Evaluation of Carifend® for the control of larvae of major stored-product insect species

In the present study, Carifend (R) (BASF AG, Ludwigshafen, Germany) an alpha-cypermethrin-coated net was evaluated in laboratory conditions against larvae of major stored-product insect species. This experiment was conducted using petri dishes, in which the insecticide-treated net was placed at the bottom, whereas two additional series of dishes were used as controls, one with a net but no insecticide, and the other without net. Five major insect species of stored products were tested, i.e. Tribolium confusum, Tribolium castaneum, Alphitobius diaperinus, Tenebrio molitor and Ephestia kuehniella. Larvae of these species were exposed to the treatments for 1 and 7 d, then they were transferred to untreated dishes, where mortality was recorded immediately and 7 d later. In all species, an increase in the duration of initial contact with Carifend (R) and duration of post-exposure increased the level of mortality. Among the species tested, T. castaneum was the least susceptible to Carifend (R), with 88.9 % mortality after 7 d of contact, while mortality for A. diaperinus larvae reached 100 % under the same conditions. The results of this study show that Carifend (R) is very effective against larvae of a wide range of storage insect pests, making it a valuable tool for the protection of durable food commodities.