International Journal of Advance Agricultural Research
ISSN: 2053-1265
Vol. 3(6), pp. 55-63, October 2015

Development of an electrostatic trap with an insect discharge recorder for multiple real-time monitoring of pests prowling in a warehouse

Takikawa Y.¹, Matsuda Y. ²*, Nonomura T.², Kakutani K.³, Kusakari S.² and Toyoda H.²

¹Plant Center, Institute of Advanced Technology, Kinki University, Wakayama 642-0017, Japan.
²Laboratory of Phytoprotection Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kinki University, Nara 631-8505, Japan.
³Pharmaceutical Research and Technology Institute, Kinki University, Osaka 577-8502, Japan.

*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ymatsuda@nara.kindai.ac.jp.

Received 01 August, 2015; Received in revised form 07 September, 2015; Accepted 10 September, 2015.

Abstract

Keywords:
Cigarette beetle, Red flour beetle, Rice weevil, Electric field screen.

Reliable information of pests dwelling in a warehouse is a prerequisite to construct an effective and realistic pest control strategy. Our new electrostatic pest-monitoring apparatus is presented for this purpose. The apparatus consists of an insect-discharge detector and electrostatic insect trap. The detector is an iron plate attached to a direct current (DC) positive voltage generator and the insect trap consists of a pair of opposite poles. Pests on the detector plate are stripped of free electrons and charged positively. This is recorded as a transient discharge signal from the insect, and the positively charged pests are trapped at the negative pole. Discharge signals from different checkpoints in a warehouse were monitored automatically and continuously to analyze the temporal and spatial movements of the pests. This monitoring system enabled us to apply most effective chemical and physical methods to the control of cigarette beetles dwelling in our warehouse.