1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of controlling certain soil inhibiting larvae with O,O-diethyhl O-(1,2,2,2-tetrachloroethyl)phosphorothioate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,027,296 describes a number of halogenated phosphorus esters, including O,O-diethyl O-(1,2,2,2-tetrachloroethyl)phosphorothioate at columns 7 and 8, as insecticides. This patent shows testing of certain of the halogenated phosphorus esters for insecticidal activity on houseflies, two-spotted mites and pea aphids. None of these tests involved application and use of these halogenated phosphorus compounds as soil insecticides in the soil habitat of insects or their larvae. The patent suggests that the compounds have systemic insecticidal activity when applied to the soil in the vicinity of growing plants or directly to the plants.
East German Pat. No. 123,096 also discloses various polyhaloalkyl phosphate esters, including O,O-dimethyl and O,O-diethyl O-(1,2,2,2-tetrachloroethyl)phosphorothioate as compounds 41 and 42, and broadly their use as insecticides.
Several commercial materials are used for control of soil insects or their larvae, which feed on growing plants, including ##STR1##
None of these commercial materials provides the high degree of control of insect larvae which inhabit the soil and feed on growing plants that is afforded by the tetrachloroethyl phosphorothioate of the present invention.