Field evaluations of the granular fly bait, Quick Bayt and the paint-on fly bait, Agita against synanthropic flies

The efficacy and residual efficacy of commercial baits, Quick Bayt (0.5% w/w imidacloprid) and Agita (10.0% w/w thiamethoxam) against synanthropic flies were evaluated under field conditions. Efficacy was evaluated based on knockdown percentage (KD %). The bait efficacy and residual efficacy evaluation were conducted for a period of 3 weeks and 6 weeks respectively. Baits were applied onto bait targets and placed on fly-count targets to facilitate the counting of flies. All baits were applied according to the manufacturer's recommended application rate. Three replicate treatments for each type of bait were placed at the study site each week. The number of flies feeding on baits and the knocked down flies were counted and collected. The efficacy of Agita and Quick Bayt did not differ significantly (t-test, P>0.05) over the 3-week period, even though Quick Bayt had a slightly higher KD% than Agita. In the residual efficacy evaluation, the (knockdown) KD% of Quick Bayt was consistent at around 36% for the first five weeks but dropped to 33.8 +/- 0.4% on the sixth week. The KD% for Agita on the first week was 33.6 +/- 12.2% and remained relatively consistent for the first 4 weeks at around 31%. KD% dropped to 16.7 +/- 3.3% on week 5 and to 15.7 +/- 1.2% on week 6. The difference in residual efficacy of the two baits was significant (t-test, p < 0.05).