Insecticide-impregnated net originally invented to control malaria vectors can be used to control other arthropod pests

Abstract

We evaluated an insecticide-impregnated net, originally invented for malaria vector control, as a tool to control vectors and stored product insects in a laboratory trial. First, we performed the standard continuous contact test on German cockroach, American cockroach, house fly, cigarette beetle, rice weevil, and red flour beetle; lethal effects were found on all of these insects, except red flour beetle. The house fly and cigarette beetle were affected very rapidly in the contact tests. Second, we disclosed that seating the net proved to act as a barrier against American cockroach. From the third day of the experiment, the roaches did not enter the shelter in the treated zone, and the quantity of feces left on the control shelters was greater than that on the treated shelters. Thus, the net was shown to repel the roaches from the treated shelters. Third, suspending a strip of the net in a cage had knockdown and lethal effect on house flies and flesh flies. This study has shown the applicability and the utility of an insecticide-impregnated net to control pests other than malaria vectors.