Evaluation of microencapsulated liquid pheromone for the control of Indian meal moth (Plodia interpunctella) in a retail environment

The pet food and accessories industry is a multi-billion-dollar business. Goods are shipped and stored in a scheduled manner, but consumers also dictate what is bought and introduce extreme variability in the length of time host products remain on the shelf. This increases the chances for stored product insect pests, such as the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella Hübner (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) which can cause significant damage to the product. Mating disruption is a form of control where high doses of sex pheromone are used to disable mating. A new formulation of microencapsulated P. interpunctella female sex pheromone was tested in four pet food retail stores from 2021 to 2022 with monthly monitoring. Three stores, classified as high, medium/low, and low starting populations, were sprayed with microencapsulated pheromone at 90-day intervals for a year. The fourth store remained an untreated control. Data were analyzed by store, month, and product category (cat food and supplies, dog food and supplies, cat litter, fish, bird, and small animal products, and backroom area). Stores that were treated with encapsulated pheromone showed significantly lower populations over time. Heat maps were used to visualize the distribution of moths over time and revealed how unpredictable human interactions can be with moth populations in this unique environment. These results show that this new formulation of microencapsulated pheromone significantly reduces P. interpunctella captures over time, which is likely related to overall moth population level, and in combination with other tactics can be part of an IPM strategy in a challenging commercial retail environment.