IE45531B1 - Insect trap - Google Patents

Abstract

A heating device (1) forcibly generates an air draught which passes into the surroundings via a supply (3) of insect attractant, through an outlet (2) and out of a hole (10). A vapour which attracts insects is taken along with the air draught, with the result that a stream of attractant vapour escapes at the top from the outlet (2). Flying insects of the type attracted by the attractant used in the supply in each case are attracted to the insect trap, pass into it and are trapped by a sticky substance provided on an inner casing (4).

Description

The present invention relates to an insect trap and, more particularly, to a trap which lures the insects to a tacky substance within the trap.

Insect traps are known which employ attractants to 5 draw the insects thereto and trap them by means of a sticky or tacky substance located in or on the trap.

It has been found that the efficiency of such traps can be considerably improved by ensuring that the attractant is forced into the immediate vicinity of the trap in a controlled manner.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an insect trap which comprises; a chimney member, an electrically powered heater located underneath the base of the chimney member, a reservoir of insect attractant located adjacent to and above the heater, and a tacky substance located inside the chimney member, whereby the heater evaporates the insect attractant and generates a convection flow or air which bears a stream of attractant vapour from the chimney member into the surrounding atmosphere, and the insects lured by the stream of attractant vapour into the chimney become trapped by the tacky substance.

In environmental terms the trap according to the invention is particularly advantageous because it succeeds in reducing substantially the flying insect population of a room or other enclosed area without the need of a chemical pesticide.

The essential feature of the insect trap according to the invention is the provision of a stream of insect attractant emanating from the trap and it has been found that, without this feature of forced 'convection, the efficiency in terms of the insects caught falls off dramatically.

The chimney may be square, rectangular or circular in cross-section although other shapes may be employed if desired.

Both ends of the chimney are open or partially open so that a flow of air can be forced therethrough. - 3 Better results may be obtained if the end of the chimney remote from the heater, i.e., the end from which the stream of attractant io emanating is provided with a re-entrant hole as flying insects, houseflies especially, find difficulty in escaping from such a chimney having once been lured therein.

A re-entrant generally conically shaped hole is particularly useful. The inside of the chimney is preferably lightcoloured because flying insects prefer entering a light area as opposed to a dark area and further, the outside of the enclosure is preferably a warm or dark colour, i.e., a brown, red, black or similar colour as such colours attract flying insects.

There are many attractants which may be used to lure flying insects to the trap, for example: (1) 1,3-propanediol, 1-(3,4-methylenedioxylphenyl)-2- 15 phenyl-; (2) 3-cyclohexene-l-carboxylic acid, 6-methyl, 2-methyl pentyl ester; (3) 4,7-methanoinden-6-ol-3a,4,5,6,7,7a-hexahydro-, formate 20 (4) m-toluic aeid, 2-methoxyethyi ester; (5) m-toluic acid, 2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethyl ester; (6) pyran, tetrahydro-2-(2-propynyloxy); (7) Staley's Bait No. 2; (8) Staley's Bait No. 7; and 25 (9) feather meal hydrolysate 4SS31 - 4 There are also the naturally occurring pheromones and the following list gives the most important of these together with the species of insect which is affected.

Chemical name Insect affected 4-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butanone melon fly, Dacus cucurbattae acetate (Coquillett) cis-7,8-epoxy-2-methylocta- gypsy moths Porthetria decane dispar (L) (Z)-7-hexadecen-o.-ol acetate pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders) (Z)-7~dodecen-l-ol acetate cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni (Hiibner) (Z)-7-dodecen-l-ol cabbage looper 4-allyl-1,2-dimethoxy oriental fruit fly, Dacus benzene dorsalis (Hendel) (Z)-9-trieosene housefly, Musca domestica (L) phenethylpropionate + Japanese beetle, Popillia eugenol (7 : 3) japonica (Newman) tert.-butyl-4-(or 5)-chloro- Mediterranen fruit fly, 2-methylcyclohexane Ceratitis capitata carboxylate (Weidemann) Other compounds that have been shown to be attractive to houseflies can be grouped into the following classes:45531 - 5 (1) Products of putrefaction (mainly amines); (2) Products of fermentation (aldehydes, ketones and alcohols); (3) Simple carbohydrates (mono- and di-saccharides); (4) Esters.

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

For the purposes of trapping the common housefly, Musca domestica, the Applicant has found that muscalure ((Z)-9-trieosene) or a mixture of that compound with (Z)-9-heneicosene works very effectively in the trap according to the invention. The reservoir for the attractant may take a wide variety of forms, for example it may be in liquid form in a container or alternatively it may be in solid form, for example dispersed in cellulose or mineral absorbents. However, a simple effective reservoir consists of a porous material such as filter paper or blotting paper which is impregnated with the desired attractant and, generally speaking, when discs of paper of about 1 inch diameter are used loadings of about 0.5-150 mg of attractant have been found to give the desired result. If desired, stabilization of the attractant may be achieved by incorporating an anti-oxidant into the reservoir.

