Availability of alternate food significantly negatively impacted the efficacy of Niban™ granules (5% orthoboric acid, Nisus Corporation, Rockford, TN) and Concern® dust (95% silicon dioxide, Necessary Organics Inc., New Castle, VA) against the German cockroach, but had no effect on Maxforce® FC gel (0.01% fipronil, Maxforce Insect Control System, Oakland, CA), Siege® gel (2% hydramethylnon, BASF Corporation, Wayne, NJ), and Pre-Empt™ gel (2.15% imidacloprid, Bayer Corporation, Kansas City, MO).
Cockroaches were exposed to treatments in choice and no-choice bioassays, and estimates of LT50s were calculated. Bait Palatability Ratios (BPR), an index that can be used to assess the impact of alternate food sources on bait attractiveness, was calculated as LT50(choice)/LT50(no-choice), for each developmental stage (Males, Females, Large and Small nymphs). A lower ratio indicates high attractiveness of the bait matrix. The BPR for the various developmental stages ranged from 1.2 to 6.6 for Niban™, 1.6 to 3.9 for Concern®, 1.0 to 2.5 for Maxforce® FC, 1.1 to 1.4 for Siege®, and 1.1 to 2.0 for Pre-Empt™. Bait palatability data is a useful index for predicting the field performance of consumer bait products.
Species 1: Dictyoptera Blattellidae Blattella germanica (L.) (German cockroach)
Keywords: alternate food, bait palatability ratio
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA