Efficacy of Professional and Homemade Residual Pesticides on Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Abstract
The invasive red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, has recently gained attention in the United States due to its increased prevalence in urban areas. The species has been linked to aggressive attacks that primarily affect young children and the elderly. Because Solenopsis invicta is an invasive species, it has been able to reproduce without hindrance and has made its way into people’s homes. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effectiveness of various residual insecticides on individual ants. The insecticides that were studied included commercially available products such as Raid, as well as home remedies like Dawn Dish Soap. The experiment tested the insecticides’ residual effects with five trials each, and each trial had one ant in the testing chamber. The time allotted for each test was an hour, and the chamber was observed at differing time intervals. The results indicate that commercial insecticides kill ants more quickly than most known home remedies, and most of the products tested killed an ant within an hour. The known insecticides tended to kill nearly instantaneously upon contact with the ants, while the home remedies killed over a more sporadic time frame. Lastly, this study concluded that the cost of most products tested were comparable, and that lemongrass insecticides may have a newfound place in fire ant control effort.References
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