Stored product insect problems in retail pet stores cost pet food manufacturers millions of dollars annually. There are no studies documenting the effect of pest management practices on stored-product insect populations in pet stores. Our study was designed to determine species associated with 8 pet stores in Kansas and to evaluate impact of chemical and non-chemical interventions on the insect populations. Food and pheromone-baited traps were used to characterize stored-product beetles and Indianmeal moth numbers. Traps were placed in grid pattern; catches were observed every 1-3 weeks intervals; and using Surfer software, insect numbers were plotted to generate contour maps of infestations in the stores. We allocated source of infestations by following up the information shown on the contour maps, and thus decided pest management practices and chemical treatment to be applied on targeted areas and products. Sanitation alone or in combination with an insect growth regulator Gentrol (Hydroprene 9% EC) and Tempo (Cypluthrin 20 WP) were treated. Each treatment was replicated in 2 stores, and two stores were left untreated as a control. Over 20 species of stored-product beetles, a moth species, and other species such as psocids, parasitic wasps, flies, collembolan, and spiders were recorded. Impacts of intervention varied with the stores and species.
Species 1: Coleoptera Curculionidae Sitophilus zeamais (maize weevil)
Species 2: Lepidoptera Pyralidae Plodia interpunctella (Indian meal moth)
Species 3: Coleoptera Silvanidae Oryzaephilus mercator (merchant grain beetle)
Keywords: stored-product insects, pet stores
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA