ARS | Publication request: Toxicity and efficacy of selected pesticides and new acaricides to stored product mites (Acari: Acaridida)

Submitted to: Experimental and Applied Acarology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: July 13, 2007
Publication Date: December 30, 2007
Reprint URL: http://DOI 10.1007/s10493-007-9093-y
Citation: Hubert, J., Stejskal, V., Munzbergova, Z., Hajslova, J., Arthur, F.H. 2007. Toxicity and efficacy of selected pesticides and new acaricides to stored product mites (Acari: Acaridida). Experimental and Applied Acarology 42: 283-290.

Interpretive Summary: Mites can often infest stored products and can cause physical damage and allergic reactions in humans. There are several different pest species, but the knowledge concerning their susceptibility to pesticides is often conflicting. We evaluated several common insecticides used to control insects in stored products, and also a miticide for mite control by exposing three different stored-product mite species to diets treated with a range of concentrations. One species was clearly tolerant to all of the tested pesticides, while some of the newer pesticides did give some control of the other two species, but at very high concentrations. Results show the difficulty of mite control and emphasize the need for development of pesticides that have specific activity against stored-product mites.

Technical Abstract: Stored product mites (Acari: Acaridida) can often infest stored products, but currently there is little information regarding efficacy of insecticides or miticides that can be used for control. In this study we evaluated several common insecticides (chlorpyrifos, deltametrhin, beta-cyfluthrin, and a combination of deltametrin r and S-bioallethrin), plus an acaricide composed of permethrin, pyroproxyfen, benzyl benzolate, for efficacy against Acarus siro, Tyrophagus putrescence, and Aleuroglyphus ovatus. The insecticides and the acaricide (pesticides) were incorporated into the mite diets in a dose range of 0.001 to 0.1% (wt:wt). Concentrations for suppression of 50 and 90% population growth (rC50, rC90) and eradication of mites (rC0) were fit to linear regression models. None of the tested pesticides would give complete eradication of A. siro, which was considered to be the most tolerant of the three mite species tested. The most effective pesticide was the combination product labeled for dust mites, with rC0 range of 463 to 2453 ppm depending on the species. The least effective pesticides were chlorpyrifos and deltametrin.