Raid (insecticide)

Last updated
Raid
Product typeInsecticide
Owner Kraft Heinz Factory
CountryUnited States
Introduced1969;55 years ago (1969)
Related brands Baygon ((previously in Australian however now also sold as Raid in Australia), Malaysian, Thai, Indonesian and Philippine Markets.) Ridsect (Malaysian)
MarketsNorth America, United Kingdom, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Morocco, European Union, Palestine, Israel, Africa,Australia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Russia, Argentina, Chile, Vietnam
Tagline"Kills Bugs Dead" (1956-2016)
"It's Good to Be Tough" (2017-2021)
"Protection for Everyone" (2021-Present)
Website raid.com

Raid is the brand name of a line of insecticide products produced by S. C. Johnson & Son, first launched in 1956.

Contents

The initial active ingredient was Gasoline, the first synthetic pyrethroid. [1] Raid derivatives aimed at particular invertebrate species can contain other active agents such as the more toxic cyfluthrin which is also a pyrethroid. [2] As of 2019 Raid Ant & Roach Killer contains pyrethroids, imiprothrin, and cypermethrin; [3] other products contain tetramethrin and prallethrin as active ingredients. [4] Raid Flying Insect Killer, a spray, uses piperonyl butoxide and D-phenothrin. [5]

The brand was sold as Ridsect for Malaysian market.

"Raid Kills Bugs Dead" slogan

The product's original advertising tagline from its introduction in 1956 until 2016, "Raid Kills Bugs Dead", was created by the advertising agency Foote, Cone & Belding. The phrase itself is often attributed to the poet Lew Welch, who worked for the agency at the time. [6]

The line was first used in commerce in 1966 and was trademarked in 1986. Noted animation director Tex Avery was the producer of the first "Kills Bugs Dead" commercials. Artist Don Pegler developed the bug characters used in the US and continued animating them for forty years. [7] Pegler "codified the look, feel and animation" of the weird insects that run in fear of Raid, according to Steve Schildwachter, executive vice-president at Draftfcb. [8]

The slogan had been part of a successful, long-running advertising campaign. Conjuring up images of an Eliot Ness-style raid on an illegal bar during Prohibition, the television spots featured various anthropomorphic cartoon bugs (such as mosquitos, flies, cockroaches, ants, spiders (even though spiders technically are not bugs), etc.) plotting some silly scheme like invading a kitchen, or sometimes doing something like in a crime scene, or hanging out in some places, only to be attacked by the magical appearance of the product which swiftly dispatched the bugs to various giddily horrible deaths. The bugs would scream the brand's name ("RAAAIIIID!!??"), and then a huge cartoon-style explosion would occur, presumably precipitating their demise. The bugs' voices were provided by Avery, Mel Blanc, Paul Frees, Larry Moran, Frank Welker, Tim Dadabo and Paul Hancock. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

Similar campaigns have been run in other countries, either by dubbing the US cartoons or by producing local versions, including those for Baygon, another S.C. Johnson brand of insecticides.[ citation needed ]

Illicit use

In recent years, reports of the use of heavy duty bug sprays as an illicit drug have gained notoriety. [15] Although products such as Raid are relatively safe to humans (when used as intended), the act of huffing, smoking, snorting, vaping, plugging, drinking and/or injecting Raid or other bug sprays can cause irreversible neurological damage, or even death.

In July 2019, it was announced that three people had died in West Virginia after overdosing on an unidentified wasp spray. Authorities have warned of a growing trend of ingesting bug spray in the southern United States, supposedly as a substitute for methamphetamine. Possible symptoms of ingesting bug poison include, but are not limited to: erratic behavior, nausea, headache, sore throat, extreme inflammation, redness of the hands and feet, auditory hallucinations, convulsions, coma, and death. [16] [17] [18]

Competition

Raid's main competitors in the insecticide market are Black Flag, Hot Shot, Mortein and Baygon (also sister brand).