S 5 3 1 - 6 The tacky substance which traps the flying insects must clearly be a substance which maintains its tackiness over prolonged periods of time and examples of such substances are solutions of gum, rubber and. mineral oil, polybutenes, and mixtures of wax and resins.

The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure i is a perspective view of one embodiment of an insect trap according to the invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a heater unit together with an attractant reservoir for the trap shown in Figure 1; The insect trap shown in Figure 1 and partly in Figure 2 comprises an electrically-powered heater unit 1, a cylindrical bowl-type enclosure or chimney 2, an insect attractant reservoir 3 and an inner sleeve if bearing a tacky substance (not shown) for trapping flying insects entering the bowl-type enclosure or chimney 2.

The heater unit 1 comprises ar, electrical element (not shown) housed in a casing 5 which is provided with a number of slots 6 and above the element a grid 7 on which is placed the insect attractant reservoir 3 in the form of a round disc made from absorbent paper and impregnated with an insect attractant. Protruding from i S 5 3 I - 7 the top of the casing 5 are two lugs 8 and 9 for locating the chimney 2 in the correct position on the heater unit.

The chimney 2 as shown in Figure 1 is rectangular in cross-section fully open at the base and provided with a re-entrant generally conically-shaped hole 10 at the top. Inside the chimney 2 is an inner sleeve 4 which supports the tacky substance (not shown); the sleeve itself may be freestanding, i.e., supported on the grid 7, or may be clipped or otherwise fixed to the chimney 2.

When the current is switched on and the heater unit 1 is warm a forced air draught is generated by air passing through the slots 6, through the grid 7, over the insect attractant reservoir 3, through the chimney 4 and, according to Figure 1, out through the hole 10 into the surrounding atmosphere. Insect attractant vapour is taken with the air draught to form a stream of attractant vapour emanating from the top of the chimney 2. Flying insects of the type attracted to the particular attractant employed in the reservoir are lured to the trap, enter through the re-entrant hole 10, and are trapped by the tacky substance (glue: HYVIS-200) on the inner sleeve 4k Insect attractant vapour is taken with the air draught to form - 8 a stream of attractant vapour emanating from the upper end of the bowl. Plying insects of the type attracted to the particular attractant employed in the reservoir are lured to the trap, and are trapped by the tacky substance on the inner sleeve 4.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings the tacky substance is mounted on the inner sleeve and it has been found convenient to make this sleeve of a disposable material so that when it is fully loaded with dead flies it can be discarded and replaced by a fresh sleeve. It will also be appreciated that the sleeve may be of any convenient configuration and indeed could even take the shape of a flat sheet, if desired. In an alternative embodiment where an inner sleeve is not required the tacky substance can be mounted on the interior of the chimney and the chimney itself can be made of disposable material so that it also can be discarded and replaced with a fresh chimney when fully loaded.

In further alternative embodiments the chimney, or when used the inner sleeve, can have the insect attractant reservoir incorporated therein either in the sleeve or chimney or supported across the base of the sleeve or chimney so that it is positioned adjacent or close to the heater unit, The insect trap according to the invention may in practice be sold unassembled in the form of a kit which can be attached to an 5 31 - 9 existing heater unit manufactured for the purposes of killing other insects, e.g., mosquitos, by vaporizing under the action of warmth generated by the heater a reservoir of a mosquito pesticide placed on the heater unit. It will be appreciated that the chimney including tacky substance together with the attractant reservoir could be readily adapted to fit on such an existing heater and thus the present invention also includes a kit for assembly onto an electric heater to produce qn insect 10 trap comprising: a chimney adapted to fit onto a heater and allow a flow of air therethrough; a reservoir of insect attractant which under the influence of the flow of air is evaporated and borne as a stream of attractant emanating from the chimney member into the surrounding atmosphere, and a tacky substance mounted on the inside of the chimney member or on another member capable of being located within the chimney member.

The said kit may include a chimney member made from thin card or cardboard in a fold-flat state but capable of being folded or shaped into the said chimney member.

As has been indicated above flying insects prefer entering a light area as opposed to a dark area and thus the chimney and interior sleeve could be made of transparent material. However, for aesthetic reasons, - 10 this is not an attractive design and the chimney is preferably made from opaque material, the outside being warm- or dark-coloured and the interior (as well as the interior sleeve if present) being light in colour. Further, the base of the chimney can be made of transparent material so as to illuminate the chimney interior. Alternatively, the heater unit may either be fabricated from transparent or light-coloured material or have disposed around and above a grid'thetransparent wall which co-operates with the chimney and thus effectively produces a transparent base to the chimney.

