Evaluation of Attractants for Monitoring Populations of the German Cockroach (Dictyoptera: Blattellidae)

Abstract

Lures that are used to attract German cockroaches, Blattella germanica (L.), to traps were compared in olfactometer assays in the laboratory and in trapping experiments in cockroach-infested homes and a swine farm. In olfactometer assays, AgriSense GP-2 was the most attractive lure, followed by peanut butter, and distiller's grain. Other lures, including Trapper tablet; Victor pheromone, a crude fecal extract that ostensibly contains B. germanica aggregation pheromone; and Victor food lure elicited upwind orientation from <50% of the test insects. Peanut butter and distiller's grain were equally attractive in trapping experiments in swine production barns and they captured significantly more cockroaches than the GP-2 tablet or the Victor pheromone lure; the commercial lures failed to attract significantly more cockroaches than the unbaited control traps. When tested against blank controls, cockroaches preferred to rest in shelters that contained the aggregation pheromone-based lure (Victor), but this lure was the least attractive to cockroaches in olfactometer assays. These results do not support claims that commercial crude fecal extracts attract cockroaches to traps, and they highlight a need for developing more attractive lures for detection of cockroaches and for monitoring populations.

Comparison of Cockroach Traps and Attractants for Monitoring German Cockroaches (Dictyoptera: Blattellidae)

“…The pheromone wood chip might also have contributed to the higher number of catches (Kaakeh and Bennett 1996). However, Nalyanya and Schal (2001) found Victor pheromone did not increase trap catches in apartment and swine farm experiments.…”

“…Previous research has shown that German cockroaches are not attracted to the food or scents discussed above over a few centimeters (Rust and Reierson 1981). Nalyanya and Schal (2001) compared various attractants in olfactomer assays and Þeld experiments. Inconsistent results were found between olfactometer bioassays and Þeld experiments.…”

Gut bacteria mediate aggregation in the German cockroach

“…Preferences of individual fifth instar nymphs for test samples were tested with straighttube olfactometers, as described in ref. 57. SI Materials and Methods has additional information relating to these methodologies.…”

Consensus driven by a minority in heterogenous groups of the cockroach Periplaneta americana

“…The insects, like many others, individually explore the environment and choose to settle between one shelter without odor (hereafter CS) and one with peanut butter odor (hereafter PS) (see Figure S10 and STAR methods ). Cockroaches show a spontaneous preference for some odors like that of peanut butter ( Nalyanya and Schal, 2001 ), the attractive molecule being the 1-hexanol ( Karimifar et al., 2011 ). Indeed, it is most likely that 1-hexanol, a volatile component of peanut butter, is an indicator of lipids or lipids degradation source ( Feussner and Wasternack, 2002 ) and therefore an attractant molecule.…”