Use Only Approved Mosquito Destroyer Brands

The Pesticides Control Authority (PCA) is advising Jamaicans to only purchase and use approved mosquito destroyer brands.

The authority has approved five brands for use locally. These are: Baygon; Bugoff; Dragon; Protox; and Vape. “These pesticides have been properly evaluated and that is the reason why they have been approved for use in Jamaica,” said Head of the PCA, Michael Ramsey.

In November of last year, the PCA issued a warning to the public not to use the black mosquito destroyer coils, which are being illegally imported into the island.  The Customs Department has seized numerous containers of the product over the past months.

Mr. Ramsay said the authority in “very concerned” about the product, which he said, has not been approved or registered for use in the island, and could be harmful to health.

“The problem with the black mosquito destroyer coil is that nobody has applied to have them registered with all the information needed to evaluate them and since we have not been able to evaluate all the information required, we don’t know what risk it poses when it is used,” he stated.

“Mosquito destroyer coils, in general, contain pesticides and that’s how they kill the mosquitoes, but such pesticides can be harmful to health and the environment, and that is why the Pesticides Control Authority has to receive application from persons, who want to import such pesticides,” Mr. Ramsay told JIS News.

He stated that one of the roles of the authority is to “evaluate the label to see if it has all the information required such as how to use it safely and what to do if someone is affected by the pesticide”.

Mr. Ramsey is also encouraging Jamaicans to read the labels of all pesticides carefully and follow the instructions for their safe use.