Cost and Efficacy Comparison of Integrated Pest Management Strategies with Monthly Spray Insecticide Applications for German Cockroach (Dictyoptera: Blattellidae) Control in Public Housing

Perspective: service‐based business models to incentivize the efficient use of pesticides in crop protection

“…To support this ‘servitization’ model, scouting reports and producer adherence to the service plan could be entered into a provider's farm management system and used to guide decision making based on risk‐based rules or decision support system technologies . Urban pest control is one example of where a service‐based approach can be successful, and IPM tactics such as monitoring can improve upon routine treatment schedules . One concern that merits research is the implication of reduced autonomy to producers and the potential socio‐economic implications of this change.…”

The Changing Role of Insecticides in Structural Pest Control

“…In a year-long study comparing a conventional monthly baseboard spray (0.025% cyfluthrin) and crack and crevice treatment (boric acid aerosol) with an IPM approach incorporating vacuuming and monthly or quarterly applications of baits (2.15% hydramethylnon bait) and IGR devices (90.6% hydroprene), Miller and Meek (2004) found that the conventional treatment cost $1.05 per unit treated whereas the IPM approach was $4.06. However, the average trap catches (15.3) in the conventional routes were significantly higher than the IPM route (9.2) at 12 months.…”

Integrated Pest Management of the German Cockroach (Blattodea: Blattellidae) in Manufactured Homes in Rural North Carolina

“…In addition, the use of non-spray formulations such as baits and gels in confined areas is encouraged, because it reduces the probability of human exposure. Several studies have demonstrated the greater effectiveness of IPM strategies compared with a pesticide spray-only tactic (Kramer et al 2000;Miller & Meek 2004;Wang et al 2006;Williams et al 2006). There also is ample evidence on the reduction of German cockroach allergens by using IPM strategies that include baiting (Arbes et al 2003(Arbes et al , 2004Sever et al 2007).…”

“…This success notwithstanding, IPM for cockroach control does not have a high adoption rate in manufactured homes especially those in rural communities. Instead, most studies on German cockroach IPM programs have focused primarily on low-income and public apartment homes in the inner cities in the United States (Wood 1980;Robinson & Zungoli 1985;Hedges 1994;Campbell et al 1999;Kitch et al 2000;Leaderer et al 2002;Brenner et al 2003;Miller & Meek 2004;Morgan et al 2004;Williams et al 2006;Condon et al 2007;Peters et al 2007;Nalyanya et al 2009;Juneau et al 2011). We are not aware of any published study on IPM for German cockroach control in manufactured homes, even though there are about 8.7 million of them, which account for 6.3% of the 128.3 million housing units in the United States.…”