BIOSECURITY ▶▶▶
25 metres around a building and should be checked four times a week. If infested, increase the number of stations to every 5 metres and increase the number of times sta- tions are checked.
• Indoor bait stations also depend on the house construc- tion but must be situated in the attic and feed room.
• Rats are clever and suspicious. Therefore, in stations with bait consumption, discard any remaining bait and replace it with fresh new bait.
• Rotate baiting products every six months. • Anticonception products are relatively new but can work very well. First, determine where there is bait consumption and then replace those stations with the anticonception product.
• During the clean-out period, maintain the chemical pest control.
Beetles The main beetle in poultry houses is the lesser mealworm, also named litter beetle or darkling beetle. An adult beetle is about 6 millimetres long, brownish black, and oval with six legs with a tough chitin exoskeleton. It prefers warm, humid environments. An adult can produce up to 2,000 eggs during its lifecycle (about a year). Eggs turn into larvae within 4 to 11 days under optimum conditions (humidity and tempera- ture). The total cycle length depends on the ambient temper- ature: 26 days at 31°C increasing to 90 days at 22°C. In the chicken house, larvae can be found under the pan feeders, drinking lines and the outer wall. The outer row feed- ers are especially popular. Beetles feed on spilled feed, ma- nure, dead flocks and cracked eggs. They can cause structural damage by chewing into insulation. This damage can be in- creased by birds attempting to reach the insects. Adults can be found all over the house but those in the litter have an op- portunity to disperse when the house is emptied. They may escape either to the roof or into the soil. Furthermore, beetles left in litter when it is piled outside can fly and find new houses to infest. Beetles cause damage by infesting feed and destroying infra- structure. Beetles can carry and transmit viruses, fungi, bacte- ria and parasites among the flock and between flocks. Dis- ease agents transmitted by the beetle include Salmonella, spondylolisthesis (kinky back), Pasteurella, pathogenic E. coli strains, and even avian leukosis virus. Gumboro disease is well known to persist between flocks through beetles. Bee- tles can infect flocks through surface contact and direct con- sumption of the insects. Three methods are involved in beetle control: these too are mechanical, biological and chemical.
Mechanical • Chemical treatments are not very effective at the infesta- tion level. Beetles are known to be resistant to many pesti- cides. Therefore, good management practices along with a
▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 2, 2021 33
prevention programme are the most effective ways to control beetles.
• Remove the litter after the flock has been depleted. If litter is left outside to dry and has beetles, those beetles can fly back into the house or other places on the farm. Cover or treat the litter to keep the beetles contained until it can be removed from the farm.
• Ensure that the house drains well and is ventilated proper- ly to prevent wet litter. Check for and repair any water leaks immediately. Beetles need water to thrive, so it is impor- tant to keep the house environment dry.
• Repair any structural damage as these areas can be used as burrows for beetles.
• Allow at least two weeks of downtime between flocks. This will eliminate the food and water source for the beetle and allow time for insecticides to work.
Biological • Boric acid can be applied in pellet form to the house. This pesticide damages the skin of the larvae but should only be applied between flocks because it can also injure birds.
• Products are being developed that use specific strains of fungi to infect and kill larvae and adults.
Chemical • Carbaryl-based products block the nervous system by in- hibiting the enzyme acetylcholineesterase.
• Pyrethrin-based products are safe to use while flocks are in the house. These chemicals cause temporary paralysis but the beetles can produce enzymes that detoxify the chemi- cal. Using pyrethrins synergistically with other insecticides can be more effective.
• Insect growth regulators are also available which prevent the formation of chitin so that the larvae cannot turn into an adult beetle.
A perimeter fence should consist of a met- al sheet that is at least 40 centi- metres high with a 20-centi- metre horizontal lip on top and a 3-metre vegeta- tion-free border around the fence.
PHOTO: RUUD PLOEG
PHOTO: COBB
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