Dalmatian Powder

DALMATIAN POWDER, Pulvis dalmaticus, a fine powder made from dried flower heads of Pyrethrum cinerariaefolium Trevir. (Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium), growing wild in Dalmatia and Herzegovina. Dalmatian powder is yellow in color, bitter in taste, and irritates the nasal mucous membrane; it is poisonous to insects; the active principle has not been isolated. It is used to destroy fleas, bedbugs, and cockroaches. The insect powder prepared from the flower heads of plants Chrysanthemum corneum M. v. Bieberich, Pyrethrum roseum and P. persicum, growing wild in Persia and Transcaucasia, is called Persian powder or arax. The action of these powders is considered weaker than that of D. p. Exterminators of bedbugs and cockroaches often use in their practice D. p. or Persian powder mixed with arsenic trioxide. There have been cases of acute poisoning in apartments after exterminating insects with such "fortified" powders. The admixture of arsenic in the powders reached up to 50%.