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Glite Dictionary
larvicide

larvicide

8.1
A chemical that kills young insects before they become adults, like mosquito larvae
  • noun
  • /ˈlɑːrvɪˌsaɪd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : larvicida
  • larvicide contains
  • larvicide to standing water

Examples

  • One was that a larvicide that the government had put in the tank water that was called pidiproxyphene was the cause of the microcephaly.

  • So with these two little mechanisms having men, they did try to use some larvicides, but that wasn't really what worked.

  • In late August of 1999, after it was determined that a cluster of encephalitis cases in Queens County, New York City, had been caused by WNY, the city immediately began applying larvicide to standing bodies of water and spraying pesticides by helicopter to control adult mosquitoes.

    Academic text (2005)

  • The city plans to apply larvicide to eliminate mosquito larvae in local ponds this summer.

  • Using larvicide in stagnant water helps prevent the growth of mosquito populations during warm months.

  • Farmers are advised to use larvicide in irrigation ditches to control pest populations effectively.

Synonyms

larvacide
vslarvicide
  • UK
9.2

A substance used to kill young insects before they become adults

has identical meaning but uses an alternative spelling form

Surface Forms

larvicide singular
larvicides plural

Morphology

larvicide = larva (transparent) = larva + cide

The word is formed straightforwardly from 'larva' plus the killing suffix '-cide', so the meaning is directly recoverable.

Etymology

Larvicide is made from larva ('young insect') and the ending -cide ('to kill'), the same ending you see in pesticide and homicide. So a larvicide is a chemical used to kill the young stage of insects, for example mosquito larvae in standing water.