"The ABC's of Pest Control: Allergens, Baits, and Cockroaches" Dr. Coby Schal to present May 10th

HUD is hosting a webcast on asthma triggers in housing, sponsored by their Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes. Hear from Coby Schal, Ph.D, Blanton J. Whitmire, Distinguished Professor, Department of Entogology, North Carolina State University on May 10th, 2016, 1:00-2:00pm EDT. Visit this website to register. Once registered, you will receive an email with a link to the webcast. Note: The link to the webcast will not be visible until the day of the webcast.The event will be recorded and you will have an opportunity to view the recording if you can't make it to the live event.  

May happens to be asthma awareness month so I thought it would be worth re-posting some of a 2012 blog post from Allison Taisey to highlight the importance of cockroach control in managing asthma.

Did you know?

• The more cockroaches there are in a home, the more potentially asthma-triggering allergens there are.
• Regardless of housekeeping, if you put out enough bait, you can significantly reduce a heavy cockroach infestation.
• If you kill the cockroaches (even without cleaning them up), you can significantly reduce the asthma-triggering allergens.
• The IPM process—routine inspection and monitoring (made easier when paired with good housekeeping)—helps new infestations from ever reaching a high level again.

Here’s more detail on the link between cockroaches and asthma.

Asthma disproportionally affects minority children and children living below poverty level. Many of these children live in affordable housing. You hear a lot about the kids with asthma, but remember that caretakers and PHA staff members who work in homes may have asthma too.

One thing you can do to fight asthma is control cockroaches. Cockroaches are a known asthma trigger because of proteins in their skin and feces (collectively called “frass”). Both on the cockroach and for a few months after the roach dies, poops, or sheds the skin, these protein “allergens” can get in the air and trigger asthma attacks.

“In the 1970s, studies made it clear that patients with cockroach allergies develop acute asthma attacks. The attacks occur after inhaling cockroach allergens and last for hours….Now we know that the frequent hospital admissions of inner-city children with asthma often is directly related to their contact with cockroach allergens—the substances that cause allergies. From 23 percent to 60 percent of urban residents with asthma are sensitive to the cockroach allergen” (http://www.aafa.org/)

There are a lot of great resources available for families dealing with asthma. For example, EPA and CDC have a booklet that guides families through identifying asthma triggers and setting up an asthma action plan. The following quote is in the booklet, and it hit home for me:“‘We used to have cockroaches all over our kitchen counters. Now we put bread and crackers in plastic containers, and guess what? No more roaches. And that means I am having fewer asthma attacks.’ —Becky, age 12” 

The Asthma Regional Council makes the case for funding preventative measures like IPM through healthcare and insurance providers. Read reports related to investing and funding asthma interventions with insurance and healthcare HERE.

You don't want to miss an opportunity to listen in to Dr. Coby Schal's presentation (the live May 10th event will be recorded). To get a sense why, skim the list of over 200 publications his lab has produced. He has conducted much of the foundation research upon which we can build IPM programs in housing. I encourage you to read his 2007 review, “Cockroach Allergen Biology and Mitigation in the Indoor Environment.” In this paper, the authors reviewed the understanding of cockroach allergen biology and the demographics associated with human exposure and sensitization up to 2007 when the review was published. The article critically evaluates allergen mitigation studies from an entomological perspective, highlighting disparities between successful and failed attempts to lessen the cockroach allergen burden in homes. http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev.ento.52.110405.091313

Comments

[Sam Bryks]

the statement
"•Regardless of housekeeping, if you put out enough bait, you can significantly reduce a heavy cockroach infestation."
may be true in a very restricted context, but it makes little sense in a practical context. For very heavy infestations, roaches would consume most or all of the bait and the reductions had little impact. With behaviorial resistance, bait preferences can limit effectiveness.The key is to reduce populations with mechanical means such as vacuuming, to ensure major sanitation issues are addressed, and then to apply bait using a common sense approach (i.e. put it where the roaches are most likely to encounter it and use reasonable amounts. The reality is many firms will restrict amount used due to "low ball" pricing and awards of contracts to the lowest bidder. Using bait "against the tides" will not help much.

[PC]

http://www.cabi.org/cabdirect/FullTextPDF/2013/20133307410.pdf

Abstract
Commercial gel bait formulations, including two new formulations of indoxacarb (0.6% AI; RG2V3 and DPX411), were evaluated for efficacy against a "bait averse" strain of German cockroaches (Saginaw strain). Bait consumption and subsequent mortality of the Saginaw cockroaches were compared with that of the VPI, susceptible strain. Both cockroach strains were exposed to bait formulations in choice tests where dry dog food was the alternative food resource. Feeding indices were calculated for each bait formulation. Feeding indices were positive for all bait products offered to the VPI susceptible strain. Negative feeding indices were calculated for MaxForce FC (0.01% fipronil), MaxForce (2.15% hydramethylnon) and Avert Formula 3 (0.05% abamectin B1) when these baits were offered to the bait averse Saginaw strain. However, feeding indices for the indoxacarb bait formulations were positive, indicating that the bait averse cockroaches preferred both of the indoxacarb baits to dog food. Mortality due to bait exposure was also significantly different between the susceptible and bait averse strains. In bioassays evaluating the VPI strain, all of the baits produced 100% mortality within the 7 d test period. The indoxacarb RG2V3 formulation produced the most rapid results with 100% mortality recorded within 24h. In bioassays evaluating the bait averse strain, mortality was dependent on the bait formulation offered. After 7d only 5% mortality was recorded for the Saginaw cockroaches exposed to fipronil bait. Hydramethylnon bait produced <50% mortality during the same period. Mortality in the abamectin and indoxacarb DPX411 bioassays was 75% and 88.8%, respectively, in 7 d. However, the greatest efficacy for control of bait averse cockroaches was observed in bioassays evaluating indoxacarb RG2V3, where 100% mortality was achieved within 3d.

[Susan Viet]

Re baits, I would concur (via personal experience) that rigorous control of entry points, food sources, and water sources is the most effective control - it is
just that most people are not so disciplined.

[Tom]

It's amazing how few sufferers realise that cockroaches are in fact an asthma trigger.

Thank you for this write up!

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