Dr. Cassie Krejci, Technical Field Specialist, MGK
Insect growth regulators (IGRs) are one of the most underutilized tools in the pest management professional’s (PMP’s) toolbox. You will never kill 100 percent of the population when targeting highly mobile insects like mosquitoes; there always will be areas, such as a neighbor’s yard, that are just out of reach of your management plan. Therefore, insecticide resistance management is important, and IGRs can help.
If a mosquito population becomes resistant through under- or overapplication, they can survive even the best products on the market. By including IGRs in select breeding site applications or broadcast treatments, you can target mosquitoes in their vulnerable immature life stages. Depending on which type of IGR you choose, mosquitoes will die in the larval or pupal stage. There are two reasons why this is impressive: Mosquitoes are easier to kill with adulticides in their soft-bodied larval stage, and immature insects don’t breed, reducing the number of vectors in future mosquito populations.
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