Buczkowski Grzegorz, Wossler Theresa
Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Matieland, South Africa.
Pest Manag Sci. 2025 Jan;81(1):111-118. doi: 10.1002/ps.8409. Epub 2024 Sep 12.
Various types of hydrogel compounds have recently been developed for controlling invasive and pest ants in a range of environmental settings including agricultural, urban and natural areas. The current study evaluated the potential of sodium polyacrylate (ACR) hydrogels to effectively deliver liquid baits to Argentine ants.
Relative to standard polyacrylamide (PAM) hydrogels, individual ACR hydrogel particles were approximately five-fold heavier; this may affect how ants interact with the bait particles, and further influence bait uptake and efficacy. Additionally, ACR hydrogels had significantly higher water absorption capacity and significantly slower rate of water loss, especially during the first 2 h. The efficacy of ACR hydrogel bait containing 0.005% fipronil and various attractants was evaluated on laboratory colonies. Results demonstrated that ACR hydrogel acceptance is significantly increased by the addition of feeding attractants. In addition, a field trial was performed in a nature reserve invaded by Argentine ants to evaluate the efficacy of ACR hydrogel bait. The field trial demonstrated that ACR hydrogel bait containing 0.005% fipronil with various attractants is highly effective and that ant densities throughout the baited plots declined by >99% within 7 days.
The results of this study demonstrate that: (i) fipronil is highly effective for Argentine ant control in natural areas when used in low concentrations (0.005%); (ii) ACR hydrogels are an effective tool for delivering liquid baits to Argentine ants; and (iii) hydrogel baits augmented with various attractants including salt, protein and pheromone are highly attractive to Argentine ants. © 2024 The Author(s). Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
最近已开发出各种类型的水凝胶化合物，用于在包括农业、城市和自然区域在内的一系列环境中控制入侵性害虫蚂蚁。本研究评估了聚丙烯酸钠（ACR）水凝胶有效向阿根廷蚂蚁递送液体诱饵的潜力。
相对于标准聚丙烯酰胺（PAM）水凝胶，单个ACR水凝胶颗粒重约五倍；这可能会影响蚂蚁与诱饵颗粒的相互作用，并进一步影响诱饵摄取和效果。此外，ACR水凝胶具有显著更高的吸水能力和显著更慢的失水速率，尤其是在前2小时内。在实验室蚁群中评估了含有0.005%氟虫腈和各种引诱剂的ACR水凝胶诱饵的效果。结果表明，添加取食引诱剂可显著提高ACR水凝胶的接受度。此外，在一个被阿根廷蚂蚁入侵的自然保护区进行了田间试验，以评估ACR水凝胶诱饵的效果。田间试验表明，含有0.005%氟虫腈和各种引诱剂的ACR水凝胶诱饵非常有效，并且在7天内，整个诱饵地块的蚂蚁密度下降了>99%。
本研究结果表明：（i）氟虫腈在低浓度（0.005%）下用于自然区域的阿根廷蚂蚁控制时非常有效；（ii）ACR水凝胶是向阿根廷蚂蚁递送液体诱饵的有效工具；（iii）添加了包括盐、蛋白质和信息素在内的各种引诱剂的水凝胶诱饵对阿根廷蚂蚁极具吸引力。© 2024作者。由John Wiley & Sons Ltd代表化学工业协会出版的《害虫管理科学》。
