Abstract
Simple SummaryFumigation is one effective cockroach control method. Ethyl formate (EF) has recently been employed as a grain fumigant and has been evaluated as relatively safer than other fumigants. In this experiment, the effects of an ethyl formate fumigant on two species of cockroaches were investigated. Cockroach nymphs and adults had 100% mortality, but the effect on egg hatching inhibition was weak. Therefore, ethyl formate could be used as a fumigant if the control period and its usage should be adjusted considering the developmental stage of the cockroach.Cockroaches cause problems as pests not only locally in residential areas but also internationally, as they can disperse across borders in transport vessels. We investigated the effects of the ethyl formate (EF) fumigant on all developmental stages of Blattella germanica and Periplaneta americana. For B. germanica eggs, the hatching inhibition rate increased directly proportionately with the increasing treatment concentration of EF, but the 100% control was not observed. P. americana eggs did not show any fumigation effect, even after exposure to 60 mg/L of fumigant in a 12 L desiccator. Adults and nymphs of the two species showed various fumigation effects dependent on the concentration in the 12 L desiccator. When EF was applied at the lethal concentration for 99% mortality (LCT99) values of 35 mg/L for 4 h (78.5 mg·h/L) and 60 mg/L for 2 h (70.8 mg·h/L), respectively, adults and nymphs of both species had 100% mortality in a 0.65 m3 fumigation chamber with a 20% loading ratio. However, no significant difference from the control was observed in the egg stage of either species of cockroach. The results of this experiment indicate that EF can be used as a fumigant for cross-border transport vessels if the control period occurs during the cockroach developmental stage and continuous refumigation is performed.
Highlights
There are approximately 4600 species of cockroach in the world, but only a few species live with people [1,2]
The inhibitory activity of ethyl formate (EF) on the hatching of egg sacs from two species of cockroaches was investigated in a 12 L desiccator (Table 1)
The eggs and pupae of B. orientalis and P. americana were more tolerant than other developmental stages to a CO2 treatment; those of F. occidentalis, Phthorimaea operculella, Carposina niponensis and Rhynchophorus ferrugineus to a PH3 treatment; and those of Tetranychus urticae to an EF treatment [36,37,39,40,41,42,43]
Summary
There are approximately 4600 species of cockroach in the world, but only a few species live with people [1,2]. The most common species in human habitats are the German cockroach (Blattella germanica), American cockroach (Periplaneta americana), Australian cockroach (P. australasiae), large brown cockroach (P. brunnea (Burmeister)) and oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis), which predominate around the world [3,4,5]. These species are nuisances in residential areas and transmit pathogens due to dietary habits and cause allergic disease through their feces [6,7,8,9,10,11]. The effects of EF fumigation on B. germanica and P. americana were investigated and the potential use of EF as a control agent in intercountry vehicles was assessed
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