Comparative Toxicity of Synthetic and Botanical Gel Baits against Periplaneta americana (Blattodea: Blattidea)
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Abstract
Cockroaches (Periplaneta americana L.) are ubiquitous pests implicated in disease transmission and allergies, making their control a public health priority. Synthetic gel baits are effective but raise environmental concerns, while botanical gels remain underexplored. This study compared the toxicity of two synthetic baits: fipronil and imidacloprid, and two botanical gel baits: sodom apple and neem-ginger gel baits against P. americana. Oils were extracted via hydrodistillation (ginger) and soxhlet procedures (neem and sodom apple), characterized by GC–MS, and formulated into peanut-based gels. Baits were tested at dosages of 0.5 g, 1.0 g, 1.5 g, and 2.0 g per treatment, with controls consisting of peanut gel and bait matrix, replicated four times with 10 cockroaches per container without active ingredients. Mortality data were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA regression analysis. Extracted oils showed neem’s dominance in fatty acids, ginger’s richness in terpenoids and phenolics, and sodom apple’s diverse ester composition. Laboratory assays demonstrated that imidacloprid (2%) and fipronil (0.05%) achieved 100% and 93.75% mortality in P. americana at 18 h, respectively, while the neem–ginger gel (20%) produced progressive, dose-dependent mortality up to 81.25% at 24 h. In contrast, sodom apple gel (20%) showed limited efficacy at 16.25% mortality. Probit analysis confirmed potency differences, with LC₅₀ at 24 h values of 0.028 g (fipronil), 0.836 g (neem–ginger), and 2.13 g (sodom apple). These findings provide the first evidence that neem–ginger gels can serve as ingestion-based, ecofriendly alternatives to synthetic cockroach baits, supporting their potential integration into sustainable pest management programs.
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