Use of orally administered chitin inhibitor (lufenuron) to control flea vectors of plague on ground squirrels in California

摘要

The efficacy of orally administered lufenuron to control fleas on Spermophilus beecheyi was evaluated during a 2-year study (1995-97) in Santa Barbara County, California, USA. Results demonstrated that use of a host-targeted feed cube containing lufenuron was effective in significantly reducing the burden of Oropsylla montana and Hoplopsyllus anomalus on ground squirrels. A flea index that indicated a mean number of fleas per squirrel of 10.0 decreased to 1.3 after 2 treatments in season 1, and to0.7 and 0.2 after the 3rd and 4th treatments, respectively, in season 2. A cost comparison of this new method compared with a traditional reactive, emergency, insecticide-based plague (caused by Yersinia pestis) control programme demonstrated a cost reduction of～90%. It is concluded that a lufenuron feed cube was an effective, cost-saving, and proactive technique for controlling fleas on California ground squirrels, and thus reducing the risk of disease transmission in plague endemic regions.