Behavioral responses of field-collected German cockroaches to pyrethroids and pyrethroid-formulated insecticides

Sudip Gaire, Angela Sierras, Henry L. Morgan, Zachary C. DeVries

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Pyrethroids are synthetic insecticides with low mammalian toxicity and broad-spectrum activity across insects. One major challenge with pyrethroids is their perceived repellency. This perception can influence decisions made by pest control operators, especially when insecticides are used to reduce insect entry into or movement within structures. One major indoor pest that has been repeatedly shown to be repelled by some pyrethroids is the German cockroach, Blattella germanica. However, most experiments evaluating pyrethroid repellency in the German cockroach have used end-point assays, which do not provide information on the movement that led to the final position. Therefore, we evaluated the kinetic behavioral response of field-collected German cockroaches to five pyrethroid-based products and their active ingredients (A.I.) in open behavioral arenas using advanced video tracking software. In addition, in an effort to compare our free-moving experiments with end-point assays, we evaluated sheltering behavior using two-choice harborage arrestment assays where German cockroaches were provided a choice between pyrethroid-treated and untreated shelters. RESULTS: All pyrethroid-formulated products and their respective A.I.'s failed to affect field-collected German cockroach movement behavior in free-moving assays, while positive controls (DEET, corn mint oil) resulted in reduced time spent by German cockroaches in treated areas. However, despite their willingness to move over pyrethroids-treated surfaces, field-collected German cockroaches displayed a reduced propensity to arrest on pyrethroids treated tents. CONCLUSION: While most pyrethroids/pyrethroid-formulated products affected German cockroach arrestment, pyrethroids and pyrethroid-formulated products failed to change German cockroach movement behavior in free-moving assays. These results indicate the pyrethroids tested act as contact irritants rather than true-spatial repellents on field-collected German cockroaches. This distinction is critical to refining pest management strategies involving pyrethroids.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)433-441
Number of pages9
JournalPest Management Science
Volume80
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Funding

We would like to thank Benjamin Grady, Daniela Jackson, Johnalyn Gordon, Simona Principato, and Isabelle Lucero for the assistance. In addition, we appreciate Kenneth Haynes for providing feedback on our manuscript draft. This work was funded in part by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Healthy Homes program (KYHHU0061‐20 to ZCD) and a University of Kentucky CAFE undergraduate research fellowship (awarded to HM). We would like to thank the respective chemical manufacturers for donating formulated product samples for this project.

FundersFunder number
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Healthy Homes programKYHHU0061‐20
University of Kentucky

    Keywords

    • arrestment assay
    • irritancy
    • live video tracking
    • pyrethroids
    • repellency

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Agronomy and Crop Science
    • Insect Science

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