Laboratory and Field Evaluation of Zyrox Fly Granular Bait Against Asian and German Cockroaches (Dictyoptera: Blattellidae).

The Asian cockroach (Blattella asahinai Mizukubo) was introduced to Florida in 1986 and has since spread throughout the Southeastern United States. Blattella asahinai is a peridomestic pest and high population densities in residential areas can become a nuisance, especially when adults fly into homes. Few studies to date have been conducted on Asian cockroach control, and we evaluated the efficacy of Zyrox Fly Granular Bait and Maxforce Complete Granular Insect Bait against this species in the laboratory compared with the closely related German cockroach (Blattella germanica (L.)). In no-choice and two-choice assays with both species, Zyrox bait and Maxforce bait achieved nearly 100% mortality within two and five days, respectively. We also tested Zyrox bait against B. asahinai in an invasive field population in North Carolina at the label rate (2 g/m(2)) and at approximately three times the label rate (6.9 g/m(2)), and found that broadcast applications at both rates reduced populations by an average of 64 and 92%, respectively, for 35 d after the initial application. Zyrox Fly Bait appears to be effective against the Asian and German cockroaches, and could be another tool in an integrated pest management program, if its label could be extended or the active ingredient (cyantraniliprole) formulated into a cockroach bait.