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1 April 2004 Repellency and Toxicity of Mint Oil Granules to Red Imported Fire Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Arthur G. Appel, Michael J. Gehret, Marla J. Tanley
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Abstract

Repellency and toxicity of 2% mint oil granules were evaluated against worker red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren, in a series of laboratory and field experiments. In continuous exposure experiments, LT50 values ranged from 1.2 h with 164.8 mg/cm2 of 2% mint oil granules to 15.3 h with 1.65 mg/cm2 of granules. LT50 values declined exponentially with increasing rate of mint oil granules. Limited exposure to 164.8 mg/cm2 mint oil granules resulted in >50% knock down (KD) after 30 min; however, there was no KD at 15 min. Twenty-four hour mortality increased linearly with increasing exposure time. Mean repellency of worker red imported fire ants ranged from 49.2 ± 5.4% for 0 mg/cm2 (untreated control) of mint oil granules at 30 min to 100% for 147.8 mg/cm2 of mint oil granules at 3 h. Repellency increased with increasing milligrams per square centimeter of mint oil granules and exposure time. In field tests, 100% of mounds opened and treated with mint oil granules were abandoned 5 d after treatment and ants had relocated or formed satellite mounds by 2 d after treatment. Unopened mounds treated topically with mint oil granules were not abandoned, but ants formed satellite mounds 2 d after treatment. Mint oil granules could provide another tool for red imported fire ant integrated pest management, particularly in situations in which conventional insecticides would be inappropriate.

Arthur G. Appel, Michael J. Gehret, and Marla J. Tanley "Repellency and Toxicity of Mint Oil Granules to Red Imported Fire Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)," Journal of Economic Entomology 97(2), 575-580, (1 April 2004). https://doi.org/10.1603/0022-0493-97.2.575
Received: 19 March 2003; Accepted: 1 November 2003; Published: 1 April 2004
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KEYWORDS
essential oil
mint oil
repellent
Solenopsis invicta
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