A Novel Imidacloprid Bait For Control of Monomorium Pharaonis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Abstract:
A novel semi-liquid ant bait matrix containing imidacloprid between 0.001 and 0.1% destroyed all laboratory colonies of Pharaoh’s ant in a dose related time span. Best performance was observed with concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 0.1% imidacloprid. Two concentrations (0.01 and 0.05%) were field tested in a town in Czech Republic. All flats treated with the higher concentration of 0.05% were free of ants within two weeks after treatment. The lower rate of 0.01% also eliminated all ant infestations but needed a prolonged period of time of 3 month and some re-treatment bait application. A further trial treating 147 apartments with a 0.03% imidacloprid bait resulted in complete eradication of ant infestations. In this trial, bait was applied by bait gun in distinct bait droplets at a rate of 80 and 250 mg of bait per m² treated area. At the first monitoring time point 21 days after application; all treated flats were free of ants. A small number of ants were again seen 40 days after treatment but consequently disappeared again without the need of re-treatment.