mapping the future of pest management

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mapping the future of pest management
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How it works

• The technique has been developed using software
  developed originally for cartographical and
  meteorological purposes.
• The monitoring programme is tailored specifically
  to the site and the pest species concerned.
• Monitoring data is collected and, if necessary,
  transformed to take into account variables such
  as irregular inspection intervals.
• The data is then presented in the form of a
  contour map. This
• highlights areas of greatest pest density, and
• allows inspection and treatment efforts can be
  more effectively targeted.

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Which pests can this technique be used on?

• To work best the pest species must
• Be reasonably mobile, so that it can move towards
  an attractant.
• Have something to which we can attract it an an
  effective pheromone is ideal.

The technique has been used with excellent
results on cockroaches, stored product moths, one
species of stored product beetle and house-flies.
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Could it be used on stored product beetles, such
as Tribolium?

• The short answer is we dont know, because we
  havent yet tried.
• Most species of storage beetle show very clumped
  distribution, living within their food source.
  Individuals generally do not travel far, and
  sources of infestation are usually best found
  through inspection, often through tracks in dust.
• Contour mapping might be useful, but at this
  point we do not have the evidence to support
  this.
• Were always on the lookout for
• opportunities though!!

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What about on rodents?

• Again, we havent tried it. The difficult problem
  to resolve would be how to obtain reliable
  monitoring data in a cost-effective manner
• Takes of rodenticide baits alone would be
  unlikely to provide sufficient information.
• Density of droppings might be useful, but there
  would have to be a thorough clean-up first to
  remove old ones which would confuse the results.
• Footprints on some form of tracking plate provide
  the most realistic option, but could be labour
  intensive.

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Examples of problems that we have used contour
mapping to investigate.

• Example 1
• A facility processing cereal based food products
• Several floors are infested with a species of
  stored product insect
• One floor of approximately 3200 m2 was selected
  for the trial
• The floor included a large open area containing
  no plant, as well as a large dryer and various
  items of milling plant. Electrical trunking and
  air-handling ducts criss-cross the area

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• A total of 78 species-specific pheromone traps
  were distributed in a grid pattern throughout the
  entire floor area
• Insect counts were completed after two weeks
• Catches per trap, per day were calculated
• A contour map was produced using the spatial
  analysis software.

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Contour labels indicate no. of insects caught per
trap, per day.
The map shows hot-spots of pest activity around
traps 45/46 and 60/61, with lesser pockets around
traps 21, 30/31, 54 and 77. By overlaying the map
on a site plan we obtained a clear picture of the
likely locations of infestation, and through
inspection, cleaning and design changes
eliminated the problem.
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• Example 2
• A warehouse storing large quantities of cereals,
  dried fruits and nuts had been experiencing an
  on-going problem with storage moths.
• The warehouse had 56 funnel traps permanently
  sited within it.
• The catch data collected during the month
  preceding the inspection was subjected to spatial
  analysis, and a contour map plotted and overlaid
  onto a plan of the warehouse.
• The result speaks for itself.

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• Example 3
• The hot and humid processing area of a food
  manufacturer, containing numerous lagged tanks,
  pumps, and heat exchangers, was troubled by a
  long-standing and deep-seated infestation of
  German cockroaches.
• The wet conditions in the area made it impossible
  to permanently site insect monitors.
• Instead, 25 sticky-type monitors, incorporating a
  cockroach attractant, were located for just
  one-week. These were then collected, and
  cockroach counts plotted in a contour map.

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• Cockroach activity was not uniform, but heavily
  clumped around one lagged tank and two pump
  motors.
• Intensive treatment, with gel-baits, was carried
  out around these and nearby plant and areas.

The monitoring exercise was repeated two-weeks
later..
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• Example 4
• A large bread bakery was experiencing a
  long-standing problem with house-flies. The
  hygiene manager knew roughly where the hot-spots
  were, but felt that a contour map would provide a
  valuable picture to take to management to
  free-up resources.
• A sticky trap was sourced incorporating variety
  of visual and chemical house-fly attractants.
• 26 of these were hung in the bakery area and
  inspected after 10 days

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Trap catches ranged between 0 and 50. The hygiene
manager got the resources he needed!!!!
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Conclusion

• Contour mapping offers a unique visual means of
  interpreting monitoring data.
• It can highlight hot-spots of pest activity
  within complex production areas and large
  warehouses.
• It can thereby allow treatments to be timed and
  targeted for maximum effect
• and may also facilitate allocation of financial
  or human resources.

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• Contour mapping of pest populations is a service
  that we believe is unique, in the UK, to Acheta.
• For more information, or to discuss whether this
  approach might be appropriate for use in your
  site, please contact
• Dr John Simmons
• 44 (0)1530-224942
• 44 (0)7855-944049
• john.simmons_at_acheta.co.uk