Control of the plague vector Opisocrostis hirsutus, by treatment of prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) burrows with 2 per cent carbaryl dust.

Abstract

Treatment of prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) burrows with 2% carbaryl (Sevin®)2 dust at a rate of 85–95 g per burrow resulted in 100% elimination of the plague vector, Opisocrostis hirsutus, within 24 hr. Treated burrows remained free of fleas from 8 August to 25 September 1969, while fleas increased in an untreated portion of the same colony. During the winter, all Cynomys in the untreated portion of the study colony died; those in the treated portion survived. Epizootic plague die-off in nearby colonies during the summer of 1969 suggests that die-off in the untreated study plot also was due to plague, although no direct evidence was obtained. This being so, the elimination of fleas by 2% carbaryl protected the treated population from direct exposure to plague.