This research is a study of pest management systems in Malmö. Malmö is, as many other cities, growing and a node of people's movement. Occurrences of pests have increased in the last decade; this increase is attributed to travel as well as construction and building.What this paper shows is that the structures of pest management must evolve to be more communicative and collaborative. The thesis also adds to the housing crisis debate, as pests in one’s housing have a physical as well as psychological effect.

The focus of this dissertation is on bed bug thermal biology. How bed bugs react to heat exposure at the population, behavioral, and physiological levels was explored. The thermal tolerance of different bed bug populations and sublethal effects heat exposure were investigated. The temperatures that cause bed bugs to flee from their harborages was determined using a custom made arena. How bed bug physiology changes after heat exposure was determined using RT-qPCR. Finally, how conspecifics react to bed bugs that have been lethally exposed to heat was determined using still air bioassays.<br>

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<p>There is an existing conflict thrust upon U.S. food production systems; optimize crop yield to provide sustenance to a growing population while minimizing ecological impacts of high-intensity agriculture. This balancing act is experienced by Indiana’s watermelon growers who must maintain marketability of a crop that is reliant on insect pollinators. The dependence on pollinators to produce yield means that growers have to consider the negative impacts pesticide applications may have on both the desired pest and non-target pollinators. Navigating these trade-offs must be considered not just in the watermelon fields, but the surrounding agricultural landscape that has become increasingly reliant on prophylactic insecticides to control pests. This dissertation work results from an intensive set of experiments replicating grower practices in experimental fields throughout Indiana to assess the relationships of pests, pollinators, and crop yield.</p> Beginning with a priming year in 2017, watermelon plots were planted within larger corn fields to replicate the agriculture landscape and provide a “snapshot” of typical environment. These plots were paired at multiple locations and provided a contrast between a conventional management system that replicates grower insecticide programs with an IPM approach that removes insecticide applications outside of those based on scouting recommendations. I found that, while pest abundance and damage was higher in IPM fields, the increased pollinator visits in IPM fields led to higher yields in watermelons while corn yield was unaffected by an absence of insecticide use. Managed pollinator hives were placed in these fields and IPM resulted in the colonies exhibiting greater weight gain, lower mortality, increased reproductive growth, and higher insecticide residue accumulation. Insecticide residues were found more frequently at higher levels in the leaf tissue, crop pollen, field soil, and honey bee-collected pollen taken from CM fields. Despite these findings, there was a variable effect of the surrounding land use on the quality of collected pollen or the insecticides gathered by pollinators. These experiments demonstrate that IPM is a viable set of practices for specialty crop growers in the Midwest; successfully monitoring insect pests and conserving pollination services from both managed and wild pollinators. These findings provide a comprehensive look at the effect of IPM practices not just on the a specialty crop, but to the surrounding agricultural landscape as well. An IPM approach can be implemented by growers to decrease non-target effects from insecticides while maintaining or even improving productivity and profitability.

