Efficacy Of Fipronil Gel Over Imlprothrin

Background and Objectives: Cockroaches are offensive pests visually and expel unpleasant smelling secretion that spoils the flavor of food and environment. This trial was done to test Strikeout bait gel (fipronil 0.055%) developed by Parijat Industries (India) Pvt. Ltd. for its efficacy against Periplaneta americana and Blatella germanica, under field conditions in certain catering establishments of a city in Uttar Pradesh. Material and Methods: Ten catering establishments with high infestation based on pretreatment cockroach density assessment (Four for fipronil gel, four for imlprothrin+cypermethrin aerosol and two without any treatment to act as a control) were considered for inclusion in trial. Single application of fipronil gel/imlprothrin+cypermethrin aerosol was used as crack and crevice treatment. The visual assessment data for cockroach density in treatment and control catering establishments were considered for computation of percent reduction of cockroach infestation in the respective catering establishments. Results: Single application of fipronil gel was able to reduce cockroach infestation up to 96.0% at the end of 12 weeks whereas it was 20% in imlprothrin+cypermethrin aerosol treated areas. Differences were found statistically significant. However, imlprothrin+cypermethrin aerosol was more effective (52.0%) in reducing the cockroach density by first week in comparison to fipronil gel (47.8%) but its efficacy started declining after 5th week onwards. Interpretation and Conclusion: The study reports the efficacy of Strikeout bait gel (fipronil 0.055%) for control of cockroaches in catering establishments. The application Strikeout bait gel (fipronil 0.055%) was found more convenient to both operators and clients and there was minimal disruption at workplace.