Pests and Pesticides
A. arthropods: insects (roaches, fleas, flies,
mosquitoes, lice)
arachnids (ticks, mites, spiders)
others (myriapods, diplopods,
crustaceans)
Insect Pests
B. Roaches:
1. American Pareplaneta americana
cockroach: large (about 1.5 inches)
reddish brown
2. Oriental Blatta orientalis
cockroach: about 1 inch
brown or black
3. German Blatella germanica
cockroach: medium (about 1/2 inch)
light brown
4. Brown-banded Supella longipalpa
cockroach medium (about 1/2 inch)
light brown with darker
brown bands across abdomen
C. Fleas:
5. Cat Flea: Ctenocepalides felis
not normally a vector
6. Dog Flea: Ctenocepalides canis
not normally a vector
7. Oriental Xenopsylla cheopis
Rat Flea: spreads plague, etc.
D. Flies:
1. House fly: Musca domestica
2. Lesser Fannia
House fly:
3. Stable fly: Stomaxys
4. Bottle fly: Caliphora
(or Blow fly)
5. Flesh fly: Sarcophagidae
6. Horse fly: Tavanus
(or gadfly)
7. Vectors: Tsetse fly: Glossina
Black fly: Similium
8. Ash whitefly: not a true fly (related to aphids)
waxy coating prevents
absorption of insecticide
no natural enemies in California
E. Mosquitoes:
9. Anopheles: transmits malaria
Anopheles quadrimaculatus
Anopheles albimanus
Anopheles freeborni
10. Culex: Culex pipiens
Culex tarsalis
11. Aedes: Aedes aegypti
Aedes albopictus
F. Lice:
12. head lice: Pediculus humanus capitis
13. crab lice: Pthirus pubis
pubic lice
14. body lice: Pediculus humanus corporis
a major vector
Arachnid Pests
A. Ticks:
1. hard ticks: Ixodidae:
Ixodes dammini
Ixodes pacificus
Dermacentor andersoni
Dermacentor variabilis
2. soft ticks: Argasidae:
Ornithodoris hermsi
Ornithodoris coriaceus
B. Mites:
3. chiggers: larval stage
C. Spiders:
4. black widow
5. brown recluse
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2. Selected Insect-borne diseases
1. Onchocerciasis (river blindness)
agent: Onchocerca volvulus (nematode, or roundworm)
reservoir: mostly humans
transmission: bite of infected female blackfly
(genus Similium) biological vector
symptoms: chronic, nonfatal (incubation 1 year or more)
intense itching, impaired vision
A. mosquito-borne
2. human malarias
agent: Plasmodium
reservoir: human, infected mosquitoes
transmission: anopheles mosquites
symptoms: fever, chills, sweats
CNS effects (headache, delirium, coma)
3. filariasis
agent: Wuchereria, Brugia (nematodes, or roundworms)
reservoir: humans
transmission: mosquitoes (Aedes, Anopheles, and Culex)
symptoms: asymptomatic; fever, asthma
elephantiasis in chronic cases (enlarged limbs)
4. yellow fever:
agent: yellow fever virus (a flavivirus)
reservoir: humans (sometimes monkeys) and mosquitoes
transmission: Aedes mosquito
symptoms: sudden onset, fever, jaundice
headache, backache, vomiting
5. dengue (breakbone) fever
agent: Dengue virus
reservoir: human, infected mosquitoes
transmission: Aedes mosquitoes
symptoms: headache, joint and muscle pain, rash
6. Arthropod-born viral encephalitis
agents: Eastern equine, Western equine,
California encephalitis, etc.
reservoir: unknown for most agents
(possibly birds, rodents, bats, reptiles)
transmission: Culex mosquitoes, possibly Aedes and others
symptoms: often asymptomatic
inflammation of brain, spinal cord, meninges
headache, fever, convulsions, paralysis, coma
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3. Selected Arachnid-borne diseases
A. Tick-borne
1. Rocky mountain spotted fever
agent: Rickettsia rickettsii
reservoir: dogs, rodents, other animals
transmission: infected ticks (various species)
symptoms: fever, headache, malaise, chills, rash, death
2. Tularemia
agent: Francisella tularensis
reservoir: wild animals (rabbits, muskrats)
transmission: bite of flies or wood ticks,
handling or ingestion of infected animals
symptoms: typically: swollen lymph nodes, gastroenteritis
3. Colorado tick fever
agent: Colorado tick fever virus
reservoir: small animals (squirrels, chipmunks, porcupine)
transmission: infected ticks: Dermacentor andersoni
symptoms: similar to Dengue fever
4. Q fever
agent: Coxiella burneti (rickettsia)
reservoir: ticks, various wild and domestic animals
transmission: raw milk from infected cows, or direct contact
symptoms: typically: chills, headache
5. Relapsing fever
agent: Borrelia recurrentis (spirochete)
reservoir: louse-borne: human; tick-borne: rodents
transmission: lice or tick bites
symptoms: rash, fever
B. Mite-borne
6. Scrub typhus
agent: Rickettsia tsutsugamushi
reservoir: infected larval mites, wild rodents
transmission: mite bites
symptoms: skin ulcer at site of bite, headache
7. Scabies (sarcoptic itch, acariases)
agent: Sarcoptes scabiei (a mite)
reservoir: humans
transmission: skin to skin, mites can burrow in < 3 minutes
symptoms: itching, lesions
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1. Zoonoses: diseases and infections transmitted between
vertebrate animals and humans
2. Plague:
