Immature house fly (Musca domestica) control in breeding sites with a new Brevibacillus laterosporus formulation

A bacterial formulation containing spores of a Brevibacillus laterosporus strain from Sardinia, known to be toxic by ingestion to the house ßy (Musca domestica), was assayed in laboratory, outdoor, and Þeld conditions for the control of immature stages of this pest. In all laboratory assays, the bacterial formulation exhibited toxicity against house ßy larvae. A concentration of 1 108 spores of B. laterosporus/g of diet caused 100% mortality of house ßy immature stages. The same formulation, applied at a concentration of 1 108 spores/ml, equivalent to a dose of 2 liters/m2, caused a reduction in adult emergence from laboratory and natural breeding substrates (outdoor cage experiments) up to 80.3 and 57.8%, respectively. Similarly, this formulation applied in the cow pen of a diary farm at a dose of 2 liters/m2 produced a signiÞcant reduction (30%) in immature ßy development. Therefore, the use of this bacterial preparation in microbiological control strategies for the integrated pest management of this species is promising.