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From: "ARS News Service"
To: "ARS News List"
Subject: New Traps "Bust" Dust--and Pests
Date: Fri, Feb 23, 2001, 5:03 AM
STORY LEAD:
New Traps "Bust" Dust--and Indoor Insect Pests
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ARS News Service
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
Linda McGraw, (309) 681-6530, mcgraw@ars.usda.gov
February 23, 2001
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Two new dust-resistant traps developed by Agricultural Research Service
scientists and cooperators will help target indoor insect problems by using
chemical lures to catch the pests.
Dust resistance is a key component to the new traps because dust often
clogs the chemical lures that attract insects. Keeping dust out makes the
traps more effective.
One trap discreetly "de-bugs" storage warehouses and food processing
facilities to help food manufacturers keep the goodwill of their customers.
ARS entomologists Michael A. Mullen and Alan K. Dowdy in Manhattan, Kan.,
developed the trap that is baited with an insect lure called a pheromone.
The trap can be placed out of sight under shelves in retail stores,
warehouses, food processing facilities and home pantries. Developed in
cooperation with Trece, Inc. of Salinas, California, the trap will soon be
sold commercially under the name "Discreet Trap."
Because it can't be seen by consumers, the "Discreet Trap" is expected to
increase the use of monitoring devices in retail areas and, at the same
time, reduce the need for pesticides by pinpointing infestations, according
to Mullen, based at ARS' Grain Marketing and Production Research Center in
Manhattan.
Mullen and Oklahoma State University scientists developed the second trap
by adding dust resistance to an existing trap. They modified the FLITe
TRAK--developed and patented by Mullen in 1992--by adding a dust cover.
This trap is being marketed by Trece under the name "Dome Trap."
Food products most often become infested with insects while stored in
warehouses. Pheromone-baited traps allow warehouse and food processing
managers to make better management decisions about the timing and targeting
of control practices. These include heat treatments, sanitation and
crack-and-crevice sprays. These controls can be more cost-effective and
have a smaller environmental impact than widespread use of conventional
insecticides.
This research is important because food manufacturers are under increasing
restrictions for using pesticides, but they still need to keep packaged
foods insect-free until consumed.
ARS is the chief scientific research agency in the U.S. Department of
Agriculture.
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Scientific contact: Michael Mullen, ARS Grain Marketing and Production
Research Center, Manhattan, Kan., phone (785) 776-2782, fax (785) 537-
5584, mullen@usgmrl.ksu.edu.
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