A new goal has been undertaken by the US Department of Agriculture, which has been fighting pest infestation since the department's inception. They are looking to control bug populations by removing the males. It has been revealed in an end of year review from the Agriculture department that one main technique implemented was the use of strong attractants for the male population. One small Pacific island, just north of Guam, was used as an example of the capability of attractants. Oriental fruit flies were completely eradicated there with their use. Scientists designed the experiment to prove that attractants can be used this way. This attractant, methyl eugenol, was developed in a government laboratory, and was very effective at attracting mail oriental fruit flies. Using this chemical, scientists were able to lure the insects away from crop areas. While it took some time, the eradication of the male population all but ended the oriental fruit fly's existence on this island. These synthesized attractants, along with ever-increasing list of lures coming from female insects themselves, prove effective in attracting males in their particular species, according to the Agriculture Department's recent studies. In lesser peach borers, cabbage loppers, and female houseflies, such attractants were discovered. These chemo-sterilants, which destroy a pest's ability to reproduce, mark the initial step in controlling insect populations by attracting males specifically. Scientists are attempting to recreate the chemicals synthetically so they can be mass produced at lower costs. This new process of sterilization is seen as a massive leap forward in the battle against insects. Some of the original ideas for insect eradication came from efforts that were previously undertaken to get rid of housefly, boll weevil, and several other pest populations. Male screwworm flies are being sterilized with gamma radiation in hopes that this pest, which bothers livestock, can be eradicated in the southwest. This method, used a few years back, proved highly effective in eradicating this harmful pest. Sterile flies developed in the laboratory were freed in astronomical numbers for the purpose of mating with native flies, in the process of destroying screwworms. Since female screwworm flies are only capable of mating one time, the eggs produced from these pairings never hatched, thus eradicating the population. The report claims eradication of agriculture blights like the boll weevil, cotton pest and houseflies is possible now. Cotton plants have yielded a repellent for weevils. Male weevils give off a natural attractant. Millions of dollars in investments in crops were covered under federal crop insurance a number of year back, the Agricultural Department claimed; this was the greatest level for a number of years. Natural disasters have been avoided for nearly hundreds of thousands of crops spanning millions of acres.
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In an effort to ease the burden on humans, animals and plants, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is always looking at new, more effective ways to control insects and other pests. They have introduced a new method of eradication, one which uses targeted pesticides that destroy the pest's male population. In an end of year review, the U.S. government via the Agricultural department stated that among the means of eliminating the males, a potent attractant was employed.
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