CH638950A5 - Insect trap - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to an insect catcher and a kit for assembly as an insect catcher, in particular an insect catcher which attracts the insects to a sticky substance within the trap.

Insect catchers are known in which insects are attracted with an attractant and trapped in or on the trap with a sticky substance.

It has been shown that the efficiency of such insect catchers can be significantly increased if one ensures that the attractant is inevitably brought into the immediate vicinity of the insect catcher in a controlled manner.

Thus, according to the invention, there is provided an insect catcher which has a vent which allows for forced air flow therethrough, a supply of insect attractant which evaporates under the influence of the air flow and exits the surroundings as a stream of attractive vapor, and has a sticky substance which is provided in the fume hood and catches flying insects attracted by the stream of the attracting steam.

When viewed under ambient conditions, the insect catcher according to the invention is particularly advantageous since it can considerably reduce the flying insect population of a room or other enclosed space without the need for a chemical pesticide.

The essential feature of the insect catcher according to the invention consists in the creation of a flow of an insect attractant which starts from the insect catcher. It has been shown that without this feature of forced convection, the performance, expressed as the amount of trapped insects, drops drastically. The air flow forced by the exhaust can be achieved with a blower or a small heater, both of which can be operated electrically. It has been found that the desired effect is produced with a small, electrically operated heating device which is arranged at the bottom of the fume cupboard, in particular if the supply of insect attractants, e.g. in the form of a solid disc or tablet near the heater.

The trigger can be square, rectangular or circular in cross-section, although other shapes, e.g. the shape of a more or less flat dish or plate or a tray can be used. Both ends of the trigger are open or partially open, so that an air flow can be forcibly generated through the trigger.

Not only the sticky substance, but also the heater and the attractant can be contained within the fume cupboard. But it has proven more convenient to place one end of the hood over a heater and the supply of insect attractant on the heater so that when the heater is operated, convection air currents are generated which are sufficient to generate the required air flow and also to evaporate the attractant to contribute from the stock.

Even better results can be obtained if the end of the hood remote from the heater, i.e. the end from which the stream of the attractant exits is provided with a re-entrant opening, because it is difficult for flying insects, especially house flies, to escape from such a vent once they have been lured into it. An overall conical opening as a recessed trough is particularly useful. The inside of the trigger is preferably a light color, because flying insects prefer to fly to a light area rather than a dark area. In addition, the outside of the housing is preferably kept in a warm or dark color, e.g. brown, red, black or a similar color, because these colors attract flying insects.

There are many attractants that are suitable for attracting flying insects into the insect catcher, e.g. B .:

2nd

s

10th

IS

20th

25th

30th

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

3rd

638 950

1. l- (3,4-methylenedioxyphenoxy) -2-phenoxypropane;

2. 3-Cyclohexene-6-methyl-1-carboxylic acid 2-methylpentyl ester;

3. 3a, 4,5,6,7,7a-hexahydro-4,7-methaninden-6-ol-formic acid ester;

4. m-toluic acid-2-methoxyethanol ester;

5. m-toluic acid 2- (2-butoxyethoxy) ethanol ester;

6. tetrahydro-2- (2-propynyloxy) pyran;

7. Staley's bait # 2;

8. Staley's Bait No. 7; and

9. Feather flour hydrolyzate

There are also naturally occurring pheromones. The following list contains the most important of these substances along with the insect species that are affected:

Chemical name

4-) p-acetoxyphenyl) -2-butanone cis-7,8-epoxy-2-methyloctadecane

(Z) -7-Hexadecen-1 -o 1 -acetic acid ester

(Z) -7-dodecen-1-o 1 -acetic acid ester (Z) -7-dodecen-1 -o 1 4-allyl-l, 2-dimethoxybenzene

(Z) -9-tricosen

Phenetyl propionate + eugenol (7: 3)

tert-butyl 4- (or 5) chloro-2-methylcyclohexane carboxylate

Other substances that have proven to be attractants for house flies can be divided into the following classes:

1. putrefactive products (mainly amines),

2. Fermentation products (aldehydes, ketones and alcohols),

3. simple carbohydrates (mono- and disaccharides), 30

4. Ester.

Some of the more effective attractants within these four classes are the following: Skatol, indole, ammonium hydroxide, maltose, acetophenone, benzyl alcohol, pyridine, thymol, dioctyl phthalate, glycerol dioleate, o-mono-oleate, «Jasmyn», 35 «Radoxane», «Herboxane».

