Abstract
Ant control is difficult in systems even where a variety of control strategies and compounds are allowed; in sensitive places such as hospitals, where there are often restrictions on the methods and toxicants to be applied, the challenge is even greater. Here we report the methods and results of how we faced this challenge of controlling ants in a pediatric hospital using baits. Our strategy was based on identifying the species present and analyzing their behavior. On the one hand, we evaluated outdoors in the green areas of the hospital, the relative abundance of ant genera, their food preferences and the behavioral dominances. On the other hand, control treatments were performed using separately two boron compounds added to sucrose solution which was not highly concentrated to avoid constrains due to the viscosity.Most of the species in the food preference test accepted sugary food; only one species was recorded to visit it less than the protein foods. This result was consistent with the efficacy of control treatments by sugary baits within the rooms. For species that showed good acceptance of sugar solutions in the preference test outdoors, sugar bait control indoors was 100& effective. Conversely, for the only species that foraged significantly less on sugar food, the bait treatment was ineffective. This work reveals the importance of considering the behavior and feeding preferences of the species to be controlled by toxic baits.
Highlights
Many ant species are serious pests in urban environments
The most problematic species was Nylanderia fulva; it was abundant in green areas and very frequently associated to buildings and indoors
Considerations regarding the developed protocol The protocol showed to be highly effective for the ants that most frequently nested in the hospital buildings (Nylanderia and Brachymyrmex)
Summary
Many ant species are serious pests in urban environments. They may cause damage to structures, electronic devices and affect household residents; in addition, many species can sting and/or bite. There is greater awareness of the risks involved in the indiscriminate release of toxicants on the environments we live and work, the demand for environmentally friendly control methods is growing. For ant control in urban settings, insecticides have been commonly used as perimeter barrier treatments (Mallis 1969; Ebeling 1978; Hedges 2010; Klotz et al 2010). Fast-acting barriers or sprays may result in ants trapped within the building in treatment (Klotz et al 2008, 2010) or in colony budding (Hedges 2010; Buczkowski et al 2005; Oi 2008), even increasing the foraging activity indoors (Oi et al 1996). The use of toxic baits is, undoubtedly, the least polluting way to control these insects and it
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