What are Clothianidin's uses and side effects?
Clothianidin is a neonicotinoid insecticide developed by Takeda Chemical Industries and Bayer AG in the late 1990s. It is modelled after nicotine acting as an agonist of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in an insect’s central nervous system, causing overstimulation, paralysis, and death and is widely used in agriculture for its broad-spectrum insecticidal activity and systemic protection.
Some of its major crop applications include maize, canola/rapeseed, rice, potatoes, and various fruits and vegetables. Clothianidin is also applied as soil granules or drench to protect root and stem systems, as well as a foliar spray in some cases. In this blog, we will take a look at Clothianidin insecticide uses, the industries it's actively used in and its side effects.
Top 10 Uses of Clothianidin
Clothianidin was first registered for use in Japan in 2001. Initially, it was only approved for use on turf grass, but within a year, authorities also permitted its application on food crops. Soon after, in 2003, Clothianidin was launched internationally in the US and EU and is extensively used to control pests to date.
1. Rice Protection
Clothianidin 50 demonstrates exceptional efficacy in rice cultivation and can be applied as a foliar spray or as a paddy water application. Multiple field trials have shown sustained pest control for up to 60 days after treatment, resulting in optimal yields. It is able to effectively control rice pests, including Laodelphax striatellus and Nephotettix cincticeps, during critical growth stages.
2. Cotton Pest Management
Many cotton pests in different regions have developed resistance to conventional insecticides. Clothianidin becomes effective in dealing with such species and helps farmers manage multiple pests, such as jassids, mealybugs, whiteflies, and aphids. Its systemic properties allow easy absorbtion and translocation throughout the cotton plant, providing comprehensive protection against both sucking and chewing insects.
3. Grape Protection Systems
During the cultivation and harvesting of Grapes, Clothianidin formulations are used for grape protection. It effectively controls thrips, mealybugs, and other sucking pests that can damage grape clusters and reduce wine quality.
4. Sugarcane Farming
Termites are a major problem for farmers doing sugarcane farming. These pests devastate sugarcane roots and also reduce sugar content and stalk quality. To combat the same, Clothianidin is injected directly into sugarcane stalks, providing targeted control of borers and other internal feeders that are difficult to reach with conventional sprays.
5. Tea Plantations
Tea plantations often suffer from tea thrips, aphids, and other sucking pests that feed on young leaves and shoots. To combat these pests, farmers need to use insecticides that are effective and have low mammalian toxicity. That’s where Clothianidin comes in. When applied at 8-16 g/acre, it provides effective pest suppression while maintaining the quality of tea leaves.
6. Field Corn (Maize) Protection
Clothianidin-treated corn seeds are commonly used in North America to protect against soil and early-season pests such as corn rootworm larvae, wireworms, seedcorn maggots, white grubs, cutworms, and flea beetles. This mode of application is particularly used to prevent adverse effects on pollinators while also offering a long-lasting effect in plants.
7. Canola Farming
During Canola farming, Flea beetles often attack canola seedlings and can devastate young plants. To control these pests, Clothianidin is actively used in Canada and certain parts of Asia and Europe. It is directly applied on the seed before sowing, which is taken up by the germinating seedling and makes it immune to flea beetle infestation.
8. Wheat and Cereal Grains
Canada and the United States are among the largest users of Clothianidin for spring wheat, winter wheat, and barley protection. The mode of application is similar to Canola and Maize as it's applied on the seed before sowing and provides reliable protection underground, where foliar sprays can’t reach. The primary target pests are Wireworms, aphids, Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus, and Hessian fly.
9. Termite Control
Beyond agricultural uses, Clothianidin demonstrates exceptional efficacy in termite management. When applied as a soil treatment around structures or within agricultural fields, Clothianidin creates a protective barrier that prevents termite infestation and colony establishment.
10. Flea Control
Clothianidin is applied to animal bedding areas or as a perimeter treatment around structures. It kills adult fleas and prevents reinfestation, thereby protecting livestock and companion animals from these parasitic pests. Clothianidin’s mode of action targets nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the insect nervous system, killing the fleas while posing lower risks to mammals compared to older insecticides.
