Fungus 1, Cockroaches 0
A new pesticide hopes to win the battle of the bugs by using natural agents instead of synthetic chemicals.
The Bio-Path Cockroach Control Chamber uses the fungus Matarhizium anisopliae to kill cockroaches.
The fungus, normally found in soil, lives inside a small plastic chamber and jumps on any roach that crawls through. But unlike some other types of roach traps, this one lets the roaches crawl out and live long enough to brush up against others, infecting them as well.
Bio-Path is the first insecticide registered in Florida that doesn’t contain chemicals, according to its manufacturer, EcoScience Corp. of Worcester, Mass.
It should be available to the public by the end of the summer.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
