Does attract-and-kill work? A meta-analysis of field-based studies assessing attract-and-kill in agriculture

Sunday, November 10, 2024

2:18 PM – 2:30 PM MST

Location: Phoenix Convention Center, 222 B, PCC

Presenting Author(s)

KB

Kyle Matthew Bekelja

Postdoctoral Associate
Virginia Tech
Winchester, Virginia

Co-Author(s)

Kelsey Jo Benthall (she/her/hers)

Ph.D. Candidate
Ridge Quest Inc.
Muskegon, Michigan
Alyssa L. Lucas (she/her/hers)

Graduate Research Assistant
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Gainesville, Florida
ER

Elizabeth Kells Rowen (she/her/hers)

Assistant Professor
West Virginia University
Morgantown, West Virginia
Emily Althoff

Graduate Student
University of Minnesota
Lauderdale, Minnesota
LL

Layne Leake

Graduate Research Assistant
University of Missouri
Middletown, Maryland
KC

Kevin R. Cloonan

Research Entomologist
USDA-ARS
Miami, Florida
William R. Morrison, III (he/him/his)

Research Entomologist
USDA-ARS
Manhattan, Kansas
TL

Tracy C. Leskey

Research Leader/Director, Research Entomologist
USDA-ARS
Kearneysville, West Virginia
KR

Kevin B. Rice

Director and Entomologist
Virginia Tech
Winchester, Virginia

Integrated pest management programs face several challenges including climate change, invasive species introductions, insecticide resistance, and chemical restrictions. Attract-and-kill is a pest management strategy where target pest species are lured to a specific area and eliminated by a toxicant, reducing the overall area and number of insecticide applications. While attract-and-kill has been around for more than 60 years, there has not been an aggregated analysis of studies investigating its effectiveness in agricultural systems. We use meta-analysis to compare pest abundance, crop damage severity, and crop damage frequency between attract-and-kill and grower standard plots, and untreated control plots. Our results suggest that attract-and-kill reduces pest abundance and crop damage severity.