1847 J. Stephen Ess. Eccl. Biogr. (1850) I. 144 An ovicidal wolf, being rebuked by this ecclesiastical Orpheus for his carnivorous deeds, placed his paw in the hand of his monitor in pledge of his future good behavior.

1883 A. Stewart Nether Lochaber xlv. 285 His ovicidal tendencies.

1998 Lamb Predation in uk.politics.animals (Usenet newsgroup) 25 Jan. Given the large home range sizes of hill foxes and the high density of sheep, even the most ovicidal fox would be hard put to make a serious impact on a lambing flock.

1850 W. J. Broderip Leaves Notebk. of Naturalist vii, in Littell's Living Age 28 Sept. 548/1 The birds wanted to destroy every one of the eggs, and the keeper found it necessary to look very sharp to prevent them from carrying their ovicidal propensities into effect.

1932 Jrnl. South-eastern Agric. College, Wye 30 63 (heading) Studies on the ovicidal action of winter washes.

1975 Jrnl. Microwave Power 10 321 Eggs of southern corn rootworm..were subjected to electromagnetic energy at 2.45 GHz..to determine ovicidal threshold levels.

2002 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 26 Oct. 6 It has an ovicidal effect and has proved to be particularly effective at killing the eggs of the dreaded Vine Weevil.