For catching the common house fly, Musca domestica, it has been found according to the invention that the fly bait ((Z) -9-tricosen) or a mixture of this substance with (Z) -9-heneicose has a very high efficiency in 40 insect catchers according to Invention. The supply of attractants can be provided in various forms. He can e.g. B. liquid in a container or in solid form, e.g. dispersed in absorbent celluloses or mineral substances. A particularly simple effective full stock consists of a porous material, such as filter paper or blotting paper, which is impregnated with the desired attractant. In general, it can be said that paper disks with a diameter of approx.2.54 cm (1st

Inches) loaded with approx. 0.5-150 mg attractant produce the desired results. Optionally, the attractant can be stabilized by including an antioxidant in the supply.

The sticky substance that catches the flying insects must be a substance that retains its stickiness for a long time. Examples of such substances are solutions made of rubber, rubber and mineral oil, polybutene and mixtures of wax and resins.

The invention is explained in more detail below with the aid of schematic drawings of two exemplary embodiments. 60 It shows:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an insect catcher according to the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a heating device with a supply of insect attractant for the insect catcher shown in FIG. 1.

The insect catcher shown in FIG. 1 and partially in FIG. 2 has an electric heating device 1, a cylindrical

regarding insect

Melon fly, Dacus cucurbattae (Coquillett)

Big sponge spinner (gypsy moth)

Porthetria dispar (L)

pink cotton capsule worm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders)

Kohlspanner, Trichoplusia ni (Hübner)

Cabbage strainer oriental fruit fly, Dacus dorsalis (Hendel)

Domestic fly, Musca domestica (L)

Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica (Newman) Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Weidemann)

sches, bowl-shaped housing or a trigger 2, a store 3 of insect attractant and an inner sleeve 4, which carries a sticky substance, not shown, to catch flying insects, which penetrate into the bowl-shaped housing or the trigger 2.

The heating device 1 has an electrical element, not shown here, which is accommodated in a box or housing 5, which is provided with a number of slots 6. A grid 7 is provided above the electrical element, on which the supply 3 of insect attractant in the form of a round disk made of absorbent paper impregnated with an insect attractant is arranged. Above the housing 5 are two pins 8 and 9, which are used to correctly determine the position of the trigger 2 on the heater.

The trigger 2 shown in FIG. 1 is rectangular in cross section and fully open at the bottom, while at the upper end it is provided with a recessed, generally conical hole 10.

When the power is switched on and the heating device 1 is warm, an air draft is inevitably generated from air which passes through the slots 6, the grille 7 via the store 3 of insect attractant, through the trigger 2 and according to FIG. 1 from the hole 10 flows into the environment. An insect-attracting vapor is taken along with the draft, so that a stream of attractant vapor emerges from the top of the vent 2. Flying insects of the kind attracted by the attractant used in the supply are attracted to the insect catcher, penetrate through the opening 10 and are caught by the sticky substance (adhesive: HYVIS-200) on the inner sleeve 4.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the sticky substance is provided on the inner sleeve. It has been shown that this sleeve should expediently consist of disposable material so that when it is fully loaded with dead flies it can be thrown away and replaced by a new sleeve. It is also clear that the sleeve can be of any shape, that it can even be in the form of a flat film if necessary. In an alternative embodiment, in which an inner sleeve is not necessary, the sticky substance can be provided on the inside of the trigger. The deduction itself can

50

638 950

then consist of disposable material so that, when fully loaded, it can be thrown away and replaced with a new trigger.

In further alternative embodiments, the supply or in the inner sleeve, if one is provided, may contain a supply of insect attractant in the take-off or in the case itself or be supported across the bottom of the case or the take-off, so that the supply of the heating device is arranged adjacent to or in the vicinity of the same.

The insect catcher according to the invention can also be sold as a kit which can be attached to an already existing heating device which has been manufactured to kill other insects, e.g. for killing mosquitoes by vaporizing a stock of mosquito pesticide placed on the heater under the action of the heat generated by the heater. It is obvious that the trigger with the sticky substance and the supply of attractants can easily be adapted to such an existing heating device. According to the invention, therefore, a kit for assembly as an insect catcher is also created, which has a trigger, which enables a forced air flow through it, a supply of insect attractant, which evaporates under the influence of the air stream and as a stream of an attractant from the trigger into the environment emerges, and has a sticky substance which is attached to the inside of the trigger or to another element which is suitable for being arranged in the trigger.

Such a kit may include a thin cardboard or cardboard print in a flat-folded condition that can be unfolded or shaped into the print.

As mentioned earlier, flying insects prefer to enter a light area rather than a dark area. Therefore, the trigger and the inner sleeve could be made of a translucent material. For aesthetic reasons, however, this is not a very attractive embodiment, and the trigger is preferably made of an opaque material, the outside being a warm or dark color and the In10

15

has a light color on the inside (also the inner sleeve, if provided). Furthermore, the bottom of the trigger can be made of translucent material to illuminate the inside of the trigger. On the other hand, the heating device can also be made either of translucent or light-colored material or have a transparent wall around and above the grille, which cooperates with the fume cupboard, which in effect creates a transparent bottom of the fume cupboard.

