Table 1. Themes and Subcodes.
Themes (Deductive) | Subcodes (Inductive) |
---|---|
Section: Household Insecticide Use | |
How and Where Insecticides are Used | Home Use: Spray and powder insecticides are applied directly to home surfaces. Opinions were split whether they could be applied in the bed. |
Direct application: Insecticides as well as related products (flea shampoo) applied directly to children or pets. | |
Preparation: Spray (convenient but strong) vs powder (easily accessible to children or pets). | |
Preventive use: Insecticide can be applied preventively at intervals of weeks or months as informal fumigation. | |
Government campaigns: Participants from both sites reported fumigation through formal government campaigns. | |
Agricultural use: Participants used phosphine insecticide to protect agricultural products in stores, likely family businesses connected to the home. | |
Frequency of Use | Targeted insecticide use as needed: After first application, wait times ranged from half an hour to the following day. |
Routine insecticide spraying: Participants performed informal fumigation from every 2 weeks to every 2 months. | |
Who Applies | No clear distinction with the exception of adults rather than children. |
Applying Multiple Insecticides | Combining insecticides: Done to combat infestations or address multiple insects at once. |
Risks: Combining insecticides was reported to increase health risks and risk of "resistance" to insecticides. | |
Alternative Methods | Cleaning and Hygiene: Maintaining a clean home and taking out trash were considered especially important for flies. |
Chemical methods: Alcohol was used for bedbugs, bleach for flies/ants, disinfectant, detergent or gasoline for ants, soap for plant insects, and mosquito repellant. | |
Herbal/natural methods: Associated with older people, included eucalyptus, molle, muna, smoke (particularly of these herbs), ash, talc, hot water. | |
Bed cleaning: For bedbugs, a multi-step process described multiple times including cleaning, sunning,washing, maybe insecticides/alcohol, sometimes burning and replacing bedding. | |
Physical Methods: Fly screens, flyswatters, killing with brooms and shoes, fly tape, keeping home closed against mosquitoes. | |
Section: PERCEIVED RISKS OF USE | |
Health Risks of Insecticides | Health impacts: Physical impacts of insecticides reported by participants included headaches, trouble breathing, hand pain, eyes burning, irritation, dizziness, vomiting, concern for "allergies" in children and death reported in an animal. |
Bad Experiences | Accidental Ingestion: Accidental ingestion by people and animals was a concern and was reported in isolated cases, including a small child who drank bleach. |
Prevention of Insecticide Risks | Timing: Applying when others (especially children) are out of the house; for spray insecticides, this includes ventilating on return. |
Storage: Keeping out of reach of children, such as storing in high places, child locks, etc. | |
Proper use: Using as directed by package. | |
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Participants described multiple types of often informal personal protective equipment, including gloves or bags on hands, masks or rags over the face, glasses, etc. | |
Section: INSECTICIDE CHOICE | |
Criteria for Insecticide Selection *Also includes "Types of Insecticides—Contrasted" |
Ease of use: Factors included whether it needed to be prepared, where spray was broadly considered more convenient and quick than the powdered insecticides. |
Safety: Factors affecting safety included whether it was easy to keep away from children and whether it lingered in the environment. | |
Odor: Odor was discussed as a metric of strength or health impacts. | |
Health: Participants advertised or described insecticides they personally used as "non-toxic". | |
Strength/Effectiveness: Includes how well the product works, especially against certain insects like roaches, and how long a product lasts. | |
Cost: Cost includes price, how long it lasts, cost-effectiveness. Cost was associated with quality and brand recognition. | |
Familiarity: Participants used certain products out of habit or familiarity. | |
Spray vs. Powder: In general sprays were faster, stronger, more expensive and toxic; powders were cheaper and risky for children (although the reverse was reported in one case). | |
Brands of Insecticides *Also includes "Types of Insecticides—Contrasted" | Strong and prestigious brands: Baygon, Raid and Sapolio |
"Non-toxic" and safer brands: Johnsons and Chica Verano were described either in advertisements or personal accounts as being less toxic. | |
Relative Risks of Insecticides | Determining risk: More potent, less familiar and cheaper types of insecticides are also considered to pose greater health risks. |
Packaging/form: Brightly packaged insecticides and those that can be grabbed by children (such as powder) were named as more risky | |
Inherent risks: Participants also expressed that insecticides are inherently harmful. | |
Specificity by Insect | Insect specificity: It was important for some participants to match insecticide to insect and some requested it from the store for a specific insect, particularly for spiders, mosquitoes, flies and roaches. |
Broad-spectrum Insecticides: Certain well-known brands were considered potent, and insecticides that killed roaches were considered strong enough to kill other insects. | |
Recommendations / Source of Information | Reliable sources: "Agropecuarios" (feed stores), also called specialists, were the most trusted source. |
Veterinarians: Veterinarians were named as a source of advice as well as insecticides. | |
Places to Purchase Insecticides | "Agropecuarios" (feed stores): Most trusted source of insecticides. |
Markets or street vendors: Ambulatory and informal vendors were considered less reliable, since the product could be impure or expired. |