ICUP Proceedings Search

Two new technologies (spray with a pheromone adjuvant + biodegradable hydrogel bait delivery method) were used to develop a unique IPM protocol for Argentine ant at urban structural settings. The IPM protocol included a one-time perimeter treatment with 0.03% fipronil (mixed with a pheromone adjuvan...

Tapinoma magnum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is an ant of Mediterranean origin that is considered an invasive species in central and northern Europe. It is now present in Switzerland, where it was first observed in the canton of Vaud in 2012. Tapinoma magnum colonizes urban and suburban zones, includin...

In Switzerland Tapinoma magnum, an invasive ant species in northern and central Europe, was first observed in the canton of Vaud in 2012 and 2018 found in the cantons of Geneva and Zurich. In the spring of 2019, the Urban Pest Advisory Service collected ants from the front yard of a residential esta...

In July 2015 the Invasive Garden Ant, Lasius neglectus, was identified during control measures in an apartment house in the city of Zurich. This was the second finding of this species in Switzerland and the first finding in an inhabited area. In order to find out the distribution of the population, ...

Alate ants are being collected in two urban green areas of the city of São Paulo, differing in their distances to natural Atlantic Forest remnants, in order to characterize the species diversity and the importance of urban parks in the maintenance of such diversity. Ants of the genus Camponotus are ...

Workers and mainly winged females of Ponerinae ants have been causing painful stings on people in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The species live in small colonies, comprised from a few dozen to a few hundred individuals with monomorphic workers. Ponerinae ants are predators, although some species f...

Treatment strategies focused on reducing the amount of fipronil applied and the amount fipronil and its metabolites detected in the water runoff. Directed applications around the perimeter of the structure, narrow pin-stream applications, and no spray zones reduced the amount of fipronil detected. A...

Cyantraniliprole is a novel insecticide that belongs to the anthranilic diamide class of insecticides. The novel mode of action of cyantraniliprole depletes calcium from insect muscle, affecting muscle contraction, causing paralysis and eventually death. We report the results of testing of two formu...

One thousand four hundred seventy-seven botanical specimens represented by urban trees and palm trees, found in gardens, public squares and streets in the area of Cidade Jardim, a district in Sao Paulo, Brazil, were evaluated from 2004 to 2008. The aim was to determine which species of carpenter ant...

The urban environment provides conditions for the establishment and spread of some species of ants, known as tramp ant species. They can occur in many environments, including hospitals, industrial and domestic kitchens, acting as carriers of pathogenic organisms. The most effective method of control...

The tropical and subtropical super colony tramp ant, Nylanderia pubens, the Caribbean crazy ant (CCA), was originally described from the Greater Antilles Islands and now has spread throughout the Caribbean and South America. In 1950, CCA was first reported in Florida and now is spread throughout the...

Baits (station, granule, gel and liquid) are widely used in the control of ant pests because of their effectiveness, ease of application, and their reduced risk to people, pets and the environment. Among the types of baits, gel baits are the most popular bait type for ant control. However, after app...

Agriculture in tropical regions has been associated with the rapid expansion of leaf-cutting ants in clearings since an initial report in 1587. Numerous studies document higher population densities in human-simplified habitats than in natural ones, usually producing economical losses in agricultural...

Ants are social insects that can be found almost in every terrestrial environment around the world. As in natural environment, the artificial environments are excellent places to install nests, but when installed in human habitations they are considered urban pests, because of the inconvenience caus...

We record leaf litter ant species richness along a latitudinal gradient in the Atlantic Forest based on systematic surveys in 26 regularly spaced localities, covering almost 20o of latitude, and use this information to describe the response of different leaf-litter ant functional groups to the gradi...

Previous studies published in 2005 and 2006 about the inventory of urban ants in warm areas of Colombia (24°C, 70% relative humidity, 1000 meters above sea level), included four unidentified species of the genus Pheidole, which contributed with a frequency of 11.7%. Only two exotic species showed hi...

The ant species Pheidole susannae Forel 1886 is native to Central America, its distribution range goes from southern Mexico to northern South America, and it is present in Colombia and Venezuela. Occurs in various habitats, including highly disturbed areas (city parks), seasonal dry forest, mature l...

The aim of this study was to compare the structure of ant communities in two neighborhoods (Itaquera and Vila Mariana) with different urban profiles in the city of São Paulo. It also aims to establish the relationship between habits of the residents, the state of conservation and cleaning of homes a...

