The usefulness of the natural phenols thymol and isoeugenol to control the emergence of flies from Japanese quail manure.

GLEISER RM, M. B DE DIO, M BATTÁN HORENSITEIN, RH. MARIN

Congreso; Poultry Science Association Annual Meeting; 2015

Saprophagous flies are mechanical vectors of pathogens. Besides, theirdefecation and regurgitation soils equipment and structures and canreduce light levels of lighting fixtures leading to reductions in productivity,egg quality and welfare. A conventional method for pest control inthe short term is the use of synthetic insecticides. However, their extensiveand widespread use promotes the development of resistance, andcan negatively affect animals and the environment. Main componentsof plant essential oils were proposed as bio-friendly alternatives witha wide range of potential effects including pest repellent and biocide.This study evaluates whether direct spraying of thymol or isoeugenolon Japanese quail manure may affect the emergence of flies. Droppingsamples from quails fed with a standard breeder ration were collected,placed in open plastic containers and sprayed with one of 6 treatmentsas follows: solutions of isoeugenol or thymol in ethanol at low (5 ×10−5 mol) or high (4 × 10−4 mol) concentrations of each compounds,ethanol (control), or untreated manure (naïve control). Each sample wasexposed for 24 h in the quail production area to allow flies to oviposit,after which it was incubated inside an emergence cage that was inspecteddaily to collect emerging adult flies. ANOVAs and proportion tests wereused to detect differences at P < 0.05. Droppings treatment with thymolsignificantly reduced the number of emerging Musca domestica andOphyra aensencens compared with the other treatments. While Muscadomestica took more days to emerge from those samples, O. aenescensdeveloped faster. From isoeugenol sprayed droppings emerged asignificantly higher number of Coproica spp and Muscina stabulans,with no effects on M. domestica. Isoeugenol did not significantly affectadult emergence times. Spraying quail manure with thymol appears asan alternative for M. domestica control. The use of isoeugenol remainsuncertain. Further confirmatory studies should be done in actual farmconditions and with other more economically relevant poultry species.