The presence of flour affects the efficacy of aerosolized insecticides used to treat the XXXX , @entity5399 .

@entity3505 @entity312 @entity5399
Experiments were conducted in tightly sealed pilot scale warehouses to assess the efficacy of common aerosolized insecticides on all life stages of @entity5399 (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) when exposed in dishes containing 0 to 2 g of @entity3505 flour either under pallets or out in the open. Petri dishes containing 0, 0.1, 1, or 2 g of flour were prepared with 25 eggs, 3rd instars, pupae, or adults and then immediately treated with aerosolized solvent, @entity312 , or esfenvalerate. Twenty-four h after insecticide exposure, the dishes were brought to the laboratory and placed in a growth chamber and held for a 3 day moribund (knockdown) assessment and a 21 day mortality assessment. Mortality in untreated controls was generally less than 10%, with the exception of the 21 day counts of adults and eggs. Solvent-treated replications followed similar trends, except that additional mortality was observed in exposed larvae and pupae. In the insecticide-treated dishes, mortality of @entity5399 provisioned with flour generally showed a linear decrease with increasing flour deposits. Regardless of life stage, mortality did not exceed 60% when individuals were exposed in petri dishes containing 2 g of flour. Exposure location also made a significant difference in observed mortality. While mortality never exceeded 75% in dishes positioned under pallets, there was never less than 80% mortality in dishes exposed in the open. Although there was a perceptible increase in mortality with esfenvalerate compared to @entity312 , these differences were considerably less than the variation observed among flour deposits. The study suggests that sanitation and preparation prior to aerosol insecticide treatments were more important than choice of a particular insecticide.
