Novel “Attract-and-kill” Approach Could Help Tackle Argentine Ants

UC Riverside entomologists devise a technique that involves mixing a synthetic pheromone in insecticide sprays

By Iqbal Pittalwala on January 6, 2014

Photo shows Argentine ants. Photo credit: D-H Choe Lab, UC Riverside.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. After being inadvertently introduced in the United States from South America, Argentine ants have successfully invaded urban, agricultural, and natural settings nationwide. In urban California, the Argentine ant is among the primary pest ants. For example, this particular species of ants makes up 85 percent of ants sampled by commercial pest control companies in just the Greater San Diego Area.

Entomologists at the University of California, Riverside have now developed a pheromone-assisted technique as an economically viable approach to maximize the efficacy of conventional sprays targeting the invasive Argentine ant.

They supplemented insecticide sprays with (Z)-9-hexadecenal, a pheromone compound attractive to ants, and were able to divert Argentine ants from their trails and nest entrances. Lured by the pheromone, the ants were eventually exposed to the insecticide residue, and killed.

Study results appeared Dec. 23, 2013, in the online fast track edition of the Journal of Economic Entomology.

Field study was conducted to determine if Argentine ants would be attracted from a nest entrance and nearby trails to an aqueous pheromone spray deposit. The red circles indicate the positions of ants. The sand patch on right was sprayed with water supplemented with the synthetic pheromone (Z)-9-hexadecenal. The sand patch on left was sprayed with water only. After a few minutes, the number of ants on the pheromone-treated patch exceeded the number of ants on the water-treated patch. The nest entrance and nearby trails were located between the patches of sand. Image credit: D-H Choe Lab, UC Riverside.

Our experiments with fipronil and bifenthrin sprays indicate that the overall kill of these insecticides on Argentine ant colonies is substantially improved by 57 to 142 percent by incorporating (Z)-9-hexadecenal in the sprays, said Dong-Hwan Choe, an assistant professor of entomology and the research project leader, whose lab focuses on urban entomology, insect behavior and chemical ecology.

According to Choes research team, the current attract-and-kill approach, once it is successfully implemented in practical pest management programs, could potentially provide maximum control efficacy with reduced amount of insecticides applied in the environment.

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Novel “Attract-and-kill” Approach Could Help Tackle Argentine Ants