Novartis Animal Health has introduced Natunex, a new line of non-toxic biocides derived from plants' essential oils that provide insect control in livestock and production animal facilities.

Natunex patented formulations of natural insecticides are proven to deliver efficacy that's comparable or superior to chemical-based insecticides, without their toxicity, safety concerns, resistance issues or application limitations, Novartis says.

New insect control product from Novartis provides non-toxic biocide option, the company says

"With Natunex, producers, facility managers and farm employees get excellent pest control while avoiding the laundry list of safety precautions, environmental concerns and application warnings that usually go hand-in-hand with chemical-based pest control products," said Gary Bosch, DVM, Vice President Sales and Marketing, Novartis Animal Health.

Natunex kills by contact, and Novartis says studies show it frequently provided a quicker kill than the chemical insecticides it was compared against. The technology platform, developed by TyraTech, Inc., works by blocking specific tyramine nerve receptors that are only active in insects and parasites. These receptors are not active in humans and other mammals, which is why Natunex is non-toxic and poses minimal safety risk to people or animals.

Complete product line
The Natunex product line includes six formulations to control a wide variety of insects that can carry disease or negatively impact health. Two liquid formulations are available—Natunex Ready To Use Insect Killer and Natunex Drain Fly Killer. Natunex TechDust is a powder-based product.

Aerosol products include Natunex Crawling Insect Killer, Natunex Flying Insect Killer and Natunex Stinging Insect Killer.

An important benefit of Natunex is that it doesn't have the resistance issues that have developed with many chemical insecticides, Novartis says.

Source: Novartis