FIELD EFFICACY OF ARTHITROL BAIT FORMULATIONS FOR GERMAN COCKROACH CONTROL, 1997

FIELD EFFICACY OF ARTHITROL BAIT FORMULATIONS FOR GERMAN COCKROACH CONTROL, 1997: Field tests were conducted between Jun and Jul 1997 to evaluate the efficacy of Arthitrol gel and granule baits for German cockroach control in a multifamily housing community operated by the Muncie Housing Authority, Muncie, Indiana. Agrisense Lo-Line cockroach sticky traps were used to estimate cockroach populations in each apartment, and to measure the impact of treatments on these populations. In each apartment, the kitchen and bathroom were divided into 6 infestation zones: 1) the cabinetry under the kitchen sink, 2) the cabinetry above the kitchen sink, 3) the stove, 4) the refrigerator, 5) the utility room (area around water heater and furnace), and 6) the floor behind the toilet. Each zone was inspected by a team of two researchers, after which a sticky trap was placed. Traps were retrieved the next day (18-30 h later) and trap catches were recorded as number of adult males, adult females, gravid females, large nymphs (instars 4-6), and small nymphs (instars 1-3). A minimum catch of 2 cockroaches per traps (or a total of 12 cockroaches among the six traps) was required for an apartment to be selected. Arthitrol gel was applied from commercial bait dispensing tubes with a Bate-Mate® bait gun, while the granule was applied using a crank operated rotary duster. All obvious harborages in the kitchen and bathroom areas (e.g., cracks in walls, along/behind baseboards, beneath/behind sinks, stoves, refrigerators and cabinets, behind plumbing/electrical installations) were treated. Treatment efficacy was determined at each posttreatment census by calculating percent reduction in cockroach populations for each experimental unit using the formula: % reduction = (Ti-To) / Ti * 100, where Ti and To are preand post-treatment counts, respectively. Negative percent reductions were converted to zero before analysis. Arcsine (check)p transformed reductions were analyzed with ANOVA models followed by paired comparisons using the t-test (a = 0.05) to determine significance between the two treatments at each post-treatment census.