What Is Indoxacarb?

Indoxacarb

Cockroaches are a common irritating pest to have in the home and there are many pest control product found on store shelves which try to address their infestations. However, few are as effective as a product that contains a powerful active ingredient used in a number of cockroach baits. This active ingredient is called Indoxacarb and is a popular chemical used in the Advion brand of insect control products.

What Is Indoxacarb?

Indoxacarb is a relatively new insecticide first produced by DuPont Professional Products in 2000 and marketed in the U.S. under a variety of different brand names. It is also the main active ingredient in the popular Advion brand of insecticide baits.

In its original form, Indoxacarb is a white powder. Indoxacarb comes in a number of different formulations but is most known for coming in granular form or indoor gel bait. Pest control products that contain Indoxacarb are usually used on a wide range of crops for ants, roaches, and other plant-damaging pests.

How Does Indoxacarb Work?

Mode of Action

Indoxacarb is part of the oxadiazine family of insecticides and has a relatively new mode of action compared to other insecticides. Indoxacarb’s works by blocking nerve cells in the insect, stopping the flow of sodium ions to the cells.

This flowing of sodium ions is crucial to the target insect's nervous system functioning. The disruption results in the insect suffering from tremors, losing their appetite, paralysis and eventual death.

Benefits of Indoxacarb

Indoxacarb is a very effective product with a unique mode of action that other insecticides to not have. Best of all, when the Indoxacarb is used in bait form, it is very attractive to the target insects and they will readily consume the bait and pass it along to other insects.

Based on scientific tests, Indoxacarb has also shown that it will remain effective through three generations of cockroaches, resulting in the death of many roaches from a single application.

Use Indoxacarb to treat for ants, roaches and other labeled household pests that are infesting indoors or outdoors.

Drawbacks of Indoxacarb

Indoxacarb is effective but it is slow-acting. It could take a few days for the insect that has ingested Indoxacarb to die. If there's a big infestation, you may not see the desired result of a depleted population for a couple of weeks. Indoxacarb has also shown to become bait averse to some species of adaptable cockroaches, rendering it ineffective in some cases.

Do not use Indoxacarb alone when dealing with a large infestation. You may need to supplement Indoxacarb with other pesticides that will kill your target pest.

Is Indoxacarb Safe?

Indoxacarb is safe to apply when applied according to label directions. Make sure to wear the proper safety gear and equipment when handling this product such as gloves, protective eyewear, safety mask, and long-sleeved clothing. Make sure to avoid treated areas until the product has completely dried.

What to Expect

Indoxacarb is not an instant kill product. It could take a few days for an insect to succumb to the effects of this slow-killing active ingredient. If you have a heavy infestation, apply a plentiful amount of bait in areas where you have seen insects active. Reapplication may be necessary to replenish the eaten bait.