The fire-ants are widely distributed in Brazil, including urban areas, but few studies are found in this country. The Solenopsis saevissima species-group encompasses ecologically and economically important ants, and has the largest number of species of the genus Solenopsis. In Brazil, the main speci...

Solenopsis ant genus has a worldwide distribution but species from S. saevissima species group native to South America, and popularly known as fire ants, have been introduced accidentally in several countries worldwide. Despite a high diversity species in the Neotropical region, their ecology and li...

We followed the distribution of Linepithema humile colonies over three years in a natural area of the University of Buenos Aires Campus, within the city of Buenos Aires. We determined the extent of multi-nest colonies by means of aggression tests. Colonies involved several nests up to four to five h...

Optimisation of performance of dry flowable powder formulations for control of crawling insect pests is known to involve control of particle size and effective distribution of active ingredient. Enhanced pick-up by the insect cuticle has been demonstrated through use of powder bearing an electrostat...

Solenopsis species have a worldwide distribution; some species of the S. saevissima species group, native from South America and popularly known as fire ants, had been introduced accidentally in several countries worldwide. This species group is widely distributed in Brazil, including in urban areas...

Pesticides are applied in residences, schools, hospitals and other edifications to control urban pests as cockroaches, ants, fleas, flies and termites. The use of these products in indoor environment can result in exposure of children and pets to particles in the air or adhered to the floor, carpets...

The growing urbanization process lead some organisms to rapidly set in the urban environment. These species, called synanthropic, can act as mechanical or biological vectors of microorganisms, and their occurrence represents a serious health risk. In Brazil, ants and cockroaches are the organisms mo...

Health services are colonized by urban pests, being generally an integral part of urban infrastructure, especially considering the neotropical climate that is warm and wet. Therefore, pest control is widely quoted in our legislation and hospitals should be free of pests. In practice, it is observed ...

Hospitals play an important role within a healthcare setting. The presence of arthropods in hospitals, like spiders, mites, bedbugs, mosquitoes, beetles, cockroaches, flies and ants, was reported in many studies. Besides its great epidemiological relevance, the presence of culicines that are potenti...

Darwin is the largest city in northern Australia, located above the tropic of Capricorn and experiences a tropical monsoon climate. A wide range of invasive and nuisance ants are present in and around Darwin and considered significant urban pests. These include African Bigheaded Ant (Pheidole megace...

Invasive ants present a serious threat to humans, wildlife and sensitive environmental habitats. The nature of these sensitive sites such as schools, nursing homes, parks, and zoos prevent the widespread application of insecticides to control ants and encourage alternative strategies. The presence o...

The Urban Pest Advisory Service (UPAS) is responsible for urban pests in the city of Zurich, Switzerland. We give approximately 2,000 consultations per year concerning pests and their control; we survey the pest situation in the city and control rats in public areas. Through a survey made among pest...

Choice experiments determined sucrose bait base preference by using laboratory colonies of 10 species of urban pest ants, namely Monomorium pharaonis (L.), Monomorium floricola (Jerdon), Monomorium destructor (Jerdon), Monomorium orientale Mayr, Tapinoma indicum (Forel), Tapinoma melanocephalum (Fab...

Of the nearly 10,000 known ant species, less than 100 are considered pests and fewer than 30 have adapted to urban disturbance. Some species, such as the Pharaoh's ant have a truly cosmopolitan distribution, nesting in and out of doors in tropical climates and only indoors in temperate climates. Mos...

Brazil shows a high diversity of urban pest ants. Among its 2,000 recorded ant species, 20 to 30 species are urban ants (tramp species). Native and introduced species are found and are not equally distributed in its 27 states. Camponotus species are found in the five regions that divide the country ...

Metaflumizone (proposed common name) is a high performance insecticide submitted for crop registration approval in the USA in 2004. Other key country registration submissions are expected to follow the USA application.Toxicological and environmental studies indicate that there is low risk to applica...

The Pharaoh’s ant, Monomorium pharaonis (L.) is an important species in the urban environment. This paper discussed the performance of a new bait formulation containing S-methoprene. Discussions are made on various laboratory experiments (in Budapest, Hungary and Penang, Malaysia) and field trials i...