Il marciume del grappolo, causato da Botrytis cinerea, è una delle principali malattie che colpiscono la vite. Botrytis cinerea si sviluppa e cresce attivamente come patogeno necrotrofo e saprofita su diversi substrati. In vigneto, B. cinerea può produrre un ampio numero di conidi in un’ampia gamma di condizioni ambientali. Botrytis cinerea ha diversi pathway d’infezione e le infezioni occorrono principalmente in due periodi: dalla fioritura allo sviluppo dei giovani grappoli, e dopo invaiatura alla raccolta. A causa della complessità del ciclo di vita di B. cinerea e all’esistenza di questi diversi pathway d’infezione, i fungicidi vengono normalmente applicati a fine della fioritura (A), pre-chiusura del grappolo (B), invaiatura (C), e prima della raccolta (D). Le applicazioni durante la prima parte della stagione (A e B) hanno come obiettivo: i) la riduzione della germinazione dei conidi e le infezioni fiorali, ii) la prevenzione delle infezioni latenti delle bacche, e iii) la disinfezione dei residui di fioritura. Le applicazioni successive all’invaiatura (C e D) hanno lo scopo non solo di prevenire le infezioni durante la maturazione ma anche di disinfestare i residui di fioritura rimasti all’interno del grappolo. Questa strategia, basata su quattro trattamenti, garantisce una buona protezione contro il marciume del grappolo in vigneto, tuttavia presenta alcuni limiti: i) si tratta di un approccio preventivo che non considera il reale rischio d’infezione, con il conseguente effetto di eseguire trattamenti non necessari; ii) aumenta la probabilità che si sviluppino popolazioni resistenti ai fungicidi; iii) implica potenziali risvolti negativi sulla salute umana e sull’ambiente. Negli ultimi anni, nuove tipologie di prodotti, come gli agenti di biocontrollo (BCAs) e i botanicals, sono state proposte per ridurre l’uso eccessivo di prodotti chimici e aumentare la sostenibilità del controllo del marciume del grappolo in vigneto. Lo scopo di questa tesi di Dottorato è stato: i) comparare diverse strategie di controllo e valutare l’interazione tra fungicidi con diversi timing di applicazione, ii) valutare l’effetto sulla colonizzazione e sporulazione di B. cinerea su residui fiorali di diversi prodotti (fungicidi, agenti di biocontrollo, e botanicals) applicati con diversi timing; iii) valutare un modello meccanicistico sviluppato da González-Domínguez et al. (2015); e iv) includere all’interno di un modello per il biocontrollo, sviluppato da Jeger et al. (2009), l’effetto delle condizioni ambientali sulle interazioni BCA-patogeno. / Botrytis bunch rot (BBR), caused by Botrytis cinerea, is one of the main diseases affecting grapevine. Botrytis cinerea develops and actively grows as necrotrophic pathogen and as saprophyte on different substrates. In grapevine, B. cinerea can produce a large number of conidia on bunch and leaf trash and rotted berries under a wide range of environmental conditions. Botrytis cinerea has multiple infection pathways and infection mainly occurs in two periods: from flowering to young cluster development, and after veraison to harvest. Due to the complexity of the B. cinerea life cycle and the existence of these different infection pathways, fungicides are usually applied at the end of flowering (A), pre-bunch closure (B), veraison (C), and before harvest (D). The early season applications (A and B) are aimed at: i) reducing conidial germination and infection of flowers, ii) preventing latent infections of berries, and iii) disinfesting the bunch trash. The later-season applications (i.e., the applications from veraison until harvest; C and D) are aimed not only at preventing berry infection during ripening but also at disinfesting bunch trash in order to reduce the inoculum load. This fungicide schedule may results in unnecessary sprays because the applications are preventive and do not take into account the real risk of BBR infections. In the last decades, new products, like biological control agents (BCAs) and botanicals, have been proposed for reducing the excessive use of chemicals in agriculture and increase the sustainable of BBR control in vineyards. The aim of this Doctoral work was to: i) compare different control strategies and evaluate the interactions among fungicides applied at different timings; ii) investigate the effects of different products (fungicides, biological control agents, and botanicals) applied at different timings on B. cinerea bunch trash colonization and sporulation; iii) evaluate a weather-driven mechanistic model developed by González-Domínguez et al. (2015); and iv) include into a model for biological control, developed by Jeger et al. (2009), the effect of environmental conditions on the pathogen-BCA interactions.

