Effectiveness of insecticide-incorporated bags to control stored-product beetles

Adults of seven stored-product beetle species were exposed on the inside and outside surfaces of polypropylene polymer bags incorporated with the insecticide deltamethrin (approx. concentration of 3000 ppm; ZeroFly® Storage Bags (3 g/kg). Beetles were exposed for 60, 120, and 180 min, and 1, 3 and 5 days on the same treatment arenas, and after the 5 d interval the insects were removed and placed in untreated arenas for 5 more days. All Trogoderma variable (Ballion), the warehouse beetle, Prostephanus truncatus (Horn), the larger grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica (F.), the lesser grain borer, and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), the red flour beetle, were knocked down on the outside and inside surfaces of the bag after one hour of exposure. Mortality of T. variable, P. truncatus, and R. dominica increased during the exposure period, with generally lower mortality on the inside versus the outside of the bag after either 3 or 5 days of continual exposure. However, maximum mortality of T. castaneum, the red flour beetle, was only 5.6 ± 3.4% after 5 days of exposure. While it took longer for 100% knockdown of Sitophilus oryzae (L.), the rice weevil, compared to the above species, all S. oryzae were dead after 5 d of exposure on both surfaces. In contrast, after 5 days knockdown of Sitophilus zeamais (Motschlulsky), the maize weevil, did not exceed 30% and there was no mortality. After the Sitophilus species were transferred to untreated arenas, knockdown of all species decreased and mortality increased, indicating delayed mortality and no recovery from knockdown. Mortality of Dermestes maculatus (DeGeer), the hide beetle, did not exceed 5.6% at any time and there was no delayed mortality, indicating a potential tolerance of this particular strain of D. maculatus used in the study. Our results show that the ZeroFly® Storage Bags could effectively limit penetration of stored-product beetles through the bag into stored grains or milled grain products.