Vigilante is an
insecticide
Insecticides are substances used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and by consumers. Insecticides are claimed to b ...
used with both
dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...
and
beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus'').
In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...
to reduce the number of flies in an agricultural area. It is usually formatted as a 50-gram
bolus containing 9.7%
diflubenzuron
Diflubenzuron is an insecticide of the benzoylurea class. It is used in forest management and on field crops to selectively control insect pests, particularly forest tent caterpillar moths, boll weevils, gypsy moths, and other types of moths. I ...
,
[Uniroyal Chemical]
EPA product sheet for Vigilante
2001-09-27 an
insect growth regulator
An insect growth regulator (IGR) is a substance (chemical) that inhibits the life cycle of an insect. IGRs are typically used as insecticides to control populations of harmful insect pests such as cockroaches and fleas.
Advantages
Many IGRs are la ...
which inhibits the formation of
chitin
Chitin ( C8 H13 O5 N)n ( ) is a long-chain polymer of ''N''-acetylglucosamine, an amide derivative of glucose. Chitin is probably the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature (behind only cellulose); an estimated 1 billion tons of chit ...
and prevents insects from reproducing.
The bolus is administered via
balling gun
Balling may refer to:
People
*Erik Balling (1924–2005), Danish film director
*Michael Balling (1866–1925), German violist and conductor
*Rich Balling (fl. 1997–2010), American musician, producer, and curator
*Robert Balling (born 1952), Amer ...
. It is effective in reducing populations of
horn flies and
face flies for approximately 10–16 weeks.
Vigilante was originally produced by
American Cyanamid
American Cyanamid Company was a leading American conglomerate which became one of the nation's top 100 manufacturing companies during the 1970s and 1980s, according to the Fortune 500 listings at the time. It started in fertilizer, but added ...
, and was the first
larvicide
A larvicide (alternatively larvacide) is an insecticide that is specifically targeted against the larval life stage of an insect. Their most common use is against mosquitoes. Larvicides may be contact poisons, stomach poisons, growth regulators, o ...
marketed as a bolus. After the breakup of American Cyanamid, Vigilante was manufactured by
Uniroyal Chemical
The company formerly known as the United States Rubber Company, now Uniroyal, is an American manufacturer of tires and other synthetic rubber-related products, as well as variety of items for military use, such as ammunition, explosives, chemical ...
and then by
Chemtura
Chemtura Corporation was a global corporation headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with its other principal executive office in Middlebury, Connecticut. Merged into Lanxess in 2017, the company focused on specialty chemicals for various i ...
.
It is best used as part of an
integrated pest management
Integrated pest management (IPM), also known as integrated pest control (IPC) is a broad-based approach that integrates both chemical and non-chemical practices for economic control of pests. IPM aims to suppress pest populations below the econ ...
program in combination with other fly-control methods such as insecticidal tags, backrubbers, and periodic spraying.
References
{{Reflist
Insecticide brands
Insect control