Fumigant action of acrolein on stored-product insects

Acrolein was investigated as a fumigant for the control of stored-product insects. When exposed in space, confused flour beetle adults, Tribolium confusum Jacqueline duVal, cigarette beetle adults, Lasioderma serricorne (F.), and black carpet beetle larvae, Attagenus unicolor (Brahm), were killed by doses of acrolein that were lower than corresponding doses of methyl bromide. However, experiments done in grain showed that when acrolein was applied in the headspace, high doses were required to kill insects in the geometric center of the mass. In contrast, when acrolein was applied to the surface and the grain was mixed to distribute the compound, insects exposed in the grain were killed by much lower doses than when the grain was not mixed. Sorption of the acrolein on wheat was also investigated to determine the amount of compound available to insects in the interstitial spaces of the grain during a 24-h treatment. Because of the sorption characteristics of acrolein, it may have only limited use as a fumigant