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Baited pitfall traps designs8/5/2023 ![]() However, there were no significant differences between traps baited with CO2 derived from cylinders and CO2 derived from sugar and yeast, which is cheaper to produce. Traps baited with carbon dioxide also caught higher numbers of bed bugs, and higher rates of released CO2 were more effective than low rates. Traps with the experimental lure caught 2.2 times as many bedbugs as unbaited traps. The new pitfall trap design caught significantly more (2.8-fold) bed bugs than the Climbup insect interceptor trap, which the authors name as the most effective monitor currently available on the market. Various sources and levels of carbon dioxde were also tested as attractants. The lure mixture consisted of nonanal, 1-octen-3-ol, spearmint oil, and coriander Egyptian oil. The new pitfall trap design was made with an inverted plastic dog bowl and the outer wall of the trap was covered with a layer of paper surgical tape which was dyed black. ![]() The three authors from the Rutgers University Department of Entomology, Narinderpal Singh, Changlu Wang, and Richard Cooper, report their findings in "Effect of Trap Design, Chemical Lure, Carbon Dioxide Release Rate, and Source of Carbon Dioxide on Efficacy of Bed Bug Monitors." Their findings suggest that an effective and affordable bed bug monitor can be made incorporating the new pitfall trap design, a chemical lure, and a sugar-and-yeast mixture to produce carbon dioxide, which is also known to attract bed bugs. ![]() The authors also found that traps baited with an experimental chemical lure mixture caught 2.2 times as many bed bugs as traps without the lure. This is noteworthy as if we manage to locally eradicate YCA in the future, the absence of a competitor may make way for another ant species to invade Vallée de Mai, or indeed allow native ants to return.A new pitfall trap designed to capture bed bugs is more effective than those currently on the market, according to the authors of an article appearing in the next issue of the Journal of Economic Entomology. Populations of other invasive alien ants such as Technomyrmex albipes, Nylanderia bourbonica and Odontomachus simillimus have also decreased substantially since baiting started in 2019. The high numbers of YCA in Fond Peper are also of major conservation concern given the site’s importance for endemic caecilians, geckos, skinks, black parrots, snails, slugs and many other invertebrates. It also highlights the potential for rapid reinvasion if control efforts are not sustained. The Fond Peper survey shows us how abundant YCA could have been had no action been taken to arrest their increasing population. The substantial decrease of YCA in the Vallée de Mai strongly suggests that the two fipronil treatments this year were highly effective in reducing YCA numbers and bolsters our confidence in further reducing them with another baiting deployment in March. On the other hand, the results showed the highest numbers of YCA in Fond Peper since pitfall surveys began. ![]() YCA appear to have returned to the distribution from 2010 they are found in highest abundance only in the north-east of the forest. The results showed that YCA now occupy 60% of the Vallée de Mai in very low numbers (0–9 individuals) which is the smallest distribution since 2015 and the lowest numbers since they were first discovered in the site. The resulting 75 samples (50 from the Vallée de Mai and 25 from Fond Peper) were then sorted in December. Another survey was carried out in Fond Peper without AntOff treatment for comparison. The YCA taskforce used a more ergonomic pitfall trap design for this survey in the Vallée de Mai, which was treated with AntOff (the ant bait). In December we surveyed the numbers of ants using pitfall traps, to assess the impact of baiting on YCA distribution and abundance. The Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF) responded to this threat by setting up a dedicated YCA taskforce earlier last year, who have carried out two rounds of baiting in the forest in an attempt to reduce the numbers of YCA. The yellow crazy ant (YCA) is an invasive alien species and causes significant impacts on the native wildlife of the Vallée de Mai. Environment YCA surveys in the Vallée de Mai suggest that baiting has reduced numbers of ants |02 March 2020 ![]()
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