If you own or have ever owned a garden you know firsthand how difficult it can be to keep insects off fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants. Many types of aerosol insecticides prove to be too harsh to apply to plants and too dangerous to apply to fruits and vegetables due to the product seeping into the food—which would be dangerous to ingest.
A dust form of insecticide is a much better option due to the dust being easily washable on plant foods and highly effective as a residual that kills insects once they crawl through it. Sevin Dust is one of the most popular brands of outdoor insecticide dust and is used in both gardens and ornamental shrubs and flowering plants. This product is toxic yet is easily washable if problematic pests are invading your vegetable garden.
How to use and apply Sevin Dust? Sevin Dust contains the insecticide carbaryl; a potent chemical that destabilizes the central nervous system of outdoor insects. The dust should be applied directly to plants where insects will crawl into it and die.
What is Sevin Dust?
Sevin Dust is made of the chemical carbaryl which works as a central nervous system antagonist in insects, severely limiting the reception of acetylcholine, leading to death. Although this chemical can be highly toxic and carcinogenic to humans, if proper handling is utilized, the effects on insect elimination are profound and trusted since the introduction of the chemical in the 1950s.
Due to the increased toxicity, this product is not recommended to be used inside of the home, where other dusts are safer and better tolerated. Sevin Dust is relatively easy to apply, and it is formulated to kill upwards of sixty-five problem insects.
Sevin Dust is one of the most popular outdoor insecticides and is used in both residential and commercial properties to eradicate numerous pests. The product has the appearance of a white powder and although this can be unattractive for ornamental plants, the effects are well worth the temporary inconvenience.
This product can also be deadly to beneficial insects, such as bees, therefore, it is important to target the pest wreaking havoc on your garden and lawn to avoid destroying insects that help to pollinate your ornamentals.
What Insects Does Sevin Dust Kill?
Sevin Dust is advertised to kill 65 types of exterior insects, although, in all reality, this product can destroy virtually any insect that crosses through it. Practically any type of outdoor insect is susceptible to the poison. The best way to use this poison is to control insects that damage crops and ornamental plants, such as ants, cabbage worms, beetles, squash bugs, boxelder bugs, and caterpillars.
Carbaryl is a versatile insecticide due to its ability to kill insects that encounter it either by ingestion or simply walking through the dust. The chemical is a powerful and potent neurotoxin that destabilizes the central nervous system and paralyzes insects rendering them lifeless.
The dust formulation of Sevin is beneficial due to its residual components, which makes the hassle of having to directly spray an insect obsolete. This product can also be highly deadly to many noninvasive species such as bees, as well as aquatic animals. This pesticide is extremely toxic to fish, aquatic invertebrates, oysters and shrimp.
To protect your local environment, do not allow pesticide to enter or run off into storm drains, drainage ditches, gutters or surface waters in or around your yard.
Applying this product in calm weather when rain is not predicted for the next 24 hours will help to ensure that wind or rain does not blow or wash pesticide off the treatment area.
Additionally, rinsing any application equipment over the treated, such as a dust applicator, or even your hands, will help avoid runoff to water bodies or drainage systems. Care should be used when spraying to avoid fish and reptile pets in/around ornamental ponds. This product is highly toxic to bees exposed to direct treatment or residues on blooming crops or weeds. Do not apply this product or allow it to drift to blooming crops or weeds if bees are near the foliage.
Even though Sevin Dust is very harsh to many non-pest insects and aquatic animals, its powerful efficacy for destroying outdoor pests is hard to resist.
How to Use Sevin Dust
Since this product is made for outdoor pests, it can be laboriously applied without the fear of a nasty, unattractive mess as some interior insecticide dust. Always apply this product with a pair of latex gloves and shake the product lightly overall crop and ornamental plants. A light dusting will suffice, and it is important to coat the entire plant to have every exposed part covered in the poison. When an insect crawls or lands on the plant, they will generally die within minutes of contact.
It is important to remember that this product needs to thoroughly dry to be truly effective. Check your weather and be sure that no rain is predicted within the next 24-48 hours or be sure and apply this product after it rains and allows 24-48 hours for the product to dry. Also, be sure and avoid watering plants treated with the insecticide until the product can completely dry.
How Long Does it Take Sevin Dust to Work?
Since outdoor insects are a lot more independent and spread out than indoor bugs, the time it takes Sevin Dust to work can vary. The chemical can kill an insect within minutes once they are exposed to it; however, it can take quite a long time to eliminate problem pests due to the insect’s freedom to venture to your garden whenever they decide. Once dried, this product can remain active for weeks at a time before the need to reapply the product.
Recommended: How dangerous is Delta Insecticide Dust?
Is Sevin Dust Harmful to Humans?
This product is very useful and truly works in eliminating garden pests; however, carbaryl can be extremely toxic to humans. When you use it, wear waterproof gloves, a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, shoes with socks and chemical-resistant headwear. Overexposure can cause a range of symptoms, including blurred vision, breathing difficulty, abdominal cramps, muscle tremors, diarrhea, and vomiting.
More serious complications range from convulsions and unconsciousness to respiratory failure. If you get Sevin on your skin or in your eyes or if you inhale or swallow it, call a poison control center or doctor immediately. Have the product container or label with you when you call.
Is Sevin Dust Safe to Use Around Pets?
Much like humans, Sevin Dust can be toxic to pets as well. This can be problematic since our pets also have to venture outdoors to use the bathroom and exercise. The great thing about Sevin Dust as opposed to Sevin granules, the dust formulation can be contained to gardens and plants—which can be more easily monitored by you when your pet is outdoors. If your pet does happen to ingest this product, consult a veterinarian immediately to ensure that your pet doesn’t suffer potentially lethal effects.
Is Sevin Dust Safe to Use Indoors?
It must be understood that Sevin Dust is made to be used outdoors and not inside of the home. This product is toxic to humans and pets and due to this concern, it is not safe to use this product as an indoor residual. There is a wide range of generally safe dust insecticides that can be used indoors that do not have the toxic effects as Sevin Dust. Although this product could potentially kill indoor pests, the potential side effects in humans and pets make it an unsafe choice to apply inside of the home.
In Summary
Sevin Dust (carbaryl) is a powerful outdoor insecticide that can be used to control a variety of pests that wreak havoc on gardens, crops, and ornamental foliage. You may have heard of dust formulation insecticides that work well as indoor, residual products, but one of the first insecticides to be formulated as the dust was carbaryl for agricultural uses.
A light dusting of this product on your outdoor plants can work wonders to keep insects from destroying your crops or ornamentals. it is important to allow this product to dry before rain or watering takes place to ensure that the chemical is completely stuck to the plants in question.
Sevin Dust is a miracle product for outdoor pests; however, carbaryl can be potentially toxic to humans, pets, as well as noninvasive insects such as bees as well as aquatic animals. Safety measures should be adhered to when applying this product to ensure that no contact is made between humans, pets, or aquatic invertebrates.
With the potential toxic problems aside; Sevin Dust is incredibly effective for outdoor use and it is also important to remember that this product is not recommended for indoor use due to its powerful toxicity. If you are trying to eliminate a pesky and destructive outdoor pest, this classic insecticide is a must to have in your arsenal.
