Effects on German cockroach nymphs of contact exposure to IGRs, singly and in combination

Abstract Late instar German cockroach male and female nymphs were exposed continuously for two weeks to surfaces treated with fenoxycarb, diflubenzuron, and pyriproxyfen, singly and in combination. Concentrations were determined that eliminated or nearly eliminated reproduction in matings with untreated mates, either through mortality, effects on reproduction, or a combination of mortality and ‘sterility’ (no hatch). The major effect of fenoxycarb, pyriproxyfen, and pyriproxyfen plus fenoxycarb was on reproduction. The major effect of diflubenzuron was mortality. No hatch occurred in matings of females that were exposed to low concentrations of pyriproxyfen and fenoxycarb (2 ng/cm2 and 6 ng/cm2, respectively); sterility was incomplete when females were exposed to 600 ng/cm2 of diflubenzuron. Mortality and sterility acted together to eliminate productive matings (matings that produced nymphs) when relatively high concentrations of diflubenzuron were combined with one or both of the other insect growth regulators (IGRs). In the triple combination, very small amounts of fenoxycarb and pyriproxyfen (total 1.1 ng/cm2) combined with 200 ng/cm2 of diflubenzuron eliminated productive matings of treated females, but similar results with treated males were found only at higher concentrations of each IGR.