How to Use insecticide in a Sentence

insecticide

noun
Definition of insecticidenext
Synonyms for insecticidenext
  • To fight back the swarms, the owner doused the sheep in a wash of the insecticide permethrin.
    — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 8 Aug. 2018
  • If that doesn't work, pour straight boric acid on the colony, or use an insecticide spray.
    — Angela Watson, chicagotribune.com, 3 Apr. 2021
  • An insecticide is being used to kill the fleas that are spreading the disease to the prairie dogs.
    — Emily Caron, SI.com, 2 Aug. 2019
  • Many of these types of products contain oil as the insecticide which can burn the foliage of the plants.
    — Chris McKeown, The Enquirer, 22 June 2024
  • The insecticide made its way into the food chain and caused eggshells to become frail and brittle.
    — Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2023
  • There’s no need to pull out the insecticide, DeVries says.
    — Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 16 May 2022
  • But bed nets need to be replaced every 3 years, as the insecticide wears off and nets tear.
    — Leslie Roberts, Science | AAAS, 17 Aug. 2020
  • The insecticide sprays for yellow jackets are labeled for use as spray to treat the nest.
    — oregonlive, 20 Sep. 2020
  • As the swarms reached Kenya this month, the UN appealed for $70m to pay for, among other things, the aerial spraying of insecticide in east Africa.
    — The Economist, 1 Feb. 2020
  • An insecticide bath took care of the bugs on the sheep, and a hard freeze in November eliminated the ones in the paddock.
    — Maryn McKenna, WIRED, 28 June 2019
  • One colony got treated with all three insecticides, one at a time.
    — Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 2 July 2019
  • Some like the soap and oil sprays are contact insecticides that must hit the mealybugs to be effective.
    — Tom MacCubbin, Orlando Sentinel, 15 June 2024
  • Carson sounded the alarm over the dire insecticide threat to that abundance.
    — Washington Post, 1 Oct. 2020
  • Try using an insecticide rinse to wash away the residue left behind.
    — Steve Bender, Southern Living, 25 Jan. 2024
  • This can be done by using a systemic insecticide through a soil drench.
    — Chris McKeown, The Enquirer, 16 Mar. 2024
  • The spray can travel about 15 feet, keeping you out of harm’s way while the residual insecticide eliminates the rest of the nest.
    — Washington Post, 26 Apr. 2021
  • Stay alert to bronzing and crinkling of the leaves and apply an insecticide as needed.
    — Tom MacCubbin, orlandosentinel.com, 29 Aug. 2020
  • Flumethrin is a pyrethroid insecticide that is only used in one product: Seresto.
    — Johnathan Hettinger, USA TODAY, 8 Apr. 2021
  • The effects of this powerful insecticide can last for up to 12 months.
    — Kat De Naoum, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Apr. 2023
  • The nymphs are sheltered within the cupped leaves and are very difficult to treat with a contact insecticide.
    — Tim Johnson, chicagotribune.com, 13 June 2021
  • But in recent years, resistance to the main insecticide used to treat nets, pyrethroid, has been spreading.
    — Bygretchen Vogel, science.org, 15 Mar. 2023
  • Then the James suffered a second blow when the insecticide Kepone was illegally dumped in the river in the '60s and '70s.
    — Tamara Dietrich, baltimoresun.com, 13 July 2019
  • Neem oil is a fungicide, an insecticide and a miticide.
    — oregonlive, 26 Dec. 2020
  • There are insecticides labeled for control of white grubs in turf.
    — Neil Sperry, ExpressNews.com, 26 Dec. 2019
  • It’s used as an insecticide that kills bugs on contact and as a repellent when applied to clothes.
    — Kevin Cortez, Popular Mechanics, 27 June 2023
  • Pick them off with a toothpick or use a systemic insecticide formula to get rid of them.
    — Mariah Thomas, Good Housekeeping, 31 Oct. 2022
  • Kids on bikes happily ride behind a truck spraying clouds of insecticide in the air.
    — Kyle Smith, National Review, 2 Apr. 2022
  • One evening he was welcomed by a farmer to pitch his tent in an orchard and awoke in the morning to a tractor spraying his campsite with insecticide.
    — Gregory Thomas, SFChronicle.com, 14 June 2020
  • Keep in Mind Because this is a repellent and not an insecticide, some mosquitoes may still be present, although the number is reduced.
    — Megan Newton, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 Sep. 2024
  • Apply the insecticide safely by following the label instructions, preferably at dusk or night when wasps are less active, and maintain a safe distance.
    — Tiffany Acosta, The Arizona Republic, 16 Aug. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'insecticide.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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