Dispensers for pheromonal pest control

Abstract

The detrimental effects of pesticides on the environment and human health have motivated the development of alternative pest control strategies. Pheromonal pest control is one alternative strategy that is attractive because most pheromones used commercially are non-toxic. Pheromones are also effective at low concentrations, and insects are slower to develop resistance to them compared to pesticides. Pheromones can be used to control pests by attracting them towards traps, repelling them from crops, or disrupting their mating behaviour. Viability of pheromonal control strategies must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and depends on the target species, the pheromone being used, the specific control strategy, the method of dispensing pheromone, other pest control strategies pheromones being used alongside, and many other factors. The efficacy of pheromonal control has been demonstrated in commercial applications such as the control of palm weevils using traps releasing their male aggregation pheromone. Mating disruption using female sex pheromones has also been widely applied for control of both the codling moth Cydia Pomonella and the european grapevine moth Lobesia Botrana (Bangels and Beliën, 2012; Lucchi et al., 2018). Pheromones are volatiles that both degrade quickly in the environment and can be rapidly dispersed by wind. Consequently, administering pheromones to fields requires the use of dispensers that emits pheromone continuously or intermittently. Septum dispensers, membrane dispensers and solid matrix dispensers are best suited to treating smaller areas of cropland since they need to be installed by hand, a labor-intensive process. For treating a large area with pheromones, sprayable formulations and aerosol dispensers are alternative dispensing technologies that can be employed. The characteristics of these different dispenser designs are discussed as well as the kinetics governing pheromone release. Possible areas for future work in pheromone dispenser technology include examining new integrated strategies that employ pheromones alongside other pest control techniques in unique ways. The combination of pheromonal control with physical exclusion or predator release are examples of integrated strategies that are promising but have yet to be widely commercialized. Most commercial pheromonal dispensers are also noted to be impossible or impractical to reuse, apart from aerosol devices. Creating new types of rechargeable dispenser might have some cost saving benefits and would be an interesting area for future innovation in this field.