Due to their mutualistic relationship with plant pests, the Argentine ant is considered a major pest in subtropical fruit orchards and vineyards. Besides insecticide sprays, liquid baiting has been demonstrated as an effective method to suppress the Argentine ant populations. To improve the economic feasibility of liquid baiting, hydrogel materials have been recently tested as a carrier for liquid baits containing various insecticidal active ingredients. Here, we tested boric acid as a toxicant in the aqueous sugar bait delivered in a biodegradable calcium alginate hydrogel. Laboratory tests demonstrated that boric acid (1%) liquid bait incorporated in the calcium alginate hydrogel effectively killed Argentine ant workers. Potassium sorbate (0.25%) added to the liquid bait as a preservative did not impact the efficacy of boric acid even though it significantly reduced the degree of swelling of the hydrogel beads in the bait solution. Testing with 2-month-old bait suggested that long-term storage might impact bait efficacy even with potassium sorbate preservative.
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4 March 2023
Laboratory evaluations of biodegradable boric acid hydrogel baits for the control of Argentine ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Benning Le,
Hoeun Park,
Kathleen Campbell,
Michael K. Rust,
Chow-Yang Lee,
Dong-Hwan Choe
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Journal of Economic Entomology
Vol. 116 • No. 2
April 2023
Vol. 116 • No. 2
April 2023
ant bait
boric acid
calcium alginate
Hydrogel
Linepithema humile