Field evaluations of dichlorvos as a vapor toxicant for control of prairie dog fleas.

Abstract

Three field trials of 18.6% dichlorvos-impregnated plastic pellets applied in prairie dog burrows for flea control were conducted in southeast New Mexico. In the 1st test, the application of approximately 28 g of pellets into each burrow opening within a 4.7-ha section of a large prairie dog colony (336.4 g/ha actual dichlorvos) resulted in effective flea control. Flea indices were depressed in less than 16 hr, and remained depressed through 14 days posttreatment. A 2nd test, utilizing a dosage rate of about 14g of pellets per burrow opening in a 3.3-ha plot (215.7 g/ha actual dichlorvos) resulted in a similar initial reduction of fleas within the burrows. In a replication of the 28-g treatment, similarly immediate and effective flea control was demonstrated with an application rate of 268.7 g/ha actual dichlorvos throughout a 6.3-ha plot.