Effect of different mulches on Nylanderia pubens (Forel) foraging and nesting behavior

Nylanderia fulva is rapidly spreading throughout Florida, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi’s landscapes and natural areas. It is an indoor and outdoor nuisance pest that could enter the buildings and also could tend the honeydew producing hemipteran insects in landscapes. Nylanderia fulva frequently nests in landscape mulch. Mulching is an integral part of Florida landscape settings. Studies have shown that aromatic cedar mulch (Juniperus virginiana L.), contains volatile chemical constituents that may be toxic to some insects such as Argentine ants, odorous house ants, clothes moth, the black carpet beetle, termites, house dust mite, German cockroach and the red imported fire ant. However, the reaction of N. fulva to the aromatic cedar mulch has not been investigated or reported in the literature. In this study, a repellency test, choice test, toxicity test over time, and a barrier test were conducted with the aromatic cedar mulch and other common mulches. We found that N. fulva tends to avoid the aromatic cedar mulch and transfer its nests in other common mulches. We also found that the aromatic cedar mulch maintained its repellent property for sufficiently long time and acted as a significantly more effective barrier for the N. fulva as compared to the common mulches