agent: Yersinia pestis
reservoir: wild rodents and infected fleas
transmission: mainly flea bite (especially Xenopsylla cheopis)
sometimes person to person (respiratory)
symptoms: swollen lymph nodes, fever, pneumonia
3. Murine typhus fever (or endemic typhus):
agent: mainly Rickettsia typhi
reservoir: rodents, fleas, opossum
transmission: bite or feces of rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis)
symptoms: headache, chills, fever
4. Leptospirosis:
agent: Leptospira interrogans (a spirochete)
reservoir: farm animals and pets;
usually rats and other rodents
transmission: contact of skin with water, soil or vegetation
contamination by urine
symptoms: may be asymptomatic,
fever, headache, chills, malaise, vomiting
5. Psittacosis:
agent: Chlamydia psittaci
reservoir: birds (pigeons, parrots, parakeets,
turkeys, ducks)
transmission: airborne (inhaling dried droppings)
person to person is rare
incubation 4-15 days (usually aabout 10 days)
symptoms: varies (fever, headache, chills, sometimes cough)
6. Rabies:
agent: rabies virus
reservoir: 1. skunks 2. bats and racoons
3. foxes 4. dogs, cats, cattle
transmission: mainly animal bites, or licks on wounds
rarely: scratches, airborne, person to person
symptoms: incubation period: 2-8 weeks
fever, paralysis
untreated, almost always fatal
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A. inorganic:
1. Boric acid powder
2. Sodium fluoride
3. Paris Green: arsenic trioxide + copper acetate
4. Silica gel (SiO2): a dessicant
B. botanicals: "natural" pesticides
5. Pyrethrum from chrysanthemums, often used with
(and pyrethroids): a synergist (piperonyl butoxide)
6. Rotenone roots of Derris plant (legume)
(and rotenoids): dusting powder for ticks on animals
7. Nicotine: usually nicotine sulfate
C. chlorinated
hydrocarbons: usually low toxicity, but persistent
8. DDT: dichloro diphenyl trichloroethane
9. others: mirex, endrin, dieldren, chlordane, BHC,
heptachlor, toxaphene
D. organophosphates: usually low persistence, high toxicity
acetylcholinesterase inhibitor
10. Parathion,
Malathion
11. DDVP (Dichlorvos)
Diazinon
E. carbamates: also an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor
12. Carbaryl (Sevin)
Aldicarb
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A. anticoagulants: multiple doses kill by internal bleeding
1. warfarin
2. others: pival, fumarin, PMP, diphacinone
B. botanicals:
3. Red squill: (from the plant)
natural emetic (causes vomiting)
4. others bay leaves, cucumber skins
C. quick kill: extremely toxic
5. 1080 (Sodium Fluoroacetate)
1081 (Sodium Fluoroacetamide)
only for registered pest controllers
6. others: Strychnine, Zinc phosphide, cyanide gas
ANTU (alpha naphtyl thiourea)
D. selective: toxic to Rattus genus
7. Norbromide: vasoconstrictor
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8. evidence of droppings, burrows
rodents: gnawing marks (wood, cement, wires, etc.)
urine (shiny streaks under blacklight)
greasy runways (especially Rattus norvegicus)
9. other first, kill fleas (ectoparasite)
rodent controls: cement or steel curtains around house
to prevent burrowing
traps (traditional, or adhesive)
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A. Alternative Pests Controls:
1. quarantine
2. antifeedants/ irritants to surface feeding insects
repellants: no feeding = starvation (e.g., pyrethrum)
3. natural birds, spiders
predators: bacteria, viruses (e.g., Bacillus thuringiensis)
Gambusia affinis (eats mosquito larvae)
4. agricultural irrigation (e.g., minimize standing water)
practices: rotate crops (some crops are naturally resistant)
destroy crop residues (reduces food for pests)
5. natural
pesticides: (e.g., botanicals)
6. resistant
crop strains: (genetic engineering)
7. pheromones: sex attractants:
confuses males in locating females
only minute amounts needed (low toxicity)
complements the use of pesticide
8. juvenile internal chemicals that regulate growth
hormones: (e.g., eggs hatching to nymphs)
if we can synthesize juvenile hormones:
altered concentration = no development
low toxicity
difficult for pests to develop resistance
9. autocide: insect sterilization (usually U.V. radiation)
sterile males mate with fertile females
most effective when pest population is low
complements chemical methods (which are more
effective when pest population is high)
B. Laws:
10. FIFRA (1947): Federal Insecticide,Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
registers pesticides, requires testing
11. FEPCA (1972): Federal Environmental Pesticides Control Act
allows EPA to regulate pesiticides
12. ToSCA (1977): Toxic Substances Control Act -- allows EPA to:
require information from chemical manufacturers,
test new chemicals for
environmental and health effects,
regulate chemicals not addressed by other laws.
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1/07/02