Reduced-Risk Cockroach Control in Confined Animal Production

Reduced-Risk Cockroach Control in Confined Animal Production

Summary

Objectives
Swine production is an important component of North Carolina’s agricultural economy. Cockroaches have long been recognized as important pests in swine production and severe infestations may contribute significantly to disease maintenance and transmission. However, management of cockroach populations is severely constrained by many factors including: cultural and production practices used at the facility, poor sanitation and building design, as well as frequent re-introduction of cockroaches by workers and suppliers. In addition, regulatory restrictions on the types and classes of pesticides that can be used in such facilities frequently result in overuse of a narrow spectrum of chemicals, increasing the potential for insecticide resistance in the cockroach population.

The overall goal of this project was to document and demonstrate reduced-risk integrated pest management approaches in confined swine production systems. Central to the philosophy of integrated pest management (IPM) is the idea that treatment should be based on need. Yet, current cockroach suppression practices rely heavily upon multiple scheduled applications of broad-spectrum insecticides with little concern about pest population size. This is due primarily to lack of efficient detection and monitoring tools for cockroaches.

Therefore, a major motivation of our research was to study the utility of cockroach pheromones and visual inspections in the implementation of IPM principles in managing cockroaches. We proposed research that would result in the identification of the sex pheromone of the Oriental cockroach.

Laboratory and field studies evaluated the utility of periplanone-B, a component of the pheromone blend, for integrated cockroach management in swine houses. The pheromone was highly effective at detecting infestations and monitoring the level of pest populations. It is also of great utility in tracking the phenology and age-structure of cockroach populations. Concurrently, we evaluated the efficacy of several commercial cockroach attractants and concluded that the pheromone was most effective.

Other specific objectives included identification of available pest management alternatives for broad-spectrum pesticides, developing and evaluating these alternative approaches for integrated pest management, demonstrating their efficacy, and quantifying reduction in risks to animal and human health and the environment. The ultimate goal of this study was to deliver an education program to production managers to allow them to continue an effective site-based pest management strategy.

Results
We showed that a “two-step program” was highly effective. First, a “clean-out” application of a residual insecticide removed the bulk of the cockroach population as well as flies and spiders. To avoid the overuse of pesticides and development of pesticide resistance, the second step involved deployment of reduced-risk bait formulations and boric acid dusts, coupled with physical removal of cockroaches by vacuuming.

Each component of the resulting reduced-risk pest suppression program has been demonstrated on a commercial farm, and we are developing reference and training materials (manuals, interactive computer, videos) on reduced-risk pest control techniques. These will be available to target audiences, including commercial swine producers and county extension personnel.

Impacts
The long-term impacts of this project include the following: Pheromones will reduce insecticide use, increase accessibility to pests that retreat into insecticide-free cracks and crevices, increase the efficacy of insecticides, serve as highly specific agents with negligible mammalian toxicity, permit the viability of reduced-risk biopesticide approaches such as biological control agents, reduce costs, and they will have a direct impact on the quality of worker health, the environment, and swine production. The reduced-risk pest suppression program will likewise result in reduced insecticide usage, cleaner environment, lower cockroach populations, and better the welfare of workers and swine.

December 1998.