As also stated above one important advantage of the present trap is the fact that it avoids the use of a chemical pesticide and relies on the tacky substance trapping and killing the flying insect. However, it may be desirable in certain circumstances to employ a pesticide inside the chimney in addition to the tacky substance and the invention also includes a trap containing such a pesticide for the flying insects trapped.

The action of the insect trap according to the invention will now be illustrated by reference to the following test: The insect trap shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings was placed in a 28 m^ room maintained at 23°C ( + 2°C), 60% (+ 5%) relative humidity and ventilated at 3 air changes per hour. The attractant employed was - 11 45531 a 7ϊ3 weight mixture of (Z)-9-trieosene and (Z)-9-heneicosene which is an attractant for houseflies fliusca domestica) and a filter paper pad was loaded with 10 mg of this mixture, this pad then representing the attractant reservoir.

The trap was placed on a transparent table top 0.7 m above floor level and a number of free flying 2-3 day old milk-fed houseflies of mixed sexes was introduced into the room. The numbers of free-flying and trapped flies were counted and sexed three hours after the introduction of flies to the room and this procedure was repeated a number of times. The results are shown in the following Table.

Test run No. of flies used Catch (½) after 3 hours Room temper- ature °C Male Female Male Female Total 1 15 . 4 60 25 53 24.0 2 11 9 100 56 80 25.2 3 19 1 84 100 85 24.0 4 14 8 100 25 73 25.0 5 10 13 100 69 83 23-5 6 19 3 84 33 77 20.3 7 16 7 81 29 65 20.2 j percentage catch of total flies used - 1- _ 86 47 73 23.2 ! 1 42331 It will be seen from the above results that an average of more than 70% of the free-flying house-fly population was successfully caught by the trap. This compares with a 9% catch when no attractant is used, and a nil catch when the heater Is not in operation.

Claims (11)

1. CLAIMS :1. An insect trap which comprises a chimney member, an electrically powered heater located underneath the base of the chimney member, a reservoir of insect attractant located adjacent to and above the heater, and a tacky substance provided inside the chimney member, whereby the heater evaporates the insect attractant and generates a convection flow of air which bears a stream of attractant vapour from the chimney member into the surrounding atmosphere, and the insects lured by the stream of attractant vapour into the chimney become trapped by the tacky substance.

2. An insect trap according to claim 1, in which the chimney member is square, rectangular or circular in crosssection.

3. An insect trap according to either of the preceding claims, in which the insect attractant is (Z)-9tricosene.

4. An insect trap according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the insect attractant is (Z)-9-tricosene in admixture with (Z)-9-heneicosene.

5. An insect trap according to claim 1 or 2, in which the insect attractant is selected from the groups: 1,3-propanediol, 1-(3,4-methylenedioxylphenyl)-2-phenyl; 3-cyclohexene-l-carboxylic acid, 6-methyl, 2-methylpentyl ester; 4,7-methanoinden-6-ol-3a,4,5,6,7,7a-hexahydro-, formate; m-toluic acidj 2-methoxyethyl ester; m-toluic acid, 2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethyl ester; 5 pyran, tetrahydro-2-(2-propynyloxy); and feather meal hydrolysate.

6. An insect trap according to claim 1 or 2, in which the insect attractant is selected from the groups: 4-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butanone acetate; 10 cis-7,8-epoxy-2-methyloctadecane; (Z)-7-hexadecen-l-ol acetate; (Z)-7~dodecen-l-ol acetate; (Z)-7-dodecen-l-ol; 4-allyl-l,2-dimethoxybenzene; 15 phenethylpropionate + eugenol (7 : 3); and tert.-butyl-4-(or 5)-chloro-2-methylcyclohexane carboxylate.

7. An insect trap according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the tacky substance comprises solutions of 20 gum, rubber, and mineral oil, polybutenes or mixtures of wax and resins.

8. A kit suitable for assembly onto an electric heater to produce an insect trap according to any one of the preceding claims, which comprises a chimney member adapted to fit onto a heater and allow a flew of 25 air to be forced therethrough, a reservoir of insect attractant which under the influence of the flow of air - 15 *SS3i is evaporated and borne as a stream of attractant emanating from the chimney member into the surrounding atmosphere, and a tacky substance mounted on the inside of the chimney member or on another member capable of being located within 5 the chimney member.

9. A kit according to claim 8, in which the chimney member is in a fold-flat state capable of being folded or shaped into the said chimney member.

10.. An insect trap according to claim 1, substantially as herein 10 before described with particular reference to Figures 1 and 2.

11. A method for trapping insects using a trap as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 or claim 10.