Domestic pest control of cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) by using food-based non-chemical baits.

Elisha Masih and Newton Paul *

Department of Zoology, Isabella Thoburn College, Lucknow, India.
 
Research Article
International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 2024, 11(02), 1691–1696.
Article DOI: 10.30574/ijsra.2024.11.2.0647
 
Publication history: 
Received on 07 March 2024; revised on 15 April 2024; accepted on 18 April 2024
 
Abstract: 
The purpose of this experiment was to study the food preference of the household cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) in respect of Domestic Pest Control. These collected cockroaches were given choices among nine food items (three carbohydrate-rich foods: banana, bread, potato; three protein-rich foods: crushed peanuts, cottage cheese, walnut and three mixed diet). Modified nine-chambered olfactometers were used for this food preference experiment. Each kind of food was placed in each chamber of olfactometer with 10 cockroaches in each replica were placed in the center of olfactometer. 2 replicas of olfactometer were constructed of same kind. The olfactometers were observed for continuous 5 days i.e. 120 hours. The cockroaches were checked during day and night time each day, the amount of food consumed by them was recorded of each duration and the simple biostatistics mean and standard deviation were used for inferring the food preference of the cockroaches. The results show that the maximum of the cockroaches preferred walnut as compared to other offered baits. Bread was the second most preferred food followed by peanuts, cottage cheese, mixed diet, banana, and potato. Furthermore, the feeding behavior of these cockroaches occurred during the day hours 12:00-4:00 pm and night hours 01:00-04:00 am. The feeding gets of the cockroaches was started by swinging their antenna followed by touching the food baits offered.
 
Keywords: 
Food preference; Olfactometer; Feeding behavior; Cockroaches; Non-chemical baits.
 
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