl-PBO mixtures. Since PBO is rapidly biodegradable, and thus short-lived in the environment, a reduction of 70% in the amount of carbaryl used in snail baits would provide considerable benefits to birds and wildlife. A concentration of 0.8% PBO reduced feeding in Formosian termites to 27% compared with 58% for 0.1% PBO and 55% with acetone alone. In addition, at the higher concentration level, termites exposed to PBO sometimes turned brown and shiny, indicating that PBO does deter feeding. PBO possibly affects the termites metabolically overtime and may prove to be lethal as well as a deterrent.