Toxicity, repellent and oviposition deterrent effects of select essential oils against the house fly Musca domestica

Abstract

Abstract Essential oils from plants may provide environment-friendly alternatives to conventional synthetic insecticides. Here, toxic, repellent, and oviposition deterrent effects of essential oils of six plants: Allium sativum L. (Alliaceae), Azadirachta indica A. Juss. (Meliaceae), Cinnamomum cassia (L.) (Lauraceae), Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. (Myrtaceae), Piper nigrum L. (Piperaceae), and Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) (Apocynaceae), were evaluated against different life stages of Musca domestica. Bioassays revealed that the essential oils of A. indica, T. peruviana and E. camaldulensis exhibited: a) the highest toxicity on larvae (LC50\xa0=\xa0169.72, 182.23 and 277.01\xa0ppm, respectively), pupae (LC50\xa0=\xa0150.56, 164.84 and 164.87\xa0ppm, respectively) and adults (LC50\xa0=\xa0166.69, 139.15 and 302.75\xa0ppm, respectively) of M. domestica; b) the highest repellency (91.44, 72.19 and 72.80%, respectively) and oviposition deterrent (90.36, 88.82 and 89.13%, respectively) effects on adults of M. domestica, as compared to the other essential oils. Moreover, the speed of mortality caused by essential oils of A. indica (LT50\xa0=\xa016.85 and 17.06\xa0h for larvae and adults, respectively) and T. peruviana (LT50\xa0=\xa016.46 and 18.58\xa0h for larvae and adults, respectively) was faster than the rest of the essential oils. On the whole, it might be expected that the essential oils of A. indica, T. peruviana and E. camaldulensis could be developed into a new type of environment-friendly insecticides and/or repellents for the management of M. domestica.