As also mentioned above, an important advantage of the insect catcher according to the invention is that the use of a chemical pesticide is avoided and that only the sticky substance is used to catch and kill flying insects. However, in some circumstances it may be desirable to use a pesticide in addition to the sticky substance in the fume cupboard. The invention thus also includes an insect catcher which contains a pesticide for the flying insects caught.

The effect of the insect catcher according to the invention is evident from the following description of an experiment:

1 and 2 was placed in a 28 m3 room in which a temperature of 23 ° C (+2 ° C) and a relative humidity of 60% (+ 5%) was maintained and that with three air changes was vented per hour. A mixture in a weight ratio of 7: 3 of (Z) -9-tricosen and (Z) -9-heneicosen, which is an attractant for domestic flies (Musca domestica), served as the attractant. A filter paper insert was loaded with 10 mg of this mixture and served as an attractant supply.

The insect catcher was placed on a translucent tabletop 0.7 m above the floor. Then a number of free-flying houseflies of both sexes, 2-3 days old, nourished with milk, were let into the room. Three hours after the flies were let in the room, the number of free-flying and caught flies was counted and differentiated according to gender. This process was repeated several times. The 40 results are shown in the following table.

30th

Trial No.

Number of flies used (%) after 3 hours

Room temperature ° C

male female male female total

1

15

4th

60

25th

53

24.0

2nd

11

9

100

56

80

25.2

3rd

19th

1

84

100

85

24.0

4th

14

8th

100

25th

73

25.0

5

10th

13

100

69

83

23.5

6

19th

3rd

84

33

77

20.3

7

16

7

81

29

65

20.2

Percentage catch of all flies used:

86

47

73

23.2

The results shown above show that on average, more than 70% of the free-flying housefly population was successfully caught with the insect catcher.

This contrasts with a catch rate of 9% if no attractant is used and a catch quota of zero if the heating device is not in operation.

s

1 sheet of drawings

Claims (10)

638 950 PATENT CLAIMS 1.Insect catcher, characterized by a trigger which allows a forced air flow through it, a supply of insect attractant which evaporates under the influence of the air flow and emerges as an attractant stream from the top of the trigger into the environment, and by a sticky substance which the inside of the trigger is provided to catch flying insects attracted by the stream of attractant vapor. 2. Insect catcher according to claim 1, characterized in that the trigger (2) has a square, rectangular or circular cross section. 3. Insect catcher according to claim 1, characterized in that the trigger (2) has the shape of a bowl, plate, a tray or deep plate. 4. Insect catcher according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the insect attractant (Z) is -9-tricoses. 5. Insect catcher according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the insect attractant (Z) -9-tricoses is mixed with (Z) -9-heneicoses. 6. Insect catcher according to one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the insect attractant is selected from the following groups: 1- (3,4-methylenedioxyphenoxy) -2-phenoxypropane; 3-cyclohexene-6-methyl-1-carbonate-2-methylpentyl ester; 3a, 4,5,6,7,7a-hexahydro-4,7-methaninden-6-ol-formic acid ester; m-T oluylic acid-2-methoxyethanol ester; m-T oluylic acid 2- (2-butoxyethoxy) ethanol ester; Tetrahydro-2- (2-propynyloxy) pyran; and spring flour hydrolyzate. 7. Insect catcher according to one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the insect attractant is selected from the following groups: 4- (p-acetoxyphenyl) -2-buta-non; cis-7,8-epoxy-2-methyloctadecane; (Z) -7-hexadecene-l- 01-acetic acid ester; (Z) -7-dodecen-l-ol acetic acid ester; (Z) -7-dodecen-l-ol; 4-allyl-l, 2-dimethoxybenzene; Phenethyl propionate + eugenol (7: 3); and tert-butyl-4- (or 5) -chloro- 2-methylcyclohexane carboxylate. 8. Insect catcher according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sticky substance comprises solutions made of rubber, rubber and mineral oil, polybutene or mixtures of wax and resins. 9. kit for assembly as an insect catcher according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by a trigger (2) which enables a forced air flow through it, a supply (3) of insect attractant which is evaporated and taken under the influence of the air flow and as Attractant stream escapes from the fume cupboard into the environment and through a sticky substance attached to the inside of the fume cupboard or to another element which is suitable for being arranged on the inside of the fume cupboard. 10. Kit according to claim 9, characterized in that the trigger is in a flat-folded state, which is suitable for being unfolded or shaped to form the trigger.