Evaluation of Beer Preference in American Cockroaches Periplaneta americana (Linnaeus) (Blattodea: Blattidae)

Cockroaches (Blattodea) are common worldwide pests that can have a negative effect on public health by transmitting pathogenic bacteria to humans and contributing to asthma problems. Cockroaches have developed a growing rate of behavioral resistance, and resistance to chemical insecticides, so it has become more important to use less toxic methods of population control in order to mitigate the development of resistance. One such method of control is to use beer-soaked bread as a bait for cockroach traps. Four different bait mixtures were made from the combination of bread with DI water, 25% sugar water, a non-hoppy beer, or a very hoppy beer. The number of cockroach visits to each bait was recorded and data were analyzed to determine any sort of preference the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana (Linnaeus) (Blattodea: Blattidae) may have for the two different beers. Overall, the cockroaches most preferred the sugar water bait, however, data suggests that there was still a significant (p=0.022251) difference in preference for the non-hoppy beer over the very hoppy beer. This data could potentially improve the efficacy of using beer as a cockroach bait, but further studies are required in order to support this conclusion with other species of cockroach.