What is Thiamethoxam?

Thiamethoxam

When encountering pests in your home or garden it’s best to have an insecticide that makes quick work of the insects so they don’t continue to cause damage and multiply their population. One such active ingredient that does a great job of this is a neonicotinoid known as Thiamethoxam.

What is Thiamethoxam?

Thiamethoxam is a common active ingredient in a number of broad-spectrum insecticides for pest control. Thiamethoxam is synthetic and is known as a second-generation neonicotinoid compound belonging to the chemical subclass the Thianicotinyls. Much like nicotine, Thiamethoxam acts on certain types of receptors in the nerve synapse affecting the insects' normal bodily functions.

Aside from being a general insecticide, Thiamethoxam can also be used as a foliar application, a soil treatment, and a seed treatment. Thiamethoxam is systemic, meaning it can be rapidly taken up by the plant, moving through from the leaves all the way down to the roots.

Thiamethoxam was first developed by Syngenta in 2002. Thiamethoxam effectively controls sucking and chewing insects, including aphids, whitefly, thrips, ricehoppers, rice bugs, mealybugs, white grubs, potato beetles, flea beetles, wireworms, ground beetles, leaf miners among others.

How Does Thiamethoxam Work?

Thiamethoxam is a neonicotinoid insecticide. This means that the chemical behaves like the addictive drug nicotine. Thiamethoxam’s mode of action is achieved by disrupting the nervous system of the targeted insect when the insect either ingests or absorbs the poison into its body. An exposed insect loses control of their body and suffer symptoms such as twitching and convulsions, paralysis, and eventual death.

Benefits of Thiamethoxam

As a neonicotinoid, Thiamethoxam is effective against a wide range of insects. It also is less likely to experience resistance from insects. It does well against sap-sucking insect plants and can be applied directly to the plant foliage or to the soil.

Thiamethoxam's systemic action and transfer effect to other insects also makes it beneficial in protecting plants from insect damage.

Drawbacks of Thiamethoxam

Thiamethoxam can be harmful to non-intended targets and beneficial insects like honeybees so you will need to be careful where you apply it and make sure you do not apply where bees are active.

Is Thiamethoxam Safe?

Thiamethoxam is safe to use when applied according to label directions. When handling products containing Thiamethoxam, we recommend using gloves and protective clothing when spraying such products. Please use the product according to the instructions on the label and closely follow the safety measures on the label when applying the product.

What To Expect

In as quickly as 30 minutes after the insect has come into contact with Thiamethoxam, the insect begins to experience overstimulation, then paralysis, and finally death. Thiamethoxam is much more toxic to invertebrates, like insects, than they are to mammals, birds, and other higher organisms.

Thiamethoxam works at all stages of insect development, whether they are an egg, larvae or an adult. Insects are affected mainly by ingestion and may be affected by some forms of contact as well.