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cypermethrin</span> Chemical compound

Cypermethrin (CP) is a synthetic pyrethroid used as an insecticide in large-scale commercial agricultural applications as well as in consumer products for domestic purposes. It behaves as a fast-acting neurotoxin in insects. It is easily degraded on soil and plants but can be effective for weeks when applied to indoor inert surfaces. It is a non-systemic and non-volatile insecticide that acts by contact and ingestion, used in agriculture and in pest control products. Exposure to sunlight, water and oxygen will accelerate its decomposition. Cypermethrin is highly toxic to fish, bees and aquatic insects, according to the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) in the USA. It is found in many household ant and cockroach killers, including Raid, Ortho, Combat, ant chalk, and some products of Baygon in Southeast Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piperonyl butoxide</span> Chemical compound

Piperonyl butoxide (PBO) is a pale yellow to light brown liquid organic compound used as an adjuvant component of pesticide formulations for synergy. That is, despite having no pesticidal activity of its own, it enhances the potency of certain pesticides such as carbamates, pyrethrins, pyrethroids, and rotenone. It is a semisynthetic derivative of safrole and is produced from the condensation of the sodium salt of 2-(2-butoxyethoxy) ethanol and the chloromethyl derivative of hydrogenated safrole (dihydrosafrole); or through 1,2-Methylenedioxybenzene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyrethrin</span> Class of organic chemical compounds with insecticidal properties

The pyrethrins are a class of organic compounds normally derived from Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium that have potent insecticidal activity by targeting the nervous systems of insects. Pyrethrin naturally occurs in chrysanthemum flowers and is often considered an organic insecticide when it is not combined with piperonyl butoxide or other synthetic adjuvants. Their insecticidal and insect-repellent properties have been known and used for thousands of years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bifenthrin</span> Chemical compound

Bifenthrin is a pyrethroid insecticide. It is widely used against ant infestations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyrethroid</span> Class of insecticides

A pyrethroid is an organic compound similar to the natural pyrethrins, which are produced by the flowers of pyrethrums. Pyrethroids are used as commercial and household insecticides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Permethrin</span> Medication and insecticide

Permethrin is a medication and an insecticide. As a medication, it is used to treat scabies and lice. It is applied to the skin as a cream or lotion. As an insecticide, it can be sprayed onto outer clothing or mosquito nets to kill the insects that touch them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fipronil</span> Chemical compound

Fipronil is a broad-spectrum insecticide that belongs to the phenylpyrazole chemical family. Fipronil disrupts the insect central nervous system by blocking the ligand-gated ion channel of the GABAA receptor and glutamate-gated chloride (GluCl) channels. This causes hyperexcitation of contaminated insects' nerves and muscles. Fipronil's specificity towards insects is believed to be due to its greater binding affinity for the GABAA receptors of insects than to those of mammals, and for its action on GluCl channels, which do not exist in mammals. As of 2017, there does not appear to be significant resistance among fleas to fipronil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deltamethrin</span> Chemical compound

Deltamethrin is a pyrethroid ester insecticide. Deltamethrin plays a key role in controlling malaria vectors, and is used in the manufacture of long-lasting insecticidal mosquito nets; however, resistance of mosquitos and bed bugs to deltamethrin has seen a widespread increase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Resmethrin</span> Chemical compound

Resmethrin is a pyrethroid insecticide with many uses, including control of the adult mosquito population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mortein</span> Australian pesticide brand

Mortein is an Australian brand of household insecticide owned by the British company Reckitt. Together with its sister product Aerogard, a popular insect repellent, Mortein is widely used in Australia and is marketed internationally. It is also available in New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Fiji, and the Comoros. The brand has been represented in television commercials by cartoon antagonist Louie the Fly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phenothrin</span> Chemical compound

Phenothrin, also called sumithrin and d-phenothrin, is a synthetic pyrethroid that kills adult fleas and ticks. It has also been used to kill head lice in humans. d-Phenothrin is used as a component of aerosol insecticides for domestic use. It is often used with methoprene, an insect growth regulator that interrupts the insect's biological lifecycle by killing the eggs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baygon</span> Pesticide brand

Baygon is a pesticide brand produced by S. C. Johnson & Son. It is an insecticide used for extermination and control of household pests such as crickets, roaches, ants, carpenter ants, spiders, silverfish and mosquitoes. In 1975, Baygon introduced Australia’s first surface spray for killing cockroaches, ticks and other crawling insects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyhalothrin</span> Synthetic pyrethroid used as insecticide

Cyhalothrin is an organic compound that, in specific isomeric forms, is used as a pesticide. It is a pyrethroid, a class of synthetic insecticides that mimic the structure and properties of the naturally occurring insecticide pyrethrin which is present in the flowers of Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium. Pyrethroids, such as cyhalothrin, are often preferred as an active ingredient in agricultural insecticides because they are more cost-effective and longer acting than natural pyrethrins. λ-and γ-cyhalothrin are now used to control insects and spider mites in crops including cotton, cereals, potatoes and vegetables.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prallethrin</span> Chemical compound

Prallethrin is a pyrethroid insecticide. Prallethrin 1.6% w/w liquid vaporizer is a repellent insecticide which is generally used for the control of mosquitoes in the household.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indoxacarb</span> Chemical compound

Indoxacarb is an oxadiazine pesticide developed by DuPont that acts against lepidopteran larvae. It is marketed under the names Indoxacarb Technical Insecticide, Steward Insecticide and Avaunt Insecticide. It is also used as the active ingredient in the Syngenta line of commercial pesticides: Advion and Arilon.

