Chlorantraniliprole is the active ingredient in several widely available insecticides sold under brand names like Coragen, Altacor, and Scotts GrubEx. It targets caterpillars, lawn grubs, and certain beetles while posing minimal risk to mammals and pollinators, making it one of the most popular insecticides for both agricultural and residential use.
Major Product Names and Formulations
Chlorantraniliprole was originally developed by DuPont Crop Protection (now part of FMC Corporation after a series of corporate mergers) under the technical name Rynaxypyr. It’s sold in several formulations depending on the intended use.
For agricultural crops, the two main products are Coragen, an 18.4% suspension concentrate, and Altacor, a 35% water-dispersible granule. Both are used on fruits, vegetables, potatoes, rice, and cotton. Coragen is typically mixed with water and applied as a foliar spray, while Altacor’s granule formulation dissolves in water for spraying.
For lawns, turf, and ornamental plants, several granular products are available at much lower concentrations (0.13% to 0.33% active ingredient). The most recognizable consumer product is Scotts GrubEx, a granular formulation containing 0.08% chlorantraniliprole designed for homeowner application with a broadcast spreader. Professional turf managers can access higher-concentration liquid and granular formulations. Acelepryn is another well-known professional turf product containing chlorantraniliprole.
Combination products also exist. Voliam Flexi pairs chlorantraniliprole with thiamethoxam (a neonicotinoid) for broader pest coverage, though this combination carries significantly higher risk to bees.
What It Controls
Chlorantraniliprole is most effective against moth and butterfly caterpillars (larvae), which includes many of the most destructive agricultural pests: codling moth, diamondback moth, tomato hornworm, fall armyworm, and various leaf rollers and borers. It also controls some beetles and true bugs like aphids and spittlebugs, though caterpillars are its primary strength.
In lawns, the main targets are white grubs, the larval stage of Japanese beetles, European chafers, and other scarab beetles. These grubs feed on grass roots below the soil surface, causing brown patches that peel up like loose carpet. Chlorantraniliprole is considered the gold standard for preventive grub control because it lasts long enough in soil to catch grubs when they hatch in midsummer.
How It Works
Chlorantraniliprole belongs to a class of insecticides called diamides, classified as IRAC Group 28. It works by locking open calcium channels in insect muscle cells. Normally, these channels (called ryanodine receptors) open and close in a controlled way, releasing just enough calcium to trigger muscle contractions. When chlorantraniliprole binds to them, the channels stay open and flood the muscle cells with calcium.
Insects that ingest or contact the compound stop feeding almost immediately. What follows is lethargy, irregular muscle contractions, regurgitation, progressive paralysis, and death. The feeding cessation happens quickly, which means crop damage stops even before the insect dies.
Timing and Application for Lawn Grubs
For homeowners using a product like Scotts GrubEx, timing is critical. Chlorantraniliprole is strictly a preventive treatment. It needs to be in the soil before grubs hatch and begin feeding, which means applying it well ahead of the late-summer damage window.
The ideal application window is April through May, though it can be applied up to mid-July. Research from Michigan State University has shown that applications made before June are more effective than those applied in June or July. Because chlorantraniliprole is less water-soluble than some other preventive insecticides, it stays put in the upper soil layer longer, which is why early spring application works so well.
Watering in the product immediately after application is essential. You need at least a half inch of irrigation or rain right after spreading granules to move the insecticide into the root zone where grubs feed. A practical way to measure this: set out a few coffee mugs on the lawn and run your sprinkler until the water level reaches half an inch. Skipping this step is the most common reason the product fails. Apply at the rate listed on the label, no more. Exceeding the labeled rate is both illegal and unhelpful.
Agricultural Use and Harvest Timing
Chlorantraniliprole is registered for use on a wide range of crops, including citrus, tree fruits, berries, leafy greens, root vegetables, rice, and cotton. One reason growers favor it is the short preharvest interval. On citrus, for example, Altacor can be applied just one day before harvest, and workers can re-enter treated fields after only four hours.
These short intervals make it practical for crops that are harvested continuously over weeks, like tomatoes or peppers, where longer waiting periods would force growers to choose between pest control and harvest schedules.
Safety Profile
Chlorantraniliprole has an unusually favorable safety profile for an insecticide. Insect ryanodine receptors are structurally different enough from mammalian versions that the compound binds far more readily to insect muscle cells than to those of humans, dogs, or other mammals. This selectivity is why it’s classified in the lowest toxicity category for mammals.
Its risk to honeybees is also low when used alone. On the UC Davis bee hazard scale for citrus applications, Altacor (chlorantraniliprole only) receives a Category III rating, the lowest hazard level. However, combination products that include neonicotinoids, like Voliam Flexi, jump to Category I, the highest bee hazard rating. If pollinator safety matters to you, stick with products containing chlorantraniliprole as the sole active ingredient.
Resistance Management
Like all insecticides, chlorantraniliprole can lose effectiveness if overused. The Insecticide Resistance Action Committee recommends rotating it with products from different mode-of-action groups rather than relying on Group 28 diamides exclusively. In practice, this means not treating successive generations of the same pest with chlorantraniliprole or related diamides like cyantraniliprole or flubendiamide.
For home lawn use, this is less of a concern since you’re typically making just one application per year. For agricultural growers making multiple applications per season, alternating chlorantraniliprole with insecticides from different IRAC groups within defined spray windows is the standard approach. Using the full labeled rate matters too. Sub-lethal doses accelerate resistance by selecting for insects with natural tolerance, while the correct dose provides clean control.