Integrating novel tactic long-lasting insecticide netting into integrated pest management programs for food facilities

Stored products play a significant role in achieving global food security, but insects readily attack them, reducing quality and quantity. Fumigant options have become limited. In addition, stored product insects have developed resistance to phosphine, the main fumigant, while demand for products with minimal insecticides has increased. Thus, there is a push to diversify integrated pest management programs (IPM) after harvest. One way to intercept insects from the landscape is by using long-lasting insecticide netting (LLIN). Prior work has found that LLIN causes lethal and sublethal effects in multiple stored product insect species. Nonetheless, there is a need to understand how to integrate LLIN into comprehensive IPM programs with existing tactics, such as fumigation and residual insecticides. Through my research, I have shown that LLIN is a promising new tactic after harvest in the supply chain to cover vents and openings to intercept insects. My research has demonstrated that LLIN can reduce the number of fumigations required by 50–91% while reducing insect dispersal and offspring by 83–99% and 89–99%, respectively. The use of LLIN also combats phosphine-resistant populations of insects. Further, LLIN can also synergize the use of existing common residual insecticides such as Centanyl and Evergreen by maximizing mortality and minimizing the dispersal of insects. Therefore, LLIN promises to combat stored product pests in and around food facilities, while diversifying pest management programs. My research has helped to speed the adoption of LLIN by stakeholders at food facilities while increasing the sustainability of IPM.