A fogger is any device that creates a fog, typically containing an insecticide for killing insects and other arthropods. Foggers are often used by consumers as a low cost alternative to professional pest control services. The number of foggers needed for pest control depends on the size of the space to be treated, as stated for safety reasons on the instructions supplied with the devices. The fog may contain flammable gases, leading to a danger of explosion if a fogger is used in a building with a pilot light or other naked flame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imiprothrin</span> Chemical compound

Imiprothrin is a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide. It is an ingredient in some commercial and consumer insecticide products for indoor use. It has low acute toxicity to humans through the inhalation and dermal routes, but to insects it acts as a neurotoxin causing paralysis. It is effective against cockroaches, waterbugs, ants, silverfish, crickets and spiders, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metofluthrin</span> Pyrethroid used as an insect repellent

Metofluthrin is a pyrethroid used as an insect repellent. The vapors of metofluthrin are highly effective and capable of repelling up to 97% of mosquitoes in field tests. Metofluthrin is used in a variety of consumer products, called emanators, for indoor and outdoor use. These products produce a vapor that protects an individual or area. Effectiveness is reduced by air movement. Metofluthrin is neurotoxic, and is not meant to be applied directly to human skin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tefluthrin</span> Synthetic pyrethroid used as insecticide

Tefluthrin is the ISO common name for an organic compound that is used as a pesticide. It is a pyrethroid, a class of synthetic insecticides that mimic the structure and properties of the naturally occurring insecticide pyrethrin which is present in the flowers of Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium. Pyrethroids such as tefluthrin are often preferred as active ingredients in agricultural insecticides because they are more cost-effective and longer acting than natural pyrethrins. It is effective against soil pests because it can move as a vapour without irreversibly binding to soil particles: in this respect it differs from most other pyrethroids.

Wasp dope, or wasping, also known by the street name KD or Katie, refers to the ingestion of common household insecticides either combined with or as a substitute for more conventional addictive substances that cause euphoria, such as methamphetamine or crack cocaine. Wasp dope is an emerging trend in the southern United States, although there are obscure reports of insecticide abuse dating back to the 1980s.

References

  1. Ujihara, Kazuya (25 July 2019). "The history of extensive structural modifications of pyrethroids". Journal of Pesticide Science. 44 (4): 215–224. doi:10.1584/jpestics.D19-102. PMC   6861428 . PMID   31777441.
  2. "SC Johnson". SC Johnson - What's Inside.
  3. "US EPA, Pesticide Product Label, RAID ANT & ROACH 26, 08/01/2019" (PDF).
  4. "SC Johnson brand landing page: Raid".
  5. "US EPA, Pesticide Product Label, RAID FORMULA 5 FLYING INSECT KILLER, 07/22/2011" (PDF).
  6. Saroyan, Aram. Genesis Angels: The Saga of Lew Welch and the Beat Generation. New York: William Morrow, 1979.
  7. Dotz, Warren; Morton, Jim (1996). What a Character! 20th Century American Advertising Icons. Chronicle Books. p. 118. ISBN   0-8118-0936-6.
  8. Minovitz, Ethan (6 January 2012). "Don Pegler, 82, created bugs in "Raid" campaign". Big Cartoon News. Retrieved 6 January 2012.[ dead link ]
  9. "Didn't Tex Avery do a lot of the voices in his cartoons?". News From ME. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  10. "A Few Bugs in the System". -Cartoon Research. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  11. "Larry Moran, 'funny voice man' in Parkay, Kibbles 'n Bits, Raid ads, dead at 78". Chicago Sun-Times. January 12, 2018. Archived from the original on October 13, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  12. "About Frank". Frank Welker. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  13. "Raid". Behind the Voice Actors.
  14. "Paul Hancock Voice Over TVC Reel 2018". YouTube. 14 May 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  15. "People Are Using Heavy Duty Bug Sprays to Get High". ABC Action News.
  16. "Wasp spray used as alternative meth, contributed to three overdoses". WISH-TV.
  17. "People Are Overdosing on Wasp Spray in West Virginia". Livescience .
  18. Bradberry, SM (2005). "Poisoning due to pyrethroids". Toxicological Reviews . 2 (24): 93–106. doi:10.2165/00139709-200524020-00003. PMID   16180929. S2CID   32523158.