BackgroundFor the purpose of environmental safety, many essential oils were recommended in many Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs to protect plants from insect’s infestations and have few effects on non-target organisms and the environment. This study was aimed to investigate and estimate the activity of four nano essential oils against tested insects under laboratory and store conditions.MethodsThe nano encapsulation process was carried out by polymerization technology. The tested nano oils were experimented at tested concentration (0.5%) for their insecticidal activities against the third-instar larvae of tested insects. After 7 days of exposure, accumulative mortality percentages were calculated in the treated and untreated control. Also, the tested nano oils were sprayed to the foam granules and were mixed with wheat (2 g foam/100 g wheat) for testing the oviposition inhibitory effects of tested oils. Additionally, the experiment was designed to test the persistent effect of tested oils against Ephestia kuehniella and E. cautella on foam as surface protectant after 90-day intervals.ResultsThe larval accumulative mortality of tested insect species enhanced progressively with the increase of exposition times (7 days). In the case of tested insects, rosemary oil gave the highest accumulative mortality percentages. The persistence effects of tested nano oils on foam and covering gunny bags showed various biological activates by reducing number of eggs, almost suppressing the percentages of progeny emergence (F1) and high percentages of malformation of tested insects. The efficacy of the tested nano oils on the weight loss of wheat grains after 90 days of storage was experimented.ConclusionResults of this work and that of other researchers indicate that some essential oils might be useful for managing insects in enclosed spaces because of their fumigant action. Plant essential oils and their active ingredient have potentially high bioactivity against a range of insects. Furthermore, they are highly selective to insects. Incorporation of essential oils into a controlled release nanoformulation prevents rapid vaporization and degradation, increases constancy, and preserves the lower effective dosage/application. Treated foam with nano rosemary and nano eucalyptus oil and covering gunny bags provided many efficient effects against tested insects.