Blackflies (Diptera: Simuliidae) are major pests in the livestock and labour-intensive farming systems along the major rivers in South Africa. At present, blackflies are controlled with the larvicide Bacillus thuringienses var. israelensis (B.t.i.). As part of establishing an environmentally friendly and cost-effective Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program against blackflies, investigations were initiated to support the present blackfly-control strategy in South Africa. Emphasis was placed on potential predators and parasites of the blackflies’ aquatic stages. Questionnaires were presented to livestock farmers along the Vaal and Orange Rivers to determine public views concerning blackfly annoyance. Furthermore, blackfly populations at thirteen sites along the Orange River, twelve along the Vaal River and one site along each of two tributaries to the Vaal River, namely the Riet and Harts Rivers, were monitored seasonally for one year. The abundance of the aquatic stages of blackflies and potential predators on stones and vegetation in the river was determined using the 10-point visual ranking system of Palmer (1994) and the South African Scoring system (SASS 5), respectively. The abundance of algae as well as other environmental factors, namely water flow, water temperature and turbidity, were also monitored. Farmers who were contacted along both the Vaal and Orange rivers indicated that they experience severe blackfly problems during the summer months and that the majority of farmers were not aware of any products available that could protect their animals against blackfly attacks. The farmers also indicated that they were willing to be involved in blackfly research to improve this situation. Blackfly larvae and pupae were found in high abundance in both the Vaal and Orange Rivers. Simulium chutteri was the most abundant species in the Orange River and S. adersi in the Vaal River. In both the Vaal and Orange Rivers there was no significant correlation between immature blackfly abundance and water flow and turbidity. Water temperature also played a role in the seasonal build-up of blackflies in the winter months. The three most abundant algae classes were Bacillariophyceae, Chlorophyceae and Cyanophyceae. Cyanophyceae was the only algae group that had a negative correlation with blackfly immature abundance in the Orange River; this was not statistically significant. There were no negative correlations in the Vaal River. In both the Vaal and Orange rivers, blackflies were infected with Mermithidae nematodes and Microspora protozoans. In the Vaal River, the infection prevalence in natural conditions was the highest for Microspora and in the Orange River the highest for Mermithidae. The most important families of blackfly predators identified were Hydropsychidae and Gyrinidae. Hydropsychidae was the only family recorded in high abundance but this predator had no effect on abundance of immature blackfly. Gyrinidae gave a negative correlation with immature blackfly abundance; however, this was not significant. The biological control agents identified in this research need to be evaluated further for use in an IPM approach with the current control system, B.t.i. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Veterinary Tropical Diseases / unrestricted

<p>In insect pest management, the plant volatiles and pheromones associated with host-plant location can be used to manipulate insect pest behavior by attracting or “pulling” insects from a valuable resource. Conversely, deterrents can be used to prevent behaviors or “push” insects away from a resource. If combined, attractants and deterrents can have powerful synergistic effects that promote greater response than the individual components. This dissertation explores the use of attractants and deterrents of the specialist herbivore and challenging agricultural pest, the striped cucumber beetle, <em>Acalymma vittatum</em>, to ultimately develop a push-pull management system. </p> <p><br></p> <p>In first chapter, we examine the combination of two striped cucumber beetle attractants in attract-and-kill mass trapping: live striped cucumber beetles as a proxy for aggregation pheromone, and cucurbit floral volatiles. In the second chapter, we examine natural products—essential oils, pawpaw extract, squash bugs, and kaolin clay—as a means for repelling or deterring beetles from cucurbit crops. Lastly, we combine the findings of previous chapters as way of using both attractive and deterrents to further modify striped cucumber beetle behavior and to observe potential synergies in removing these pests from cucurbit crops. In this, we use the aggregation pheromone and floral lures in attract-and-kill trapping with the deterrent kaolin. </p> <p><br></p> <p>We found that while aggregation pheromones and floral lures were useful in trapping striped cucumber beetles, floral lures may potentially distract pollinators. Striped cucumber beetle response to floral lures varied across the season and were most attractive in the late growing season, when plants were in bloom. The tested natural products did not successfully prevent beetles from colonizing plants, but instead deterred the specialist herbivore from feeding. While the attractant and deterrent did not have a synergistic effect, they remained complementary in that aggregation pheromones were useful in reducing pest populations, while kaolin clay deterred feeding. Thus, pest management systems should be flexible in timing and type of management used, and should look toward other metrics, such as feeding damage, rather than population density thresholds to measure management success. </p>

