the toxicity of marjoram, origanum majorana l., oil, 41 monoterpenoids, and 2 sesquiterpenoids against adult females of the german cockroach, blattella germanica l., was examined using direct contact and vapor phase toxicity bioassays and compared with those of deltamethrin, dichlorvos, permethrin, and propoxur, four commonly used insecticides. in a filter-paper contact toxicity bioassay, the adulticidal activities of pulegone (0.06 mg/cm2), (+/-)-camphor (0.07 mg/cm2), and verbenone (0.07 mg/cm2) were comparable to that of permethrin (0.05 mg/cm2) but more pronounced than that of propoxur (0.18 mg/cm2), as judged by the 24-h lc50 values. these compounds were less effective than either deltamethrin (0.013 mg/cm2) or dichlorvos (0.007 mg/cm2). the toxicity of marjoram oil, thymol, -terpineol, (-)--thujone, linalool, 1,8-cineole, (-)-camphor, and (+)-carvone, ranging from 0.08 to 0.18 mg/cm2, was higher than that of propoxur. in vapor phase toxicity tests, verbenone (11.48 mg/l air) was the most toxic compound followed by (-)--thujone (18.43 mg/l of air), thymol (18.76 mg/l of air), -terpineol (21.89 mg/l of air), (+/-)-camphor (24.59 mg/l of air), linalool (26.20 mg/l of air), and marjoram oil (38.28 mg/l of air) on the basis of the 24-h lc50 values. dichlorvos (0.07 mg/l of air) was the most potent fumigant. structure-activity relationships indicate that structural characteristics, such as degrees of saturation and types of functional groups rather than types of carbon skeleton, and hydrophobicity and vapor pressure parameters appear to play a role in determining the monoterpenoid toxicities to adult b. germanica. marjoram oil and the monoterpenoids described merit further study as potential fumigants or leads for the control of b. germanica. keywords: natural insecticide; natural fumigant; marjoram oil; origanum majorana; blattella germanica; monoterpenoids; mode of action; structure-activity relationship