Strategies for controlling the ghost ant, Tapinoma melanocephalum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with liquid bait
2013
Luo, Yi-Pey | Chang, Niann-Tai
The ghost ant, Tapinoma melanocephalum (F.), is a household pest and a considerable nuisance. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the toxicity and control efficacy of boric acid in liquid bait against queen and worker ghost ants. The LT50 values for workers fed with 0.5%–2.5% boric acid and 2% chicken peptone in 20% sucrose water solutions were 4.3–2.4days. The lethal times (LT50=5.2–7.6days) for queen ghost ants fed with various concentrations of a boric acid solution depended on the feeding behavior of the queens. The high boric acid (4%) content solutions were not repellent to the ghost ant workers. The liquid bait formulation of 1% boric acid, which caused a 100% worker, brood, and queen population reduction in 4, 4, and 5weeks, respectively, was significantly more effective than the solid bait formulation containing the same concentration (p≦0.05). The simulation tests involved using chicken peptone and sucrose as the attractant, and colonies were provided an alternate food source (20% sucrose solution and dog food) to achieve a more accurate assessment of bait acceptability in screening for the efficacy of the liquid boric acid bait. The control efficiency attained 99.9% in week 4. The results demonstrated that liquid bait, containing 2% chicken peptone, 20% sucrose as a food attractant, and 1% boric acid as the toxin, is efficient and highly recommended for ghost ant control.
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