Pheromones and Attractants
Using pest-specific pheromones for monitoring, mating disruption, and attract-and-kill strategies in IPM programs.
Detailed Overview
Pheromones are chemical signals insects use to communicate. Sex pheromones attract mates; aggregation pheromones call insects to food or harborage. Pest management uses: (1) Monitoring: pheromone lures in traps attract target species for detection and population tracking. Species-specific - Indian meal moth pheromone attracts only Indian meal moths. Check traps weekly, count catches, plot trends. Essential for stored product pest programs and food facility IPM. Replace lures per label (typically 6-12 weeks). (2) Mass trapping: high density pheromone traps capture enough insects to reduce population. Limited success - monitoring use more common. (3) Mating disruption: saturate environment with sex pheromone so males cannot locate females, preventing reproduction. Used in agricultural settings, rarely in structural pest control. (4) Attract-and-kill: pheromone + insecticide in device. Insects attracted, contact insecticide, die. Used for some fly and stored product pest applications. Limitations: pheromones do not attract all life stages - typically only adults. Some species lack effective synthetic pheromones. Environmental conditions affect pheromone release and attraction distance. Primary PCO use: monitoring programs in food facilities demonstrating pest surveillance for auditors.
When to Use
Deploy pheromone monitoring traps in food facilities for stored product pest detection and trend analysis. Essential for HACCP programs. Use species-specific lures. Check and record catches weekly.
Required Skill Level
Requires some training and experience in pest management
Benefits
- Highly species-specific - no non-target catches
- Sensitive early detection before visible infestations
- Quantifiable data for trend analysis
- Non-toxic monitoring method
- Demonstrates proactive surveillance for audits
- Guides treatment decisions
Limitations
- Monitoring only - does not control populations
- Only attracts specific species and life stage
- Lures degrade requiring regular replacement
- Effectiveness varies by species
- Can be expensive for large facilities
- Must correctly identify species to choose lure
Related Concepts
Other product types that may be useful
Reduced-Risk Pesticides
Low-toxicity pesticide products that pose minimal risk to humans, pets, and the environment while remaining effective against target pests.
Insect Growth Regulators (IGRs)
Pesticides that disrupt insect development and reproduction by mimicking or blocking growth hormones - providing long-term population suppression.
Non-Repellent vs Repellent Chemistry
Understanding the difference between insecticides pests cannot detect (non-repellent) versus those they avoid (repellent) - critical for colony elimination.