This product is discontinued. If needed, please use another product: Malathion.
Chlorpyrifos (also known as chlorpyrifos or toxic chlorpyrifos) has many alternative products and methods. Because it is a highly toxic organophosphate insecticide with a significant environmental burden, its use in home gardening and agriculture has been gradually banned or strictly restricted in many parts of the world.
Depending on the target pest you need to control (plant pests or house/bed bugs), you can refer to the following safer alternatives:
1. Alternatives for Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Pests
If you were previously using chlorpyrifos to control aphids, spider mites, caterpillars, and other plant pests, the Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and farms recommend the following environmentally friendly and conventional pesticide alternatives:
- Environmentally friendly and non-toxic natural materials (preferred):
- Malathion: we often recommend this ingredient as a direct and conventional alternative after chlorpyrifos was discontinued.: Retailers often recommend this ingredient as a direct and conventional alternative after chlorpyrifos was discontinued.
- Azadirachtin/Neem Oil: Interferes with pest growth, highly effective against ants and aphids.
- Natural Pyrethrins/Matrine: Natural extracts with contact toxicity against various insects, decomposes quickly and leaves no residue.
- Mineral Oil/Narrow-Range Oil: Kills pests and their eggs through physical suffocation, suitable for controlling spider mites and scale insects.
- Homemade Safe Insect Repellent: Dilute dish soap (2-3cc) + baking soda (1g) + water (550cc) and spray to effectively eliminate aphids, spider mites, and mealybugs.
2. Household Pests, Bedhoppers (Psyllids), and Environmental Alternatives: Phosphorus chloride was often recommended by some old-fashioned stores for killing bedhoppers, but its strong volatility can easily cause acute inhalation poisoning in humans. For home pest control, it is recommended to use the following low-toxicity, safer environmental pesticides:
Synthetic pyrethroids (conventional chemical agents):
For example, Fendon, Cybermethrin, or Permethrin. These agents are highly toxic to insects but have extremely low toxicity to mammals (humans, cats, and dogs), and are widely used to control mosquitoes, cockroaches, ants, and termites.
Physical, non-toxic lice-repellent powders (specifically for bed bugs):
Chinchex or DE powder (diatomaceous earth): These work by rupturing the insect's exoskeleton, causing dehydration and death. These physical powders do not volatilize and are much safer for home use compared to toxic chemical gases like phosmet (but a mask should still be worn during spraying to avoid inhaling dust).
EcoRaider: An insecticide based on natural plant essential oils, effective against bed bugs and safe for humans and animals.
3. Biopesticide Alternatives
If pesticides are still necessary, consider switching to less toxic and more environmentally friendly alternatives, depending on the type of pest:
* **Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt):** A biopesticide specifically targeting certain insects (such as butterfly and moth larvae, mosquito and fly larvae), completely harmless to humans, livestock, birds, and beneficial insects.
* **Azadirachtin:** A natural plant-based insecticide extracted from the neem tree, it interferes with the growth and development of pests and causes them to refuse food, effective against various horticultural pests.
4. Physical and Natural Control Alternatives (Recommended for Home and General Gardening)
If using pesticides at home, on a balcony, or in a small vegetable garden, it is recommended to prioritize physical or natural formulations to completely avoid the toxic residues of chemical pesticides:
* **Pest Type:** Physical/Natural Alternative
* **Control Principle and Application:**
* **Aphids, Spider Mites, Whiteflies:** Narrow-area oil/Sunflower Dew
* **Utilizes oil to coat the insect's body, causing it to suffocate and die.**
Soft-bodied insects, ants, fleas: Diatomaceous earth (food grade) has tiny, sharp edges that can pierce the insect's exoskeleton, causing it to dehydrate and die. Simply sprinkle it around plants or on the soil surface.
Flying insects (such as black-winged fungus flies, fruit flies): Yellow/blue sticky traps. These physically trap insects by utilizing their phototaxis.
Various horticultural pests: Wood vinegar/chili water. These have a strong odor and are mainly used to repel pests and inhibit pathogens.
Chlorpyrifos exposure may lead to acute toxicity at higher doses. Persistent health effects follow acute poisoning or from long-term exposure to low doses, and developmental effects appear in fetuses and children even at very small doses.
「甲基陶斯松」和「陶斯松」(Chlorpyrifos) 是國際間廣泛使用的有機磷殺蟲劑，常作為環境用藥，用來防治蚊子、孑孓、蟑螂、螞蟻、跳蚤、白蟻、蟑螂等。
陶斯松是透過影響昆蟲的神經傳導，讓昆蟲麻痺、死亡。但如果人類長期、過度暴露在這類藥劑中，也會危害人體的神經傳導，特別是嬰幼兒、孕婦等族群。
有關禁用陶斯松的議題在國際間已討論多年，目前在歐洲、美國已逐步禁用。本港預告修正《環境用藥禁止含有之成分及檢驗方法》，將「陶斯松」和「甲基陶斯松」列為禁用成分。草案預告後，待正式公告後，將禁止陶斯松在環境用藥的製造、加工、輸入，不再核發許可證。
"Methyl chlorpyrifos" and "chlorpyrifos" are widely used organophosphate insecticides internationally, commonly used as environmental pesticides to control mosquitoes, larvae, cockroaches, ants, fleas, termites, etc.
Chlorpyrifos works by affecting the nerve conduction of insects, causing them to become paralyzed and die. However, long-term and excessive exposure to these pesticides can also harm human nerve conduction, especially in infants, young children, and pregnant women.
The issue of banning chlorpyrifos has been discussed internationally for many years, and it has been gradually banned in Europe and the United States. Hong Kong is expected to amend the "Prohibited Ingredients and Testing Methods for Environmental Pesticides," listing "chlorpyrifos" and "methyl chlorpyrifos" as prohibited ingredients. After the draft is announced and formally promulgated, the manufacture, processing, and import of chlorpyrifos into environmental pesticides will be prohibited, and licenses will no longer be issued.
a broad-spectrum insecticide formulated as an emulsifiable concentrate (EC) containing 40% chlorpyrifos. It is used to control various pests in agriculture, including bollworms, stem borers, aphids, and termites. It works by disrupting the nervous system of insects, leading to paralysis and death.
