Date: 3/30/99

Time: 10:50

Type: Symposium

Number: 119

Urban pest management: Role of chemical communication

*L. Bjostad, Department of Entomology, Colorado State University, Ft Collins, CO 80523
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Slow-release CO2-generating formulations have been developed in our laboratory for controlling the behavior of subterranean insect pests in the field. Recent work in our laboratory has shown that CO2 is attractive to subterranean termites (Reticulitermes flavipes and Reticulitermes tibialis). We found in field tests that traps baited with CO2-generating formulations were significantly more attractive to termites than control traps, indicating that CO2-generating formulations are likely to be useful in the development of improved baiting techniques for termites. In recent field tests with western corn rootworm larvae, we applied CO2-generating formulations to the soil in cornfields to disrupt the orientation of the larvae to the CO2 gradients from corn roots. Some of the CO2-generating formulations were based on chemical mixtures that react slowly to release CO2, and other formulations were based on microbial-nutrient mixtures that produce CO2 metabolically. We found that soil applications of CO2-generating formulations resulted in significant improvements in root ratings relative to untreated controls, and that were comparable in effectiveness to conventional insecticide applications made in the same cornfield.

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