This is a map of a German cockroach population in a 10,000 ft² food service facility. To produce the map, 100 sticky traps were placed in the facility and their location visually georeferenced by noting their position relative to walls and doorways. Their position and catch data were entered into GIS software and raw data contours were produced. These contours show everywhere there were two or more cockroaches per trap per night.

While the average number of cockroaches per trap per night was only 3.2, which is not unusually high, the map illustrates that two areas of the facility, shown in red, had very high populations at 30 per trap per night.

The map was provided to pest control personnel who applied baits (50 Maxfore® bait stations and 6 tubes of Maxfore® gel baits) just in the areas indicated by the contours.

30 DAY POST-TREATMENT

The map above shows where there were one or more cockroaches per trap per night 30 days after treatment.

The trap index dropped to 0.5 cockroaches per trap per night but as can be seen by the map there was still a hot spot (again shown in red) of 6 or more cockroaches per trap per night.

This map was provided to pest control personnel who again applied baits (4.5 tubes of Maxfore® gel bait) just in the areas indicated by the contours.

60 DAY POST-TREATMENT

The map above shows where there were one or more cockroaches per trap per night 30 days after the second treatment or 60 days after the first treatment.

The trap index dropped to 0.1 cockroaches per trap per night and there was only one area, a store room, where any cockroaches were caught.

To obtain such quick control with baits is unprecedented. Had the pest control personnel not been given a map showing where the hot spots were they probably would have started baiting in the kitchen since cockroaches are generally found there. The result would have been more bait than necessary in some areas and not enough in others.

Mapping pest populations allows us precision to target our control efforts so we get enhanced control with reduced effort.

Related Public Health Command Programs

• Entomological Sciences Program