Biological Control
John A. Byers

 

Mass trapping

Mass trapping of pest insects by distributing traps baited with attractive chemicals over a large area is a well known control method. However, due to the expense of traps, chemicals, and deployment of traps, this method has been little used. If traps can be made more efficient and cheaper then the method would be more practical. The efficacy of mass trapping methods can be explored by computer simulations and through actual experiments in the field. The cost of chemical baits, their attraction radius (effectiveness), and chemical longevity in the field are other important considerations when developing a mass trapping system. Since only a few field experiments have been attempted on large scales, there needs to be more research in diverse pest systems on this general method. The following menu of papers, software, and Java applets provides an introduction and a scattering of ideas regarding this potentially important pest management tool.

Simulation of Mass trapping 2007 Simulation of Mass trapping 1993
Antlions using Mass trapping Trapping Rings
Java applet of Trapping Rings Grid of Traps
Software downloads Effective Attraction Radius (EAR)
Java applet EAR Normal Distributions of flying insects
(3D and 2D EAR)


Questions concerning these program areas can be directed to: john.byers@ars.usda.gov