Sulfuryl fluoride fumigation of brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys [(Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) (Stål)] infesting US automobile exports

In the fall of 2014, Brown marmorated stink bug [BMSB; Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)] was detected infesting US automobile exports. The discovery triggered import restrictions in many countries, including the requirement that all automobile shipments to those markets undergo pre-shipment treatment with Methyl bromide or heat.  Sulfuryl fluoride was examined as an alternative to those treatments.  Fumigant testing was conducted at the UC Davis Contained Research Facility.  Adult insects were treated in gas permeable containers at 10⁰C for 2 and 12 hours and over a range of doses.  The fumigant exposures for each treatment time were then calculated according to the method described by Monro (Monro 1969) and the dose-response relationship was modeled using Polo Plus (Leora Software 2002-2007).   For 2 hour treatments, an exposure of 248.6 mgL^-1`h was projected to provide 99% control of adult BMSB (LE₉₉)  and 535 mgL^-1 h was projected to provide 99.9968% control (LE_P9).  For 12 hours, the projected LE₉₉ was 89.8 mgL^-1h and the projected LE_P9 was 142.5 mgL^-1h.  Using these models, applied dose of Sulfuryl flouride and treatment duration can be adjusted to provide the needed toxicity against BMSB.  The results of this study indicate that Sulfuryl fluoride fumigation can achieve the desired control of Brown marmorated stink bug infesting US automobile exports.