How Petroleum Oil Kills Certain Mosquito Eggs*

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Abstract
The effect of 28 petroleum oils covering a wide range of physical properties was tested in undiluted form on the eggs of Aedes aegypti. Penetration of the chorion, chemical action on the chorion, and suffocation of the developing embryo were investigated as possible means of ovicidal activity. When coated with petroleum oil, the eggs are killed by oxygen starvation. The more nearly perfect the oil coating, the quicker the kill is accomplished. The variation in killing power of different petroleum oils is probably a factor of either too short a period of oil retention or a failure of the oil to make a closely applied and complete seal.

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