Abstract
Nylanderia fulva (Mayr) is an invasive ant that is a serious pest in the southern United States. Pest control operators and homeowners are challenged to manage pest populations below acceptable thresholds. Contact and bait insecticides are key components of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy, however, little is known about their efficacy. In repellency and efficacy bioassays, N. fulva were not completely repelled by any insecticide tested, although fewer ants crossed a surface treated with Temprid®. Few insecticides provided rapid control. Termidor® and Temprid® were the best performing with mean mortality of 100% in 13.4 and 19.0 days, respectively. In no-choice bait acceptance studies, it was shown that N. fulva generally had greater acceptance of carbohydrate-based ant baits (Advion®, InTiceTM (gel), and InTiceTM (granular)). However, mortality was low for the InTiceTM baits in a 7-day bioassay. Maxforce® Ant Killer Bait Gel and Advance® 375A in the spring and Maxforce® Complete in the summer and fall required the fewest days to reach 100% mortality. Bait active ingredients that resulted in the highest mortality were hydramethylnon and fipronil. These data on the efficacy of commercially available contact and bait insecticides provide valuable information to manage this invasive pest.
Highlights
Nylanderia fulva (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is an invasive ant that is a serious pest in the southern United States
The objectives of this study were to identify potential products for inclusion in an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy for suppression of N. fulva by (1) evaluating the repellency and efficacy of commercially available professional contact insecticide products used as sprays and (2) to evaluate the acceptance and efficacy of commercially available ant baits in laboratory assays
We examined the repellency and efficacy of commonly used insecticide products in Florida under experimental conditions that are similar to the way in which N. fulva would interact with the treated exterior perimeter of a structure
Summary
Nylanderia fulva (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is an invasive ant that is a serious pest in the southern United States. Already established as an urban and ecological pest, this ant has the potential to be an agricultural and industrial pest as well. Infestations of N. fulva may be quite large and in some cases ants are dispersed over entire neighborhoods [1]. One reported infestation of N. fulva in Colombia was >10 ha [2]. LeBrun et al [3] reported that introduced N. fulva may reach numerical abundance greater than 2 orders of magnitude over all other ants. In the southern United States, when occurring at high densities, N. fulva displaces most of the larger ant species including Solenopsis invicta
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