Industries Where Clothianidin Is Used
- Agriculture: It is applied as seed treatments, soil drenches, or foliar sprays to protect crops from sucking and chewing insect pests
- Turf and Lawn Management: Used in granular or liquid form to turf, where it percolates into the root zone to target white grubs.
- Ornamental Horticulture: Protects ornamental flowers in commercial greenhouses and nurseries.
- Structural and Household Pest Control: Used as a bait or residual spray to kill insect pests in homes, buildings, and urban environments.
- Public health: Sprayed on interior home walls to kill mosquitoes.
8 Side Effects of Clothianidin
Clothianidin’s regulatory profile has become more complex over time as environmental concerns surfaced. It remains approved in many countries for agricultural use, but with increasing restrictions. For example, in the EU, outdoor uses of clothianidin have been banned because of its negative impact on pollinators. Similarly, Germany and Italy are cautious about Clothianidin use because of acute bee poisoning from planting dust. Let’s take a closer look at its other side effects to ensure most effective use of the insecticide.
1. Acute Human Neurotoxicity
Clothianidin can cause acute poisoning in humans through exposure or ingestion. As a neonicotinoid, it overstimulates nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the nervous system, leading to symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, nausea, tremors, and vomiting. In severe cases, poisoning can progress to seizures or even life-threatening respiratory failure.
2. Long-term Human Health Risks
Prolonged or repeated exposure to clothianidin may pose longer-term health risks. Animal studies on rodents have shown developmental and reproductive toxicity at sub-acute doses – for example, offspring of rats exposed to clothianidin during pregnancy exhibited reduced body weight, delayed developmental milestones, and impaired motor and startle responses, even when the mothers showed no toxicity.
3. High Toxicity to Pollinators
Honeybees and pollinators are at high risk from the use of Clothianidin, leading to its ban for outdoor uses in many countries. Its ingestion can cause paralysis and death by irreversibly activating neural pathways. In fact, it's so dangerous that even tiny doses (in the parts-per-billion range) can disorient bees and impair their foraging ability.
4. Effects Reproductive Health in Birds
Birds are not as sensitive to Clothianidin as bees or other insects; however, that's only true when ingested in single doses. The EPA reports that small seed-eating birds (e.g. songbirds) that ingest just a few clothianidin-coated seeds may receive a harmful dose over time. And prolonged exposure through treated seeds or contaminated food can affect avian reproduction and health.
5. Mammal Toxicity
Small mammals like rodents can also be affected by exposure to the insecticide. While it's not acutely toxic as compared to insects, in the long term, affected animals can exhibit neurotoxic symptoms. In laboratory studies, rodents fed clothianidin over time showed decreases in body weight and signs of developmental and reproductive effects at high doses.
6. Aquatic Organism Toxicity
The Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency classifies clothianidin as “very highly toxic” to aquatic invertebrates. If the pesticide leaches or runs off into water bodies, it can harm aquatic insects, crustaceans, and other invertebrates that form the base of aquatic food webs.
7. Environmental Persistence
Clothianidin doesn’t quickly break down in soil and water, and takes a long time to degrade. Multiple studies show that its half-life can extend to over a year which can leave residues that linger through multiple growing seasons. Such persistence prolongs the exposure of non-target organisms: soil invertebrates, ground-nesting pollinators, and subsequent crops.
8. Bioaccumulation Potential
Unlike some older persistent pesticides (such as DDT), clothianidin does not tend to bioaccumulate significantly in the tissues of animals. As a result, a fish or bird that ingests clothianidin is likely to excrete or metabolize much of it rather than store it. However, the flip side is that clothianidin remains freely available in the environment, so creatures can be continually re-exposed as they move through contaminated areas.
Final Thoughts
Clothianidin is a potent and versatile insecticide valued for its systemic action and long residual control across agriculture, turf, and public health. However, its environmental persistence, toxicity to pollinators and aquatic life, and potential human health risks highlight the need for cautious, regulated use. Balancing its benefits with responsible stewardship is essential to safeguard biodiversity, water quality, and ecological health while still protecting crops and communities from destructive pests.