With many natural landscapes undergoing restoration efforts, there is a growing need for the optimization of direct seeding practices. Seeds planted on wildlands are often consumed by rodents leading to reduced plant establishment. Coating seeds in rodent aversive products may prevent seed predation. We tested ten seed-coating formulations containing products expected to deter rodents, namely: ghost and cayenne pepper powders; essential oils from bergamot, neem, and pine; methyl-nonyl-ketone, anthraquinone, activated carbon, beta-cyclodextrin and a blank coating containing no rodent deterrents to serve as a control treatment. Each treatment was applied to Pseudoroegneria spicata (bluebunch wheatgrass) seeds. These seeds germinated similarly to uncoated control seeds unless the coating contained methyl-nonyl-ketone which reduced germination. Seeds were offered to Ord's kangaroo rats (Dipodomys ordii) that strongly avoided the treatments in favor of uncoated control seeds. Notably, the blank coating, lacking active ingredients, still elicited 99% avoidance. However, these results indicated behavior when alternative food sources are readily available, a scenario rare in nature. To address this, a second feeding experiment was conducted to observe D. ordii's behavior under calorie-restricted conditions. D. ordii were subjected to a fast period and then offered only one treatment. Under these conditions, many subjects chose to consume coated seeds, but to a lesser degree than subjects offered control seeds. Seeds coated in ghost pepper, neem oil, and activated carbon reduced consumption by 47-50%. Given these lab results, we would expect these seed-coatings to increase the establishment of native seeds following the direct seeding of wildlands by deterring rodent seed-predation.

There are several well-known negative side effects associated with pesticide use such as health problems and environmental pollution.  Integrated Pest Management (IPM) seeks to minimize pesticide use while reducing pest infestation to economically tolerable levels.  The introduction of IPM CRSP activities in Ecuador to institutionalize IPM methods focused on priority crops in the country. This study analyzes adoption and the economic impacts of IPM technologies on potato production in the province of Carchi. A model is estimated in which IPM adoption is discrete and ordered and pesticides expenditures are estimated as a function of education, farming experience, wealth, plot size and farmer being sick due to pesticide use for each level of IPM adoption. Results indicate that farmers who were exposed to certain IPM information sources increased adoption of IPM practices on potatoes, but farmers\' education and experience were not important factors in explaining IPM adoption. The calculated economic benefits in terms of aggregate cost savings per production cycle were $823,000. / Master of Science

Hermetic storage systems represent viable pest control methods for postharvest crop storage. Nevertheless, there is limited understanding of how insect respond to hypoxic conditions inside hermetic storage. This study was conducted to investigate: i) the oxygen consumption behavior of T. castaneum under hermetic conditions, and effects of hypoxia exposure on: ii) the survival of different life stages after hypoxia iii) their feeding and movement (activity), and iv) the cellular energy as a measure of adenylate energy charge (AEC). T. castaneum consumed 6.80 ± 0.45 mL of oxygen during egg-to-adulthood while adults consumed 5.37 ± 0.30 mL of oxygen during 21-d at 27°C. The daily rate of oxygen utilization increased with increasing temperature and in larger volume containers. Eggs and young larvae were the most susceptible stages, experiencing total mortality when exposed to 2% oxygen level for 3d compared to larvae and pupae (required ≥10 d), and adults (required ≥15 d). At 4% oxygen level, total mortality was achieved for eggs and other life stages at 5 d and ≥15 d, respectively. By contrast, the 8% oxygen level was not lethal except for eggs, but it caused significant developmental delays in immatures. Likewise, the ultrasonic device revealed that hypoxia exposure could affect insect activity within the first 30 minutes of treatments. Furthermore, the AEC index of T. castaneum adults at normoxia control was 0.70 ± 00, while the AEC at <1%, 2, 4, 8% oxygen levels were 0.18 ± 0.0, 0.19 ± 0.01, 0.25 ± 0.02, and 0.58 ±0.01, respectively suggesting that hypoxia diminish energy production in insect cells. Complete mortality of T. castaneum adults was achieved when exposed to <1% oxygen levels for 96 h. In conclusion, exposing T. castaneum to <2% oxygen levels for 15 d produce total mortality; however, even the higher levels of oxygen at 4-8% can subtly affect insect population development.