The feeding responses of three urban pest ant species, Monomorium pharaonis (L.), Monomorium floricola (Jerdon) and Monomorium destructor (Jerdon) after being subjected to nutritional starvation and satiation (either for all nutrients, carbohydrate only, protein only or lipid only) were studied usin...

The Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (Mayr), is a worldwide agricultural and urban pest of Mediterranean and subtropical climates. They often displace native ant species when introduced into new areas. The Argentine ant is a tramp species that easily adapts to new environments and lives in close as...

In Louisiana, 115 chemicals are registered for use against red imported fire ants,Solenopsis invicta, and other pest ants such as Argentine ants, Linepithema humile. Yet citizens and pest control operators still struggle with adequate control of ant pests in homes, nursing facilities, hospitals, and...

The Argentine ant, Linepithema humile, is an invasive species that is a serious agricultural, ecological, and urban pest. L. humile displaces native ant species and other arthropods, and also invades homes and other structures. Monomorium minimum, the little black ant, is also an urban pest that wil...

Structure-infesting ants are an important group of insect pests in many parts of the world, particularly in residential premises, food outlets, and factories. In Malaysia, it is gradually becoming a major problem especially in urban settings (Lee et al., 1999; Lee and Robinson, 2001). Currently, ant...

The Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) is a highly invasive species, a major urban pest, and capable of impacting native systems. It was first found in New Zealand in 1990, and in March 2000, a population was discovered on a 200-ha island reserve of conservation significance. This led to a call for ...

Argentine ants, Linepithema humile (Mayr), are a major urban pest species in many countries with Mediterranean and semi-tropical climates. L. humile primarily feeds on honeydew, nectar, and other liquid sweets. Baits consisting of sucrose solutions are highly preferred. Sucrose-based liquid solution...

A complex of synanthropic arthropoda that inhabit a variety of rural and urban localities is systemized depending on the different parameters. These include the type of harm caused by arthropoda to people, including: arthropoda that are vectors and agents of infectious diseases; arthropoda that caus...

Hexaflumuron is a chitin synthesis inhibitor registered in the United States solely as a termite bait active ingredient. A benzoylphenyl urea insect growth regulator, with the proposed common name of noviflumuron, is being developed by Dow AgroSciences for use as the active ingredient in a termite b...

Ants and subterranean termites are economically important insect pests in the urban environment. Managing populations of these pests through bait-toxicant control tactics is a viable option that requires a thorough understanding of their biology. The terminology used in describing a bait-toxicant co...

Efficient control and eradication of Pharaoh’s ant is a difficult task for PCOs mostly due to the fact that several queens live in a nest, all of which can not be killed with traditional methods. PROTECT B Pharaoh’s ant killer bait is a special ready-to-use formulation that contains an insect growth...

The Pharaoh’s ant Monomorium pharaonis (L.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is a widespread urban pest, being most common in large, heated buildings. Fipronil is a novel phenyl-pyrazole insecticide, effective against insects of urban importance including termites and cockroaches, being active by both oral...

The Urban Pest Advisory Service with three part-time employees is responsible for the hygienic aspects concerning urban pests in the city of Zurich, Switzerland. The city has a surface of 9,200 hectares and 360,000 inhabitants. The main fields of work are the following: 1. to give advice to the publ...

Demand CS® (lambda-cyhalothrin) has been designed specifically for use in urban pest management. The product is based on microencapsulation technology which encloses the liquid active ingredient in a polymer shell to provide protection against hostile environmental conditions. Electron microscopy an...

Containerised insecticide bait products offer considerable advantages for control of urban crawling insect pests. However the differences in insecticide susceptibility and food preference between some pest species have resulted in a diversity of commercial bait products, each targeted at specific in...

Impact of carpenter ant infestations in structures ranges from nuisance pests to seriously damaging pests if structural timbers are attacked. Carpenter ants excavate wood to form galleries for their brood and tunnels for foragers. A mature colony consists of a parent or main colony with the queen, w...

In North America 20 species of Camponotus have been recorded as pest species causing either structural damage or occurring as nuisance species. Structurally damaging species are found in the subgenera: Camponotus. Tanaemyrmex, and Myrmothrix. Carpenter ants causing the most serious damage in eastern...

The role of biting or bloodsucking pesu such a lice, bedbug and flea in the'transmission of human pathogens is well known. The role of other anhropod pesu such as cockroaches, ants and flies is less clear and whilst there is a large body of evidence that they carry a wide range of pathogenic organis...